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Acquiring Land
for the Community
Sometimes CLTs buy undeveloped land
and arrange to have new homes built on it; sometimes they buy
land and buildings together. In either case, the CLT treats land
and buildings differently. CLT land is held permanently - never
sold - so that it can always be used in the community's best interest.
Buildings on CLT land, however, may be owned by the residents.
Access for Low-Income
People
The CLT provides access to land and
housing for people who are otherwise priced out of the housing
market. The CLT helps people to purchase homes on affordable terms.
The land beneath the homes is then leased to the homeowners through
a long-term (usually 99-year) renewable lease. Residents and their
descendants can use the land for as long as they wish to live
there.
Prices Stay Affordable
When CLT homeowners decide to move,
they can sell their homes. The land lease agreement gives the
CLT the right to buy each home back for an amount determined limited
by the CLT's resale formula. Each CLT designs its own resale formula
- to give homeowners a fair return for their investment, while
keeping the price affordable for other lower income people.
Owner-Occupancy
Preserved
The land lease requires that owners
live in their homes as their primary residences. When homes are
resold, the lease ensures that the new owners will also be residents
- not absentee owners.
Helping New Homeowners
CLTs can provide a variety of training
opportunities and other services to first-time homeowners, and
can provide crucial support if homeowners face unexpected home
repairs or financial problems. In these cases the CLT can often
help residents to find a practical solution, and may help to make
necessary financial arrangements.
A Flexible Approach
CLTs may develop housing themselves
or may hold land beneath housing produced by other non-profit
(and sometimes for-profit) developers. A CLT may build new homes,
rehabilitate older homes, or acquire existing housing that needs
little or no renovation.
Who Controls a CLT?
A CLT is ultimately controlled by its
members. All CLT residents are members, and other people in the
community may also join. The members elect the CLT's Board of
Directors. Usually there are three kinds of directors on the Board
- those representing resident members, those representing members
who are not CLT residents, and those representing the broader
public interest. In this way, control of the organization is balanced
to protect both the residents and the community as a whole.
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