What is the difference between Land Trust homes and Conventional?
Land Trust homeownership is similar to conventional homeownership, but the land beneath the homes is owned by One Roof Community Housing.
The same
- The homeowner obtains a mortgage with a bank.
- The homeowner accumulates equity.
- The home can be inherited by the homeowner’s spouse or children.
- The homeowner pays property taxes.
- The homeowner can make alterations and improvements to the home & land.
Different
- The purchase price is lower—about 20-30% below the market rate.
- One Roof Community Housing owns the land and the homeowner leases the land for a nominal fee ($35/month).
- The Resale Formula ensures that the home will remain affordable when it is sold in the future. When a Land Trust house is sold, the homeowner receives 100% of what they have paid off on their mortgage plus 25% of the increased value of the property. Homeowners also receive the full value of any qualified capital improvements that have been documented during the time of ownership.
Who lives in Land Trust homes?
Land Trust homeowners include families, children, grandparents, couples, and singles. They are social workers, bus drivers, teachers, students, office workers, business owners, stay-at-home moms, artists, musicians, and much more.
Some of our lowest income homebuyers would not have been able to buy a home except through the Land Trust program. Other Land Trust homeowners could have afforded to buy a home on the open market, but most likely they would have qualified for a home in need of significant repairs which would have been too expensive for them to complete. The Land Trust program helps these families purchase a much higher quality home than they would have otherwise been able to afford.
What about realtors?
You may choose to work with any area realtor to purchase a Land Trust home or you may choose to purchase a home with staff (Jim Philbin and Yoana Sol) at One Roof Community Housing who are licensed realtors. Typically, the seller pays the realtor commission.
What about taxes?
Land Trust homeowners pay all the taxes and assessments associated with their property. As with all homeowners, the interest portion of their mortgage payment is tax deductible. If you itemize your federal income taxes, the property taxes that are paid also are tax deductible.
How does One Roof Community Housing get property for the Land Trust program?
One Roof Community Housing purchases property and receives donations of land. One Roof obtains loans to finance its purchases and construction.
What is the process for selling a land trust home?
When a homeowner wants to sell his or her home, a formula is used to determine the sale price.
Essentially, in exchange for buying a home at an affordable price, the homeowner agrees to sell the home at an affordable price. This preserves the affordability for the next lower-income family who buys the home.
Independent appraisals of the home are to be obtained at the time of purchase and in preparation for the sale. The resale formula will be used to determine the sale price as in the following example:
| Initial appraised value of property | $120,000 | |
| Initial purchase of home | $90,000 | |
| Appraised value of property at resale | $160,000 | |
| Increase in value of property (“appreciation”) | $40,000 | |
| Seller’s share of appreciation (25%) | $10,000 | |
| Resale Price of Home | $100,000 |
The resale price is the initial price ($90,000) plus 25 percent of the increase in value (.25 x $40,000=$10,000), which equals $100,000. The seller receives all of the equity that they have gained from paying down their mortgage, plus $10,000 from appreciation.
