Buying a Home with KulshanCLT

Community land trusts (CLTs) are nonprofit organizations that help make homes and other things (such as community gardens, commercial space, etc.) affordable and accessible. For most CLTs, affordable housing is the highest priority. There are over 250 CLT programs across the country, serving communities from small towns to large cities.

KulshanCLT has operated by the ‘pay it forward’ model since our founding in 1999. In exchange for the down payment assistance and low purchase price that KulshanCLT provides, you agree to a fixed rate of equity appreciation (1.5% per year), passing on the good deal to the next eligible buyer. You are not responsible to repay the down payment assistance. You do pay down the principal of your mortgage while you occupy the home. At the same time, your home appreciates in equity by 1.5% each year. This allows KulshanCLT homeowners to build more equity than they would while renting, without pricing future families out of the home.

KulshanCLT homeowners include all types of people—families, grandparents, couples and single folks. They are grocery store clerks, mail carriers, school teachers, electricians, small business owners, restaurant workers, police officers, nonprofit employees and more.

The people who purchase homes through KulshanCLT’s program are done renting and ready to be homeowners, but are faced with a difficult housing market where household incomes haven’t kept up with rapidly rising home prices. KulshanCLT can help you buy a home in good condition near jobs and services, transportation options and quality schools.

Due to the rising costs of homes in our area and significant lack of inventory, we have more interested buyers than we have homes available. Unfortunately, buying a home through KulshanCLT is not a quick fix for permanent housing. The average wait is currently about two years.

With a CLT loan, there are no mortgage insurance payments, no balloon payments, no short terms, no fluctuating interest rates - only 30-year fixed-rate conventional mortgages.

We are very firm on serving families well and honestly. We steer homebuyers away from predatory lending practices and educate you on affordable options, providing educational support before and after you buy. As a buyer, you will be empowered to make informed decisions about your next big step.

Together with our preferred lenders, we can counsel you on how to get on track for homeownership. We have individuals walk through our doors who get into their new home anywhere from two months to several years later. Preparing to own a home is a process, and we’re here to make it doable, easier, and understandable.

Typically our program requires that you put down a minimum cash contribution of 1% of your purchase price, or $2,500, whichever is greater. You are welcome to put down more cash if you are able.

Yes and no. KulshanCLT technically retains ownership of the land in order to ensure that the house remains affordable, but you become a member of KulshanCLT, so you, as part of KulshanCLT, own the land.

Let’s clarify this point:

The ground lease agreement is a key document that ties the land and the house together and is the most legally enforceable way to ensure that the program requirements are adhered to. This document brings together the pay-it-forward model, allowing the affordability of the home to be kept for the community, securing you modest equity when you sell, and keeping the purchase assistance with the home so it may be passed on to the next buyers.

Most importantly, you are responsible for the land and have the right to landscape and do all normal homeowner things. This is your place—you get to enjoy all the security, control, tax advantages, and equity building opportunities of homeownership.

Yes! The ground lease that secures your use of the land is for 99 years and is renewable and inheritable. This means that you could live in your home for as long as you live, bequeath the home and the right to use the land to your children, and they could do the same–on and on across generations.

Homeowners pay only a nominal (typically $50) monthly ground lease fee to support us organizationally and continue our nonprofit’s work.

No. The 1.5% yearly equity is all yours.

In exchange for the funding we bring in to reduce the price of the home, you agree to sell your home at an affordable price (should you decide to sell), allowing another individual or family to achieve their dream of homeownership as well.

Homeowners build equity on their homes in two ways–your home appreciates in value by the resale formula amount, as laid out in the ground lease, and your mortgage principle is paid down.

Together, these two factors enable you to build equity throughout your period of homeownership.

• The KulshanCLT home appreciation rate is 1.5% annually, for every year you own your home.

• You can also receive capital improvement credits to the resale formula price for making specific property improvements.

• You can also receive capital replacement credits to the resale formula price for replacing specific significant home systems.

• If you damage the home or damage is caused by deferred maintenance, you may not be able to receive the full formula price when you’re ready to sell.

No problem. As long as you pay your mortgage, taxes, home insurance, and ground lease fee, your home is yours. Even if you make more or less money, add or lose household members, your home is yours. We understand that life brings all sorts of things. Changes to income or household size won’t affect your eligibility for your KulshanCLT home or your house payment once you’re in your new place.

No, as long as you plan to reside in your new home as your primary residence.

Just like any homeowner, you pay 100% of the taxes on the home and land. Fortunately, property taxes are assessed based on the affordable resale value of the home, not its “market” value—meaning taxes are more affordable for CLT homeowners.

For most financed homes, your property taxes will be paid to your lender each month when you make your mortgage payment. The lender collects and deposits your property taxes in a special escrow account, and pays the property taxes directly to the county on your behalf in April and October of each year. In most cases, our program requires that you pay your property taxes through your lender via an escrow account.

The only instances where you will pay the property taxes directly to the county yourself are after you pay off your mortgage in full.

We do not currently have a citizenship requirement at KulshanCLT. However, your lender may require proof of U.S. citizenship to qualify you for a loan.

The home must be your primary residence—you must live in the home at least nine months of the year. All household members should be included on your application to the program. After purchasing the home, you may choose to have roommates, but you must reside in the home as your primary residence.