Instead of applying all subsidy dollars to cut development costs, sponsors use as much of the same money as is needed to take the land cost out of the picture permanently. They do so by forming community land trusts. In essence, the sponsors, organized as a CLT, buy the land. The low-income family buys the house, usually with additional financial help from the CLT, banks, foundations and public agencies. The CLT keeps the land off the overheated market and dedicates it to affordable housing.
Tax agencies appraise the land accordingly, so price and taxes rise minimally.
The lease formula, often pegged to local wage increases, gives the residents fair returns on their own investments in the houses themselves and other improvements. In this way the community's investments of time, treasure and talent in affordable housing are preserved while adjacent, identical homes soar out of reach for low-income families. Community Land Trust, the model most frequently copied in the United States. The Institute for Community Economics is an important client of his national consulting partnership. I relocated here because I was commuting so much from Vermont. . . .