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Orcas Island, Washington |
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How OPAL Community Land Trust Works |
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By bringing together community support, state and federal grants, low-interest loans, and thousands of volunteer hours, OPAL CLT is able to create stable, permanently affordable homes for creditworthy Orcas families and individuals who are excluded from the private market because of a lack of income. How does it work? OPAL eliminates the land and some site development costs from the price the homeowner pays for the home. The land is owned by the community land trust and leased to each homeowner, who must qualify for a mortgage to buy the house. The community land trust commits to owning the land in perpetuity.
After acquiring the land, OPAL designs and builds homes to meet the needs of prequalified applicants. Design and construction follow OPAL’s green building guidelines.
OPAL is beginning to explore programs and funding that would enable us to develop housing for people earning slightly over this limit. Affordable for Future Generations When a house is sold, there are restrictions on its resale price—there is equity gain for the owner, and the home always remains affordable. The resale price is determined in accordance with the formula set down in the ground lease. For examples resale formulas, click this link: For an animated illustration of the way this model preserves affordability for future generations AND provides equity gain for the individual, visit the website of Burlington Associates in Community Development. Community land trusts around the country use different resale formulas. The largest community land trust in the nation, Burlington CLT in Burlington, Vermont, completed a performance evaluation of the first 97 homes in their program that sold to new owners. The results can be found at the web page for Burlington Community Land Trust's publications. To learn more about community land trusts, go to the web site of the Institute for Community Economics or the E.F. Schumacher Society. |
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OPAL Community Land Trust | |||
OPAL acquires the land with funds from grants, and donations of cash and land from individuals. 
Current applicants can earn no more than 80% of the median income for San Juan County (in 2004: $33,650 for one person, $38,450 for two, and $43,250 for a family of three). There are also asset limits and residency and community service requirements. 
Resale Formula Examples