After receiving additional city financial help, the Citizens’ Lighthouse Community Land Trust has reduced the listing price on a rehabbed home at 2212 Washington St. from $180,000 to $169,000.
After receiving additional city financial help, the Citizens’ Lighthouse Community Land Trust has reduced the listing price on a rehabbed home at 2212 Washington St. from $180,000 to $169,000.
Land trust director Wilfred Gadsden says some funds may also be available to assist a homebuyer with down payment or closing costs.
The three-bedroom, one-bath house is located west of Dodge Avenue and south of Main Street in Evanston.
Gadsden says the renovation work includes a new bathroom, kitchen and laundry room. The wiring and plumbing have been completely replaced and updated. It has new walls and insulation throughout.
The community land trust model of homeownership lets a family buy the house at an affordable price while assuring that it will remain affordable for the next buyer. The home must be purchased with a conventional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, while the ownership of the land is retained by the CLCLT. Gadsden says this allows for a substantial reduction in the sales price and the monthly carrying costs of homeownership.
Qualifications include family income and family size considerations. These are based in part on the requirements of the agencies that provided funds for the rehab work.
As part of the homebuyers’ application process, the trust requires the homebuyer to participate in a certified homebuyers’ counseling program. These are conducted by three area agencies: CEDA Neighbors at Work in Evanston as well as Housing Opportunity Development Corporation (HODC) and Rogers Park Community Development Corporation.
The counselors serve as impartial consultants to each family throughout the entire homebuying process. Several area banks are familiar with affordable housing project mortgage loans, Gadsden says, and One has even developed a product specifically applicable to community land trust homes.
For more information contact the land trust by phone at 847-772-6702 or by e-mail at office@citizenslighthouse.org.
How will the buyer get financing for this?
Please explain what bank is going to loan you money for a property it does not hold both the land and house on? Why would the bank want to only loan on the house, given the house is depreciating in value?
This is all very interesting will the city now under write a loan?