Non Profit For Affordable Housing

lilmanmason profile photo

H all,

I have a question that i am hoping someone here can give me some ideas on.

In my area affordabel housing is pretty much no exsistent. And i am talking about housing for middle income people.. not seciton 8 or lower income there are pockets for them.. But for the person making 60 -80K a year there is nothing.. So here is what i was wondering.. Can a private company.. ( i would think i would use a non profit) purchase land and build house on it.. but only sell the house.. on a land lease. and in that land lease stipulate thatn when the person whom owns the house goes to sell it that they can only sell for a certain percentage over purchase price. or maybe certain percentage under FMV.. I have read that 2 suburbs of Chicago are doing this.. but they are a govt establishment. I was wondering if it would work for a private company. Also if then there could possibly be any grant money and /or tax incentives for such an endeavour and how i could go abotu finding out about them..

I am not lookingn to develop huge tracts in this manor.. but smaller in-fill lots that i can do for a density variance on .. and give decent working people an oportunity to live in a great neighborhood with great schools and still be able to afford to live.

thank a lot look forward to your comments.

Comments(11)

  • commercialking17th October, 2007

    Well its not an answer to the question you asked but let me respond with another question:

    Why do you want to do this?

    Is it just some great compassion for middle income people or what?

    I gotta say this looks like a thankless crusade with little or no profit in it.

  • cjmazur17th October, 2007

    It give me a chance to give something back and not be called a money grubbing whore.

    With federak, state, and local incentives and modular building techniques I think there is a profit to be made.

    Hopefully there could be enough press interest generated to help grease the entitlement process.

  • bargain7618th October, 2007

    The Deed restrictions you are talking about are standard procedure for the Habitat for Humanity homes in our area.

    The Habitat folks deed the property over to the selected buyer, record the mortgage, then record a Deed restriction that lists terms and conditions under which the property may be sold, with the intent of keeping the property as affordable housing.

    We have bought a few former Habitat homes at foreclosure auction....where the agreement is foreclosed out ... since the Deed restriction was recorded after the mortgage.

    If you Google "Duval County, FL Clerk of Court" then enter Habitat, you will find the agreement.
    [addsig]

  • ypochris23rd October, 2007

    Bargain,

    "If you Google "Duval County, FL Clerk of Court" then enter Habitat, you will find the agreement. "

    I tried this and got nothing.

    I am interested in this because I set up an LLC to purchase some conservation land, and to keep the shares affordable for the local commmunity as well as other members wanting to expand their interest I included a clause limiting the sale price of membership interests to price paid plus 8% compounded annually. Now, seven years later, the property is arguably worth 20 times what we originally paid for it, and members interested in selling are arguing that limiting their profit is illegal.

    I would like to see some precedent for this to support my position that they went into it with open eyes, thinking there was no way it would appreciate even 8% a year. Now no one can/is willing to sell because they will only get less than twice what they paid for it. Yet a number of people would like to sell if they could get market value. I suspect we may be creeping into lawsuit territory, and want to be prepared with whatever information I can gather in advance so I can convince my partners not to think they can go there.

    If you could post a more specific URL I would appreciate it. Any other comments/ precedents would also be very much appreciated!

    Chris

  • bargain7624th October, 2007

    Hope this comes thru. It is the link to the Habitat Repurchase Agreement.

    http://lambda.duvalclerk.com/OnCoreWeb/showdetails.aspx?id=8800063&rn=8&pi=0&ref=search

    Hope this helps.
    [addsig]

  • ypochris24th October, 2007

    Bargain,

    Thank you very much! That link worked, and I think this will prove to be very helpful. I am forwarding it to the member who is instigating the idea that limiting the sale price is illegal immediately.

    Again, thank you for your effort!

    Chris

  • roberth1st May, 2006

    Get an environmental ASAP if there is contamination it could easily run into the hundreds of thousands to clean up. If you come out OK on the phase 1 you may have hit a gold mine. The good thing about mobilehome parks is the zoning which usually includes a high density for the property. I would be interested in looking into townhouses to build on this property if its in a half way desirable location. The fact that townhouses can have a "0" lot line this could possibly work out just great for you. I would make a call to the county and check into the amount of density this property can support. If you are on a well and have septics it will not be as good but if you are in the city and have city water and sewer you could make some serious money on a project like this.
    Good Luck,
    Robert
    [addsig]

  • alexanderwyoung20th July, 2006

    In response to the question above regarding grants for cleaning up things of this nature, they usually have matching requirements where you have to pony up a portion, but they do exist.

    Here in Wisconsin, among other things, we have the Brownfield SAG (Site Assessment Grant), and PECFA (Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Act) grants to assist with the costs of these things.

    So, if anyone else runs into this problem, check that avenue for some ching to assist you with your headaches. And find an expert wordsmith to help you write the grant application.

  • rglover5485th January, 2007

    Wow, this discussion is amazing. The tanks were removed and the building is old, and there will be an environmental assessment? Possible 50k rehabilitation? What a waste of cash and time. Hell i would have been more concerned with getting bit by something. I would have been more concerned with selling the land, but maybe it appears that u did do more investigation.

    I guess the trees could also fall on someones head and u could get sued for a couple hunderd grand...anythings possible

  • John_Carter5th January, 2007

    Your comments and observations add so much to this "amazing discussion". Thanks!

  • dman141325th January, 2008

    John
    You are right! This is a facinating subject. This is the same train of thought that I have posted on the residential side.
    Chris, one of the things I have found, at least in Missouri, is that joint and severable action is back dateable to any property owner to the date of occurance "with out regard to succesor knowledge or culpability."
    Sounds like "deep pocke theory of law"!
    Jim

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