Who is part of our community?

The Chaffee Housing Trust was created in response to the growing affordability gap for most middle-income residents of the county.  We are a nonprofit, community-directed organization, and we follow the nationally-tried and -tested Community Land Trust model of dual ownership.  (See the About land trusts page or go to Burlington Associates' website, www.burlingtonassociates.com, for detailed information on CLTs.)

To make sure that affordability is maintained in perpetuity, ownership of the land will be held by the Chaffee Housing Trust, while ownership of all buildings and improvements will be held by residents. This arrangement, bound by a lease agreement and resale formula, guarantees that the CHT homes will stay affordable to successive owners in the same income bracket.  When the cost of the land is removed from the home cost, residents can afford to purchase their homes, and they can realize the equity benefits and satisfactions of ownership.

Through partnerships with the Chaffee Housing Trust (CHT), homeowners will receive the education and support they need to be successful in managing property and a mortgage.  When residents are ready to move on to the open market, they can sell their property to qualified candidates through the CHT, realizing some equity for themselves but retaining affordability for the community. 

In this way, the CHT creates an accessible middle rung in the ladder to the American dream.