Northshore Housing Initiative

Northshore Housing Initiative, NHI, is a community land trust, a community based organization committed to the permanent stewardship of land and the long-term affordability of workforce housing. Using a shared equity model, NHI helps moderate-income homebuyers purchase a home by investing in the land. The land is leased to the homebuyer by the trust with a long-term lease that includes a resale formula to ensure affordability is preserved for the next buyer.

Northshore Housing Initiative (NHI) operates two programs--as a Community Land Trust (CLT) and Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). Both programs are for the exclusive benefit of homebuyers earning less than 80% Median Household Income (MHI) as well as to ensure future affordability to low to moderate-income working families on the Northshore.

The CLT converts existing or new construction homes to permanent affordability by providing a land purchase subsidy. Once qualification is established, clients are able to buy a home for 80% of the purchase price with 20% provided as a land subsidy with a 99-year long term lease at $45 per month. Benefits to homeowners are numerous and include:
* Eliminates requirement for a down payment in purchasing home
* Eliminates cost of private mortgage insurance
* Affordable monthly housing payments (often significantly less than the cost of rent)
* Reduces property taxes
* Tax deductions as a homeowner (primarily mortgage interest and property taxes)
* Opportunity to build equity and offer inheritance to heirs

Benefits to Community:
* Creating a future with expanded options for homeownership
* Stabilizing our workforce availability (many people currently commute from outside of their parish of employment due to high housing costs)
* Improves quality of family life (families are no longer housing cost burdened or paying more for housing costs than they can afford)
* Preserves affordable housing for future generations on the Northshore (our children can afford to live in our community)
* Reduces rates of foreclosure

As a CHDO, NHI is able to bring additional HOME funds to the Northshore in order to develop and build new affordable housing. HOME is the largest federal block grant for state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households based on the needs and priorities in specific communities.

NHI helps make the dream of homeownership a reality for hardworking individuals and families on the Northshore!

"Owning a home embodies the promise of individual autonomy and is the aspiration of most American households. Homeownership allows households to accumulate wealth and social status, and is the basis for a number of positive social, economic, family, and civic outcomes."
Source: "Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing"--The Journal of the Center for Real Estate Studies (2017)