A 'Game Changer' for Homeowners

The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust breaks ground on the first of four houses in Church Hill

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Church Hill resident and homeowner Freda Bolling says that because of rising costs in housing, the rent for her former apartment is now higher than her current mortgage payment. Thanks to nonprofits and affordable housing initiatives, Bolling was able to buy her first home 11 years ago. She is the first single woman in her extended family to own a home, and she says that it's more than having a place to stay. 

“It gives you a sense of community, a place to plant roots and settle down. It frees you of the burden of unexpected housing costs. It means planting flowers in the yard or a vegetable garden in the back, hosting a cookout, sitting on the front porch drinking sweet tea,” says Bolling. “It is a sense of accomplishment and gratification knowing that you are leaving an inheritance for your children.”

Becoming a homeowner helped Bolling discover her passion in helping others do the same. After purchasing her home, she became a Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) certified first-time home buyer education trainer and taught classes at the East End library. She also obtained a certificate as a housing counselor and received her real estate license. She serves on the Better Housing Coalition’s board of directors and works for the Virginia Department of Health.  

“When a single person or family signs a deed to buy a home, it's more than buying a home,” says Bolling. “It quite possibly changes the trajectory of their life and the lives of generations to come.” 

She spoke Thursday as the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT) broke ground on the first of four homes in Church Hill. The community land trust model is intended to make home ownership more affordable by allowing the land trust to own the land beneath the house, removing the cost of the land from the price of the home. Bolling calls it “a game changer for homeowners now and for years to come.” 

Participating homeowners will pay a minimal lease fee to the land trust, while building equity. Under a land trust agreement, homeowners can have lower mortgage amounts, monthly payments and down payments, according to the MWCLT. 

The homeowners buy the house at a lower price than they would if the land value was included, and then receive half of the appreciation value when the home is later sold. 

The first community land trust in Richmond and only the second in Virginia, the MWCLT is named after Maggie Walker, a Richmond educator, businesswoman and the first woman to charter a bank, to honor her legacy and leadership, according to the MWCLT. The purpose of a land trust is to create housing that is affordable in perpetuity, says Laura Lafayette, chairwoman of the board of directors for the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust and chief executive officer of the Richmond Association of Realtors. 

“We want to preserve mixed-income neighborhoods, we want to provide long term residents with the option and ability to stay in their neighborhoods affordably,” says Lafayette. “We want to do our part to reduce blight and continue to spur revitalization. We want to take nonperforming assets and put them back on the tax rolls. That's really important. We also want to locate houses in upcoming neighborhoods and already established neighborhoods of opportunity. … Today we break ground and we will come back in early October and cut a ribbon and hand keys to homeowners.”

Seventh District Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille says that the land trust offers hope to residents in places like Mosby Court. the site of last week’s fatal shooting of a Virginia State Police special agent, one of six homicides in the public housing community this year.

“As I reflect upon those losses and my walk in Mosby Court with the mayor on Monday, I met a young mom who said, ‘I work two jobs, I pay $750 a month, I have three children and I'd love to have options.’ I knew that I could come here today and say that it's a great day in the district,” says Newbille. “Maggie Walker [Community Land Trust] has come to the district and has given us an opportunity to be a resource to that young mom and to others throughout our community, who are interested in being part of the revitalization that is going on here.” 

The Bon Secours Richmond Health System partnered with and helped fund the the land trust. Affordable housing creates health and wellness to families and their home environments, says Becky Clay Christensen, director of community partnership for Bon Secours  and MWCLT board member. 

“We believe that if a family has affordable housing, they have got money to deal with the other needs in life,” says Christensen, “such as buying medicine for their kids who get sick or buying healthy food. We also believe that if we have affordable, safe housing that children aren't going to get asthma as often. There's going to be wellness that comes out of that home environment that allows people to stay well. It's also pretty stressful to be rent burdened or house burdened, that can contribute greatly to behavioral health issues. Affordable housing contributes to wholeness and wellness and that is what Bon Secours cares about. This house will bring health and wellness to the first family and the family after that and so on, which is great.” 

Virginia Credit Union also partnered with and helped fund the land trust, providing a multiyear contribution as well as a $1 million line of credit to spur development, says Chris Shockley, the credit union’s president and CEO. 

Project:Homes will build the first MWCLT home through a partnership with the land trust. The home will be 1,680 square feet with three bedrooms. Lee Householder, CEO of Project:Homes says work on the home will begin immediately.