Affordable Homes Forever - OPAL Community Land Trust

Peak Moment 89: This land trust is creating permanently affordable homes amidst increasingly-expensive real estate on beautiful Orcas Island, Washington. Co-founder Michael Sky explains how they provide 99-year leases on the homes built on land trust property. Restrictions limiting the resale value allow owners to sell at a reasonable profit while keeping the homes affordable forever. [www.opalclt.org]

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• opal
• community
• land
• trust
• affordable
• housing
• orcas
• island
• economic
• justice

[lottube]

This is communism. What happened if more and more people happened to want to live there?

[peakmoment]

How is it communism?

People invest in and increase equity in their homes. They buy and sell them. If more people wanted to live there -- which I can well imagine -- they'd have to wait until somebody wanted to sell.

What they're doing is keeping housing affordable -- an alternative to disasters like these massive foreclosures happening all over America.

[lottube]

This is the problem: imagine this scheme were to be replied in large scale across US taking a huge share of housing market. Then, if you want to move, there would be tremendous red tape, multiple lines etc. Because you'd have to "wait until somebody moves out", there would be no incentive for people to move out (selling for a higher price) if a given place became "hot" (new military facility for instance).

I can barely imagine the situation of neighbourhooods selecting nexts neighbors.

[peakmoment]

If this were replicated in large scale, we'd have many more people who could afford to own homes. Whether there would be waiting to move in is a matter of supply and demand. If enough homes were available to meet the demand, then no problem. We wouldn't have the horrible situation we now have, where house prices are inflated and then crash.

[bryncomeaux]

Respond to this video... sheesh you people really frak out whenpeople want to do something different.Mabey it just thretans your bottom line. Mabey your whole system is built on the idea that if we dont pay out the nose at every turn we are going to loose our home. If we can get the land we can build ourhome then we can stand up to you low wages and high taxes without you making us homeless. You say work for me and give me the money or you will be the bum at tthe end of the off ramp.

[bryncomeaux]

@breezyage thisis why were geting screwed every day of our pointless lives. We work all day justr topay rent you want a cult try looking at the map of washington dc it all pentagrams diest and illuminaty mason crap now thats a cult! Do something that gets away from slaving to the system and youre labeled.Wellguess what the revolution does not take bullets or violence it takes telling peoplelike you to shut the f up!

[bryncomeaux]

@lottube even if it is communism why cant they b e bcommunist its a free country people like you love toinvoke the rights implied by the billofrights to make money but whenever someone exercise those same implied rights you call it communist so they supposed to be shamed intonot doing it.If me and my buddies eant to go in on some land were not capitalist.I got a word for you corporate pimp. Signed fed up hoein for the man.

[BbdHome]

@lottube wait a min? So within the "housing market" I don't have to wait for people to move out? I can buy a move into someone else house without them wanting to sell it or move out, oh of course I can, it's the free market housing crash, it's the tax payer funded police force evicting you from your house.

Look, if you're worried about "no incentive to sell" then use your freedom NOT to buy the house (at cheap) in the FIRST place.

[breezyage]

i smell a cult forming

[lottube]

I disagree. Population movements would become slower, and sooner rather than later polictical action to "protect" old housing would surge (why build a brand-new suburban development if the community doesn't want to grow).

It also would make eminente domain a pandemonium. It would create an unhealthy environment in which neighbors would become more involved with your own family matters.