Shared Equity Homeownership

The Issue: Homeownership Is Out of Reach for Too Many Low-Income Families

As housing costs rise, it becomes increasingly difficult for low and moderate income families to find housing they can afford. Their current residences may be lost as affordability restrictions on rental properties expire and speculation pushes rents out of their reach. Homeownership is often a far off and too expensive dream.

Our Solution: Affordable Homeownership Through Shared Equity Strategies

NCB Capital Impact is well equipped to bring multi-family homeownership within reach of low to moderate-income families. Until recently, our focus was to achieve this goal primarily through Shared Equity models, such as cooperative housing.

Now, we promote a variety of shared equity strategies to help many families take their first steps to home ownership. These paths can lead to home ownership opportunities for those otherwise unable to afford to buy. In exchange for this opportunity, the new homeowner agrees that when they sell in the future, they will receive only a portion of the equity appreciation. This will keep the property affordable and enable future buyers the opportunity for home ownership.

Over the last few years, strategies including community land trusts and affordability restrictions related to inclusionary housing, along with cooperative housing, have substantially increased the availability of shared equity options for both developers and government policy makers to enable low- and moderate-income families to become homeowners.

To date, we have focused efforts in New York City, Washington DC and nationally on policy change. As we move forward, our plan is to continue to advise state and local governments on a national scale.

Our Tools:

To preserve and develop affordable housing, we employ technical assistance, training, policy advocacy, and predevelopment capital for experienced non-profit developers.

Impact:

In over 25 years of operation, NCB Capital Impact and our affiliate, NCB, have financed over $500 million supporting development of 30,000+ units of affordable housing.

Recent Achievements:

• In New York in 2007 alone, completed 211 units in 5 projects and commenced an additional 403 units in 8 projects.
• Developed cutting-edge co-op training curriculum. In 2007, the first ever DC Co-op Clinic attracted over 200 affordable co-op residents representing 27 different co-ops with a total of 1,200 units - see press release.
• Host of the 2008 DC Co-op Clinic on Sept. 6, 2008.
• Launched the DC Co-op Leadership Forum. The Forum attracts members from over 20 affordable co-ops to a series of monthly peer-to-peer training opportunities.
• Created affordable co-op homeownership video, HOME RUN.
• Co-hosted the Shared Equity Housing Symposium at the NeighborWorks National Training Institute in Portland, Oregon in December 2007. In attendance were over 250 community development professionals, local officials, lenders, developers and builders.
• Awarded HUD technical assistance contract in Metropolitan New York and Washington, DC.
• Secured funding from Fannie Mae Foundation, Surdna, Wells Fargo Foundation, MSN Fund/Cooperative Development Foundation and Bank of America Foundation.
• Hosted free webinar: "Turning Today’s Foreclosure Into Tomorrow’s Resource," on Oct. 30, 2008.

NCB Capital Impact is an affiliated non-profit corporation of National Consumer Cooperative Bank (NCB) providing financial and technical services both directly and indirectly through separate subsidiary LLCs. Housing development services are provided by NCB Community Works, LLC, jointly owned by NCB Capital Impact and NCB.

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