Buy a Home2026-07-09T10:30:02-05:00

Buy a Home

Here to Stay Community Land Trust builds and rehabs homes and raises funds so we can lower their price to what’s affordable for income-qualified families. By removing homes from the market, forever, homes are permanently affordable.

Learn about Here to Stay

  • To learn about the Here to Stay Community Land Trust, attend a 1 hour session.
  • Next English Information Session: Monday, October 19th- 7:00pm - 8:00pm
  • It is required as the first step to becoming a qualified buyer.
  • Participants are required to have their camera on and stay until the session ends.
  • The presentation will begin at 7:05, no one will be admitted after the session starts.

If you are having troubles with the link please email Lucy Gomez Feliciano at

lgomez@heretostayclt.org

What’s different about a community land trust home?

The purchase price is below market thanks to subsidies. Buyers purchase the home and lease the land through a ground lease outlining the guidance for the partnership between homeowners and Here to Stay, who owns the land. There is a $50 a month fee associated with the ground lease. 

If a buyer decides to sell, there is a resale formula outlined in the 99-year, renewable lease. It renews when there is a transfer of ownership.  The buyer  agrees to use the home as your primary residence, pay taxes and insurance, and maintain the home in good repair.

What’s the same between a market rate home and a Here to Stay home?

When a buyer purchases the home with a traditional fixed-rate mortgage from one of HTS’s partner banks, any equity earned on the principal is theirs when they sell. They also earn a percentage of the home’s appreciation as defined in Here to Stay’s resale formula. This allows families to build wealth, and when a homeowner/s passes away, the home can be passed down to their heirs.

What do Here to Stay homes look like?

The majority of our homes/condos are among the existing housing stock, such as workers cottages, bungalows, and two flats. Here to Stay will break ground on new construction fall of 2025, for a 6 unit condo building in Logan Square, built on a donated piece of land.

I would like to see what is available for sale.

Available homes are only shown to qualified buyer/family. A qualified buyer/family is shown a home that matches family size to bedrooms.

How do I learn more about Here to Stay?

Attend a one hour Here to Stay information session, offered once a month (virtually).

How do I become a qualified buyer?

  1. Attend a Here to Stay information session (one hour, virtual).
  2. Must be a first time home buyer (not owned in the last three years).
  3. Meet with a Here to Stay to determine if you income qualify, see chart below.
  4. Earn a HUD certificate, free class for first time home buyers.
  5. Attain a pre-approved letter for a mortgage from one of our partner banks. 
  6. It is not Here to Stay’s policy, our bank partners require everyone on the mortgage to have a social security number.
  7. Down payment of 1% to 3% of the purchase price. This will be determined by the bank and/or downpayment assistance.​

A family can not earn more than 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). Income for everyone 18 years and older is included. Income is counted using total gross (before taxes). This table has more information

Frequently Asked Questions (click each one for answer)

I’m having difficulty signing up for an information session.2025-07-25T10:37:04-05:00

If you need help, contact Lucy Gomez-Feliciano, Community Engagement Director at lgomez@heretostayclt.org.

If I am a HTS homeowner and want to transition into a bigger or smaller home, will I be allowed to?2025-07-02T10:49:02-05:00

Here to Stay makes an exception for current homeowners to transition to another HTS home, since you are no longer a first time homeowner. You will be required income to qualify, sell your current home and apply for a new loan and match family size and bedrooms.

If the home is mine, will I be able to do anything I want to it?2025-09-29T13:25:00-05:00

Guidelines are outlined in the ground lease that is signed at closing. You cannot refinance the property without permission from Here to Stay. There is a resale formula. Here to Stay homes can never be sold on the market, to keep them affordable for the next family, for generations to come. If you do major renovations or improvements there is no return in investment at the time of sale. At the time of sale, the homeowner will receive 20% of the shared appreciation, as outlined in the ground lease in addition to any equity earned (via down payment and principal paid on mortgage).

What are the advantages of buying a home in Here to Stay CLT?2025-07-02T10:48:09-05:00

  • Purchase price is lower than the market. 
  • Lower property taxes, they are assessed at the affordable price, not the current market value.
What does it mean to buy a home through the Here to Stay CLT?2025-07-02T10:47:50-05:00

A home buyer buys the building (home) and leases the land underneath from Here to Stay. Because the buyer is only buying the building, not the land, Here to Stay is able to reduce the cost of the home.  Buyers must sign a ground lease that is recorded with the deed, with Cook County.

What is a community land trust?2025-07-02T10:47:31-05:00

A community land trust (CLT) is a form of ownership in which the land of a property is held in a trust owned by a community-led nonprofit organization. The property is permanently removed from the market.

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