Managing Resales
Presenters:
Emily Higgins, Burlington CLT
Etta Habegger, Thistle CLT
National Community Land Trust Conference
Portland, OR
August 17, 2005
Steps in the Resale Process
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Before sale: educate owners
Sale: owner notifies CLT of sale
Price: setting the Limited Resale Price
Marketing: finding a qualified buyer
Buyer: the sales contract
Pre-closing: working with clients, partners and
funding sources
Closing: who attends?
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After closing: data entry, file cleanup
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Burlington CLT
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Started in 1984 through municipal seed grant
Parent organization of a NeighborWorks®
HomeOwnership Center
Statistics
 Over 350 community land trust homes in threecounty area (200 condos, 6 duplexes, 144 houses)
 Also have 270 below-market rental apartments,
125 Co-op apartments, and Commercial and nonprofit facilities
 CLT has over 2,500 members
 Approx. 150 resales, 1987-present
Thistle CLT
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Part of Thistle Community Housing, a non-profit
CDC with homeownership through the CLT and
rental homes
Statistics
 217 homes throughout Boulder County, Colorado
primarily in 3 cities)
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Scattered Sites - 5 houses, 4 townhomes
Sunnypoint - 15 condos
Buena Vista - 39 condos, 10 townhomes
Mapleton – 135 mobile homes
Inclusionary zoning condos – 9 condos
 47 resales, 1998 - present
(wor
Working with potential buyers
Criteria:
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General homebuyer education course and
individual counseling – can be provided by
CLT or partnering agency
CLT-specific education - group or individual
meetings – include info about CLT model,
available homes, eligibility, CLT process
Required application for income verification
Potential buyers - criteria (cont.)
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Screening process can include income and
asset certifications
CLTs can require minimum available funds
and investment in home
Financing - buyer qualifies with lender (may
include down payment assistance programs)
CLTs can restrict buyers to first-time buyer or
not owning other residential property at time
of CLT purchase
Beginning the Resale
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Homeowner informs CLT they want to sell
CLT sends template letter explaining process
Must have written notice of intent to sell;
clear expectations re timing are helpful
Structure: CLT can purchase directly from
seller (elect to exercise purchase option). If
not, then sale occurs directly between seller
and qualified buyer.
Sales Price
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CLTs may structure their resale formulas in
a number of ways, e.g.
• Appraisal based
• Index based
• % increase
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Qualified capital improvements may be
allowed
The CLT may take a Lease Reissuance Fee
Realtors’ sales commissions may be allowed
Price Example - BCLT
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Order fair market “fee simple” appraisal to
determine current value
Subtract old appraised value from new
appraised value to determine appreciation
Option price calculation: BCLT takes fee from
appreciation and determines grant and
mortgage for new buyer
Appraisal and calculation to seller
Marketing Options
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Notify qualified applicants
Website with “homes for sale”
Flyers, postcards
Local papers
Counselors, housing and community
partners, homebuyer classes
Open Houses, showings of home
Current CLT owners and clients
Buyer Selection
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Selection process to determine buyer –
options include “first come, first serve,”
lottery, creating a score based on criteria
Prioritization may include:
Income - % of Area Median Income (AMI)
# in household
Ability to secure loan
Live or work where CLT home is located
“The Deal”
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Sales Contract
• BCLT: Sign Tri-Party Purchase and Sale
Agreement (Seller, BCLT, Buyer)
• Thistle: Sales contract between Seller and Buyer;
use CLT Sales Contract Addendum
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Timeframe set for inspection, financing,
closing
Details of deal to attorneys, lender, funders,
title company, Realtors (if involved)
Tracking sheets are key
Pre-Closing
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Review financing: GFE, TIL, loan app.
Inspection: CLT can negotiate repairs with
seller, buyer
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Identify Resources for rehab needs, e.g.:
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– BCLT has stewardship fund (20% of fees) to help
with big ticket repairs
– Revolving loan fund for rehab costs
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Legal document review meeting
Closing
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CLT staff should attend
Sign legal docs, bring funds if needed, gift
bag to happy buyer!
Take copies of all documents signed by CLT
and HUD-1
Proceeds check – deposit 
After Closing
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Clean up file: have consistent order
Summary sheet of the deal
Data into tracking databases
Notes about buyer for future story?
Make sure CLT gets original recorded
documents back!
Stay in touch with new owner (e.g. Thistle
does a check in 3 months after purchase)
Tips
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Stay organized: have tracking systems and
clear procedures
Try to document steps so they can be
duplicated: manual, samples
Clear communication about who does what
during process: coordination internally, with
clients and other partners
Clear policies and process for exceptions :
managers, board, committee?
Presenters
Emily Higgins, Burlington CLT,
Burlington VT
ehiggins@getahome.org
www.getahome.org
 Etta Habegger, Thistle Community
Housing, Boulder, CO
ehabegger@thistlehousing.org
www.thistlehousing.org
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