As the saying goes when raising children: “It takes a village…,” The same can be said of working to create affordable housing in Vermont. The Loan Fund has many partner organizations with whom we work; the Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) in Burlington is one of our oldest and strongest partners.

CHT was born in 2006 as the result of a merger between the Burlington Community Land Trust and the Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation which were both established in 1984. CHT, a membership-based, non-profit organization committed to creating and preserving perpetually affordable housing and vital communities in northwest Vermont.

Most folks think that “affordable housing” only consists of creating multi-family residential developments or apartment buildings, but in Vermont, with our small towns and villages, it often also takes the form of rehabilitating older single-family homes for sale at an affordable price and in perpetuity. The Champlain Housing Trust is one of many regional housing organizations that specialize in putting families in safe and affordable homes.

Affordable housing has been and remains a very tough challenge for low- to middle- income Vermonters no matter where they live. The median cost of a home in Vermont in 2007 rose to $201,000, a 2% jump from the previous year and a staggering 101% increase since 1996.  To purchase that median-priced home (30-year mortgage with 5% down), a Vermont household would need an annual income of more than $65,000; 65% of Vermont’s households have annual incomes below that figure.  The growing gap between home prices and Vermont families’ income has driven a massive upswing in foreclosures, which are up 41% from this time last year alone.

In 2008, VCLF made a loan to CHT to purchase a couple of older single-family residences throughout Chittenden County. One, near Battery Park in downtown Burlington, has been recently renovated from its original status as a duplex into a roomier, energy efficient single-family home.  The 100 year-old home had been through many additions and was not maintained well by its previous owners.

CHT did something they don’t often do with such a property:  they bought it outright, made the appropriate renovations and hope to sell it this spring or summer. “Normally we find a buyer first,” explains Rob Leuchs, CHT’s Shared Equity Programs Manager, “but this time we took the risk and bought the property first, thanks to the Loan Fund.” CHT needed capital to make the necessary repairs while keeping the property affordable when it comes time to resell. As of this writing, the property is just past the 50% completion phase, and hopes to be completed by the end of April 2009.

“The easiest part was working with the VCLF because they are very flexible,” Leuchs says. “This was a more complicated project but VCLF always works to come up with a workable solution.”

Typically, CHT will take the time to find an eligible family for a home or affordable housing community that already exists. “VCLF also helps us buy time so we can find eligible families,” says Community Relations Director Chris Donnelly. “We have literally found dozens of low- to moderate- income Vermonters directly because of the help we receive from VCLF.”

This partnership impacts families and communities in all corners of our state. “VCLF’s thorough understanding of our work, commitment to our mission and appreciation of our track record makes them a valued partner to us,” says CHT Executive Director Brenda Torpy. “And because of that, people have places to live that are safe, secure and affordable.”