Oakland land trust to offer affordable housing option in wake of foreclosures

"After the foreclosures started getting really bad about two years ago, those houses were just sitting there, and they got filled up with drug dealers and prostitutes," said East Oakland resident Beverly Williams, 61, a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, which is working closely with OakCLT.

"I am so elated," Williams said. "I was born and raised in Oakland. I spent the last 40 years in East Oakland, and I've seen its transition. It used to be pristine out here. "... What it comes down to is, you're responsible for your community. You can sit on your laurels and complain, or you can do something about it, and this is going to help revitalize our neighborhoods. I'm so happy today. I'm just floating."

Though thousands of people have lost their homes in the past two years, many of those families are unable to qualify even for purchase of a land trust house because their credit has been so decimated. Part of the trust's effort will be to help local low-income families repair and grow their credit ratings, OakCLT interim Executive Director Anne Griffith said.

Taking lead in that effort will be the Bay Area Home Buyer Agency, which will be setting up workshops to prepare potential buyers for what to expect from their purchase and educating them on how to repair or build their credit and plan for the future, said Walter Zhovreboff, a manager with the agency.

Annie Jean McKinzie, who moved to Oakland from Mississippi 44 years ago, said she lost ownership of her home and a rental property in 2008 and ended up with serious credit troubles of her own.

"That's why today is such a special day," McKinzie said. "I can't buy this home they're fixing up to sell, but I see in the future I could be able to, and I'm so happy for those who can. This is something we prayed for for so long."

Buying a home through a land trust can have drawbacks, some homeowners say. Felicia Duncan, 37, said she bought her West Oakland home seven years ago through the Northern California Land Trust and wouldn't make the same choice today. Restrictions on reselling the home prevent her from making much money on her equity.

Duncan's daughter was 7 when Duncan bought their 900-square-foot home, but now that the girl is a teenager, there simply isn't enough room, and Duncan plans to sell.

"If I was approaching retirement when I purchased it and thought this is where I will live forever, then it would work," she said. "But for a growing family, the restrictions are unfortunate."

Griffith said the restrictions are important because they ensure the money spent to create low-income housing will have a longer impact, guaranteeing the property is available for low-income residents in perpetuity.

"This model is not like investing in the stock market where when things go up you get that big upside," Griffith said. "It's a very steady and modest investment, but that also means the floor doesn't fall out from underneath you." OakCLT properties will have minimum annual appreciation of 2 percent, she added.