Kor Community Land Trust

TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AND PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FABRIC OF THE CENTRAL OREGON ECONOMY AND COMMUNITY.

KOR IS A NONPROFIT THAT CREATES SUSTAINABLE, AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP COMMUNITIES FOR CENTRAL OREGON'S WORKFORCE. BASED IN BEND, THE FASTEST GROWING MID-SIZE CITY IN AMERICA, KOR USES THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST MODEL TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHY, AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. IN THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST MODEL, HOMEOWNERS OWN THEIR HOME OUTRIGHT BY LEVERAGING A TRADITIONAL MORTGAGE, WHILE THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST OWNS THE LAND UNDER THE HOME AND LEASES IT BACK TO THE HOMEOWNER THROUGH A 99 YEAR RENEWABLE LAND LEASE. THIS ALLOWS THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST TO ENSURE THAT IF THE HOMEOWNERS SELL, THE HOME RESELLS TO ANOTHER INCOME QUALIFIED HOMEBUYER. THE ORIGINAL HOMEOWNER RECEIVES A FAIR RETURN ON THEIR INITIAL INVESTMENT WHILE HELPING FUTURE GENERATIONS HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOMES, LIKE THEY DID.KOR WAS FOUNDED IN 2015 BY TWO OREGONIANS WHO SAW TOO MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS DISPLACED BECAUSE OF THE COST OF HOUSING IN THE AREA. AT THE SAME TIME, TYPICAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING LACKED A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND THE COST SAVINGS AND HEALTH BENEFITS THAT COMES WITH IT FOR THE RESIDENTS. THAT'S WHY, KOR BUILDS ITS HOMES TO NET-ZERO STANDARDS. AS ENERGY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES BECOME MORE COMMONLY USED IN BUILDING STANDARDS, KOR'S HOMES WILL REMAIN THE GOLD STANDARD OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. KOR'S NET-ZERO ENERGY HOMES COUPLE PASSIVE ENERGY INNOVATIONS AND EFFICIENCIES WITH CLEAN ENERGY PRODUCTION TO ENSURE HOMEOWNERS HAVE A HEALTHY HOME AND THE UTILITY SAVINGS THAT COMES WITH IT.KOR COMMUNITIES PRIMARILY SERVE EXTREMELY-LOW AND LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, WITH A QUARTER OF ITS HOMES AVAILABLE TO MIDDLE-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. IN THIS WAY, KOR CREATES MIXED INCOME COMMUNITIES FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING BETWEEN 30% AMI TO 120% AMI. IN 2022, KOR EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT GROWTH - FROM ADDING 47 WEST-SIDE BEND HOMES TO ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING PIPELINE TO DOUBLING ITS ORGANIZATIONAL BUDGET AND CAPACITY. IN ADDITION, THE ORGANIZATION SHIFTED THE WAY IN WHICH IT BUILDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO BE MORE INNOVATIVE, NIMBLE, AND COMMUNITY-FOCUSED. KOR CREATED LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSEHOLDS WITH HOUSING INSTABILITY EXPERIENCE TO PROVIDE INPUT ON PROGRAMMATIC DIRECTION AND COMMUNITY DESIGN. WE LISTENED, DYNAMICALLY SHIFTING OUR PIPELINE TO OFFER FAMILY-SIZED HOMES, MORE DOWN-PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, AND PRIORITIZATION OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT OF HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR TOO LONG. KOR DEVELOPED PREFERENCES THAT GIVE PRIORITY TO OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE, FIRST-GENERATION HOMEBUYERS, AND LOWER-INCOME HOMEBUYERS TO INCREASE THEIR ACCESS TO OUR HOMES. KOR ALSO STEPPED UP OUR ADVOCACY TO SHARE THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED TO INFLUENCE POLICIES THAT HAVE THE POWER TO SHIFT THE QUALITY AND INTENTIONALITY OF AFFORDABLE HOMES BEING BUILT IN OUR COMMUNITY.