D.C. is launching a program to help public educators buy a house in the communities where they teach.
Teachers are among the most valuable residents, but many can’t afford to live in the neighborhoods where they teach.
“We’d love people to live closer to their work and the people they serve,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in announcing the city’s partnership with Landed, a West Coast company that helps educators afford home ownership in expensive areas, such as D.C.
“We don’t want them to spend so many minutes and hours of their lives in a car. That takes time away from their own families and extra time they want to be at school,” Bowser said during an event at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School.
Landed CEO Alex Lofton said the company matches up to $120,000 down payment to help educators afford a home.
“Landed is a second on the mortgage. You don’t owe any interest rate or money per month, or anything like that. It’s shared equity. There is the right for the shared investor to participate in some of the shared appreciation. But if you end up having to sell in a down market, we’ll take that loss,” he said, explaining how the program works.
The partnership with Landed is another part of Bowser’s workforce housing program, which rolled out a partnership with Eagle Bank last summer to offer city employees discounted interest rates on their mortgages.
