Contributing to our Community Land Trust by selling or donating property is a powerful way to support affordable housing and community development. Your generosity helps us create more opportunities for families to thrive in a supportive, inclusive environment.

Julia Lohla is an Indianapolis mother of two who lives in a rapidly gentrifying part of Irvington. Her family bought their home in 2018 for approximately $200k and today it's worth about $300k. She approached Indy Community Land Trust with interest in selling her house to the CLT for what they originally bought it for so another family can enjoy the home like they did. They will also be eligible for a charitable tax deduction for the difference between the sales price and appraised value which they can claim over five years (potentially about $100k).

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"For me, a CLT feels like a breath of fresh air, and a no-brainer. When I first learned about the concept back when I took a course in urban planning several years ago, it made a lot of sense to me and I was enthusiastic about it. But I’ve also since read a little more about the history of CLT’s in the US , and it’s a little depressing how long it took for the ideas to get off the ground and to spread and grow. 

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The problem is not in the CLTs- the problem is that the current market system for buying and selling houses is SO strong. When you go to buy or sell a house, you can immediately start drowning in all the parts of the process that are made to feel inevitable- so you don’t even realize there could possibly be another way. 

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I commend the coalition that has come together to create the Indy CLT for coming up against those forces and doing the hard, detailed behind-the-scenes work to make this a reality. I am also heartened and motivated by the fact that there are so many very large and very successful CLTs in other parts of the country- and the world- that have led the way and shown us that this can be done, and that a housing market can be based on things other than exploitation and profit. For Indy’s CLT to grow and thrive, it’s honestly not even asking that much of regular people. 

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You don’t have to go far out of your way and your comfort zone, or change your whole lifestyle- to sell your house slightly less than market rate- or to buy a house where the land it’s on will be entrusted to a CLT. And I know there are plenty of sellers out there who are just as concerned and alarmed as I am about the state of housing in Indianapolis- and it’s exciting to know there’s now an option for sellers to be able to sell in a way that can actually build up our community instead of contributing to an ever-growing, and ever-bursting, housing market bubble."