When Bob Opland retired from the U.S. Postal Service and his wife Betty lost her job with the state of Minnesota last year, they thought of downsizing from their five bedroom home to something smaller for them and their daughter Nicole.
And by a twist of fate, the couple stopped in at a Northern Communities Land Trust home open house and learned they qualified for purchasing a house through the trust, Opland said.
"I investigated the concept ... and it seemed like a good idea," he said. "A lot of people who are working would qualify, especially in Duluth."
The couple purchased their home through the Land Trust in November, and Opland was on hand this Wednesday afternoon to help the trust celebrate the completion of its 100 home at 1110 97th Ave. W.
The Land Trust is a program that helps low and moderate income people in Duluth purchase new or existing homes.
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The trust does this by offering home buyers down-payment and rehab assistance, which allows the home owner to purchase the home for less than the market value of the house.
The Land Trust then ensures the house will remain available to future low to moderate income home buyers in Duluth by retaining ownership of the land the house is built on. The homeowner pays the trust a nominal leasing fee for the land, and when the homeowner sells the house, he or she sells it for less than the current market price to another family.
The Northern Communities Land Trust was created in 1990 and modeled after other Land Trust programs elsewhere in the country, said Jeff Corey executive director of Northern Communities Land Trust.
The Duluth Land Trust was one of the early ones in the Midwest, said Steve O'Neil, one of the trust's founders.
"It's so exciting to have 100 homes after how hard it was to get started," O'Neil said.
There was some skepticism and a lot of nay-sayers to begin with and starting out just took some time, he said. "... In the last five years we just took off."
In the last six years, 92 of the 100 Land Trust homes were either built or bought, Corey said.
And since the Land Trust started, there have already been seven resales, he said.
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"There's 100 people living in Land Trust homes who are benefiting from our work," he said. "In 50 years people will still be benefiting, living in those same houses."
There are actually seven homes that could be considered the 100th home. Six of them will be closing within the next week, Corey said.
Several people visited the ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon to show their support of the work the Land Trust is doing in Duluth.
Any time there are new homes in Duluth, it's a good thing, said Russ Stover, city council member.
The trust supports a growing need in the city and in the nation, he said.
Opland agrees.
The trust is great for the city and for working people and retired people, Opland said.
The Oplands thought about buying a town house but those were too expensive, and they were able to pay off the house they bought through the trust through the sale of their old house.
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A lot about the Land Trust is just like buying a house on your own, he said.
"It's really an interesting concept," he said. "Maybe if you're working and not getting enough income, ... maybe this will help you get a home."
For more information about the Land Trust visit the Northern Communities Land Trust Web site at http://www.landtrustduluth.org/ .
