Building Equity in Small Multifamily Ownership

Program Strategy and Resources for Homebuyers

With a collaborative of partners, we are realigning systems to help long-time community residents build wealth as owner-occupant landlords of 2-4 unit buildings in their communities. We have adopted a two-pronged approach:

1. Address the constrained supply and high competition for 2-4 unit properties.

• Our collaborative is offering acquisition and construction loans to increase the supply of affordable 2-4 unit homes, building a pipeline of properties available for local owner-occupants to purchase. We prioritize loans to local BIPOC developers.
• Our collaborative offers rehab loans to local developers to ensure the existing stock of 2-4 unit housing is in good repair before new homeowners purchase/move in.
• We facilitate sales to homebuyers with the help of community partners.

Are you a developer interested in building or rehabbing 2-4 unit properties?

• Contact the Land Bank -Twin Cities to learn more about the Building Equity construction loan pool.
• Download these free-to-use architectural plans for energy-efficient, cost-effective duplexes.

2. Ensure homebuyers have access to capital and training to become successful homeowners and responsible landlords.

• Our collaborative works to provide owner-occupant landlord training alongside existing homeownership education programs and in community settings.
  • Interested buying a 2-4 unit home? Contact Hope Community to learn about their Community Ownership training cohort.
  • If you have already completed a homeownership education course, complete this owner-occupant landlord course online (takes less than 60 minutes!)
• We’re partnering with Build Wealth Minnesota to increase access to mortgage financing.
  • If you are interested in buying a home (either single-family or multifamily), learn more about 9000 Equities.
• Our collaborative is providing forgivable down payment assistance for qualifying homebuyers who have completed owner-occupant training.
  • Preparing to buy? Learn more about the Building Equity Down Payment Assistance Program.
• We are establishing post-purchase resources for new owner-occupant landlords, including:
  • 0% interest post-purchase loans for home repairs or improvements
  • A matched-savings program to help new homeowners build savings

To create equitable homeownership opportunities and reduce our region’s racial wealth disparities, the Building Equity initiative aims to serve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color homebuyers with low to moderate incomes. We partner with organizations that hold deep roots and relationships with BIPOC communities. BIPOC households are encouraged to apply for Building Equity programs.

We are grateful to have an amazing core group of partners who have worked with us to develop this concept and are critical to implementing this collaborative strategy: Hope Community, Build Wealth Minnesota, Model Cities, Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES), Rondo Community Land Trust, Land Bank Twin Cities, and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund. We also thank Center for Energy and Environment (CEE ), Prepare + Prosper, Wilder Research, and our network of referral partners: African Career Education and Resources (ACER), City of Lakes Community Land Trust, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Mni Sota Fund, Neighborhood Development Alliance (NeDA), New American Development Center, NeighborWorks Home Partners, PRG, and Urban Homeworks.

We look forward to building partnerships with more community organizations, local developers, lenders, financial educators, and municipal partners to advance this strategy and help us scale this work. Please contact Kirstin Burch to learn more about partnering with us!