Cabrillo College on Tuesday became the first college in California to adapt a program created to help educators and school employees afford new homes.
Landed is a down payment assistance and homebuyer education program that provides half of the down payment on a home, up to $120,000 per family.
In exchange, buyers pay a portion of the change in the value of the home when the home is sold. These proceeds are re-invested to support the program.
The Landed down payment support is available to all faculty, staff and administrators who have worked for Cabrillo College for at least two years.
Cabrillo College President Matt Wetstein said the program was created to help Cabrillo employees beat the high cost of living in Santa Cruz County.
“We believe Landed will be a valuable solution to help improve our recruitment and retention by making homeownership more accessible, and we’re encouraged by the success that the program is already having for K-12 schools across Santa Cruz County,” he said.
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education started with the program in November 2017.
Since then, more than 500 Santa Cruz County K-12 educators have received home buying or financial wellness resources, and 12 Santa Cruz County educators have already successfully closed on homes, said Cabrillo College spokeswoman Kristin Fabos.
The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County become Landed’s first local investor in 2018. Bay Federal Credit Union provides mortgage lender services for the program.
“Growing up in Santa Cruz, I’ve seen the dramatic change in affordability and the need for new solutions to help educators be able to afford to build financial security,” said Landed Director of Partnerships Ian Magruder.
Since it was founded in 2015, Landed has helped nearly 200 educators purchase homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle, Fabos said.
The partnership with Cabrillo College is Landed’s first expansion into public colleges and universities in California.
For information, visit landed.com/signup.
