Own Door · a prototype for state and city housing leaders
Three Doors, Three Deeds
Rehabilitate a Boston triple-decker, one basic spec on every floor, and sell each floor as its own condo to a first-time buyer. Three doors, sometimes four. Each buyer gets a deed and a mortgage. No tower, no co-ownership agreement, no seven-year approval process.
Is it time to get your own door?
What color will you paint it?
Pillar: the problem inventory
Boston families are priced out in several ways at once
Each row is a separate barrier, with the evidence we found and how this model responds. Where a figure is our own assumption, it says so.
The affordability gap
City of Boston, Co-Purchasing Pilot page: 2024 median market-rate 2BR condo about $790,000. A median-income household (about $106,000) can buy about $500,000 after all City help. Only 12% of 2024 sales were under $500,000.
The pipeline is shrinking
432 units permitted in Boston in Q1 2026, down from 549 a year earlier and 642 in Q1 2024.
The 30-year mortgage rate averaged 7.28% on October 1, 2026, up from 6.34% a year earlier.
Bisnow, Sept. 2026 (permits); Trading Economics, Oct. 2026 (mortgage rate).
| Barrier | What the evidence says | How the model responds |
|---|---|---|
| Prices vs. incomes | A median-income buyer tops out near $500K while a market 2BR condo is near $790K. | Rebuilt homes presold from $375K to $575K. |
| Borrowing costs | Rates above 7% for several weeks. Income-based rate discounts exist for first-time buyers. | The household tool applies the discount tier for each income. |
| Down payment and closing costs | 55% of respondents to the City's survey said they lacked savings for the down payment and closing costs. One survey respondent noted that co-owners lose the first-time buyer programs they would qualify for alone. | Separate deeds and mortgages keep each buyer eligible as an individual. |
| New construction cost | About $651K per unit across a dozen subsidized Boston proposals (2024). Market-rate projected at $500K to $600K. High-rise up to $1M per unit (Sept. 2026). | Rebuild what is already standing: no land to assemble, no tower, and homes priced for first-time buyers. |
| Time | A housing-over-library project in Boston: program launched 2018, occupancy estimated March 2027. | About 11 months from purchase to move-in (assumption). |
| Family-sized homes | Only 39% of 3+ bedroom homes in 13 Greater Boston communities house a family with a child. Nearly 1 in 10 families with children live in overcrowded conditions (2012 to 2016 data). | A family-size layout: three 4-bedroom homes using a rear addition. |
| Confusing rules | The City's program tests for no home ownership in the past three years. Fannie Mae's definition adds exceptions for displaced homemakers and single parents. Buyers often do not know which applies to them. | A plain-language readiness check, below. |
| Co-purchasing is hard to start | The City pairs its pilot with mediation help to write co-ownership agreements, because shared title is legally complex. | Each buyer gets their own deed, mortgage and right to sell. |
Sources: City of Boston Co-Purchasing pilot page; WBUR, Jan. 9, 2024; Bisnow, Sept. 2026; MAPC, Feb. 2020; City of Boston First-Time Homebuyer page; Fannie Mae Selling Guide. Full links under Sources.
The model
Buy it, rebuild it once, sell each floor to its own owner
The City's co-purchasing pilot lets households share one mortgage on a 2- or 3-family. This model gets to the same place another way: separate condos, so nobody needs permission from a co-owner to sell.
Condo path vs. the co-purchasing pilot
| City co-purchasing pilot | This model (condos) | |
|---|---|---|
| Deed | Shared by the co-owners | One deed per buyer |
| Mortgage | One mortgage with all households on it | One mortgage per buyer |
| Selling | Governed by the co-ownership agreement | Sell any time, like any condo |
| Agreement needed | Co-ownership agreement | Standard condo documents |
| City contribution | Up to $50,000 (up to 100% of area median income) or $35,000 (up to 135%) | 3% of price up to $50,000, or 2% up to $35,000, under the City's first-time homebuyer program |
| Assistance terms | City first-time buyer assistance: a grant for Boston residents; a 0% deferred loan for non-Boston residents (from Sept. 15, 2026) | Same City assistance; this prototype proposes making public money repayable (see Funding) |
| Property | Existing 2- or 3-family, one vacant unit per household | Rebuilt 3-family, with a fourth home or a rear addition if zoning allows |
City of Boston Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program page and First-Time Homebuyer Program page.
Pillar: affordability
Four households, one question each: can they buy?
Pick a household and change its income. The tool picks the income band, the rate discount and the City contribution that apply, then checks the monthly payment and the cash needed at closing. These are fictional households.
Change the assumptions
Under 80% of area median income: largest rate discount, 3% down. 80% to 100%: smaller discount, 3% down. 101% to 135%: no rate discount, 5% down with mortgage insurance. Above 135%: not eligible for City contributions. All households are assumed to be current Boston residents.
Pillar: education
Are you ready to buy? Find out in two minutes.
Answer what you can. The checklist updates as you go and tells you the next step. Your answers stay on this page unless you choose to share them, anonymously, with the button at the end. Nothing is required.
How programs define a first-time buyer
- City of Boston: you have not owned a property in the past three years. The page lists no exceptions.
- Fannie Mae: no ownership in the past three years, plus displaced homemakers and single parents who owned only jointly with a spouse during that time.
- What to ask: "Do any exceptions apply to me, and which definition does this program use?" Many people who think they do not qualify do.
Passing your home on to your children
Many first-time owners assume the family would have to sell if a parent dies. Often that is not the case.
- The mortgage. Federal law generally stops a lender from demanding the full loan because the home passes to a spouse or children, or to a relative after the borrower dies. The family still has to keep making the payments. If an owner dies, call the mortgage company soon and ask what it needs from you.
- A plan, and probate. A will names who gets the home, but the home then goes through probate. A transfer-on-death deed, which works like a named beneficiary on an account, would let it pass to a child without probate. As far as we found, Massachusetts does not allow one today, and a bill to add it has been filed. Today's ways around probate are a revocable trust or owning the home jointly. Each has trade-offs for control, taxes and your lender, so talk to a lawyer before you change the title.
- Divorce. The same law protects a transfer to a spouse under a divorce settlement.
- Public down payment loans. Some are due when the title transfers. Ask in writing, before you close, what happens if the home passes to a child or spouse.
- Keep the papers together. The deed, mortgage statements, condo documents and insurance, and who in the family knows where they are.
Garn-St Germain Act, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d), for homes with fewer than five units. Rules can depend on the loan and on whether the owner lived in the home. This is education, not legal advice.
What is your biggest hurdle?
One question. Nothing is sent unless you press Share.
Resources, no sign-up needed
Your credit reports, at no costAnnualCreditReport.com is the source authorized by federal law. Weekly reports from all three bureaus.
- Pull all three reports: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- Check names, addresses and any account you do not recognize.
- Dispute errors in writing. Fixes can take weeks, so start before you apply.
Improve your creditNational Foundation for Credit Counseling: nonprofit counselors for credit, budgeting and debt.
- Ask for a budget and credit review. You can do this long before you are ready to buy.
- Ask what the counselor charges, up front.
- Bring your credit reports and a list of monthly debt payments.
Homebuyer educationCHAPA lists approved Homebuying 101 courses. The certificate is required for City programs.
- Pick an approved Homebuying 101 provider.
- Ask whether classes are online or in person, and what they cost.
- Keep the certificate. Lenders and City programs ask for it.
City of Boston first-time buyer programIncome limits, contribution amounts and the application checklist.
- Find the income limit for your household size.
- Check how the City defines a first-time buyer. It asks whether you owned a home in the past three years.
- Confirm the current contribution amount. Programs change.
Participating lendersCity programs require one of its approved lenders.
- Choose from the approved list before you apply.
- Talk to at least two lenders and compare fees and rates.
- Ask about rate discounts for first-time buyers.
FTC: how to get credit reports safelyLook-alike sites can sign you up for paid memberships. Start here.
- Free report sites that ask for a credit card may enroll you in a paid plan.
- Use the official source, AnnualCreditReport.com.
- If you were charged by mistake, the FTC page explains what to do.
Spanish-speaking agents and lendersNAHREP, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, has a Boston chapter of real estate and mortgage professionals.
- Ask for agents and lenders who speak your language.
- Ask the Boston chapter about homebuyer events.
- Every buyer, in any language, can use the same programs.
Your homebuying checklist
Tick items as you finish them. This is saved only on this device, so you can come back and pick up where you left off.
Pillar: overlapping costs
What stacks up on a new building
New construction stacks land assembly, layers of public funding, compliance and a long approval process, and each layer adds cost and time. Rebuilding what is already standing skips most of them. The chart sets reported costs to build a new unit next to the price a buyer would pay for a rebuilt home here.
Cost to build a new unit vs. the price of a rebuilt home
New-construction figures are reported development costs per unit: Bisnow (Sept. 2026, high-rise); WBUR (Jan. 2024, subsidized average, library-housing project, market-rate projection); state homeownership development funding notice (2025 round, per-unit cost preference). Rebuilt homes are shown at the buyer's presale price, an assumption in this prototype.
Where costs overlap on new construction
- Land. In a built-out city, a site has to be found and assembled before anything is built.
- Funding. Affordable projects often stack several public sources, each with its own rules, application and timeline.
- Compliance. Each source adds reporting and standards that add cost.
- Approvals. Large buildings draw a community process that can add years.
- Height. Where land is scarce, buildings go up, and cost per unit rises with each story.
Our summary of the reporting cited at left. The small-building route has its own hurdles, listed under What it takes.
Ten triple-deckers or one 30-unit building?
Pillar: delays
About a year, not about a decade
The comparison below is one real example against this model's schedule. It is not an average of large projects. The risks that could stretch the small-building schedule are shown too.
Months from program start to move-in
Library-housing example: WBUR, Jan. 9, 2024 (program launched 2018; occupancy estimated March 2027). This model: design and permits, construction and sell-out months from the assumptions.
What could slow the small model
Zoning relief for a fourth unit or rear addition and the sprinkler rule (MGL c.148 §26I) are the two biggest unknowns. Confirm both with Boston ISD and Fire before buying.
Pillar: affordability, continued
Make public money come back
A Down Payment Contribution that is repaid when a home is sold or refinanced can fund the next family's door. Here is what the City does today and two ways to build on it.
What the City does today
- Boston residents: the assistance is a grant, up to 3% of the price (maximum $50,000) at incomes up to 100% of area median income, or 2% (maximum $35,000) from 101% to 135%.
- Non-Boston residents: from September 15, 2026, the assistance is a 0% deferred loan, repayable on transfer, refinance or sale, secured by a mortgage and note.
- The City page lists no shared appreciation and no resale terms.
City of Boston, First-Time Homebuyer Program page, read Oct. 14, 2026. Confirm current terms with the Boston Home Center.
Three ways to fund the gap
| Structure | The public gets back | The buyer keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Grant | Nothing | All of the appreciation |
| 0% deferred loan | The amount lent, on sale or refinance | All of the appreciation |
| Shared equity | The amount lent plus a share of the appreciation | The rest of the appreciation |
Real example: California's Dream for All lends up to 20% of the price (maximum $150,000) at 0%. The 2026 round takes 15% of the gain at lower incomes and 20% above, with the state's gain capped at 2.5 times the loan, per a May 2026 report we have not confirmed with the agency. At least one borrower must be a first-generation buyer, a test Own Door does not propose, and it made more than 1,700 loans in fiscal 2024-25 (CalHFA, Aug. 2025). Its handbook says the loan is not assumable and is due on a transfer of title, and it does not address death or inheritance.
Try it: what comes back for 40 homes
Forty homes is ten buildings with four homes each. Shared equity moves a share of the buyer's gain to the public fund, which trades a little wealth-building for more homes. Lender acceptance and resale rules are design choices for lawyers and policy makers.
Built for life changes
People move, marry, divorce, get sick, have children and die. The buyer should be able to move up, or to stay for good and pass the home on.
| What happens | What should happen | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Move up or move away: a job, a bigger family, a new town | Sell like any condo. The public share is repaid, and the buyer keeps the rest of the gain for the next home. | Proposed terms |
| Stay for good | Nothing is due while the home is lived in. The home builds family net worth and can be left to children. | Proposed terms |
| Death of an owner | A spouse, child or other relative who inherits and lives there keeps the home. The public loan stays deferred. They still have to make the payments. | Federal rule covers the mortgage; public loan terms proposed |
| Divorce | The spouse who keeps the home can keep it. A transfer in a divorce settlement should not make the public loan due. | Federal rule covers the mortgage; public loan terms proposed |
| Disability or job loss | A hardship pause on the public loan, plus a call to a housing counselor before a missed payment. The loan carries no interest, so waiting costs nothing. | Proposed terms |
Federal law (Garn-St Germain, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)) bars a lender from calling a home loan due on a transfer to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or under a divorce settlement, for homes with fewer than five units. Whether it reaches a public second loan is a question for a lawyer, and it does not remove the need to make payments. Talk to a lawyer about your own situation.
Pillar: overlapping costs, continued
Where do local housing dollars go?
Developers pay linkage fees or build income-restricted homes, and towns collect Community Preservation Act money. Residents deserve to see a ledger: dollars in, dollars out, homes delivered. Here is what we found.
| Source | What the public numbers say | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Boston linkage fees (Neighborhood Housing Trust) | $268.4M collected since 1987, including $17.9M in 2024. Funded 10,433 new and 6,357 preserved income-restricted units. Rules: units for households at or below 80% of area median income, and homeownership units stay affordable at least 50 years. | Boston does publish this. Its 2025 report gives two different unit totals (16,420 and 16,790) and two different size thresholds (50,000 and 100,000 square feet). Can the numbers reconcile, and what did each home cost? |
| Boston inclusionary payments (IDP Fund) | $24.3M collected from 35 projects in 2023 and 2024. Funded projects completed 2,849 units from 2000 to 2024, 319 of them ownership. | Ownership is about 1 in 9 of the units funded. Can small-building rehabilitation for buyers be an eligible use? |
| Community Preservation Act (towns) | Each adopting town must spend or set aside at least 10% of its CPA revenue for community housing. About 195 of 351 towns have adopted the CPA, and 70 of those, 36%, spent or set aside less than 10% on housing (Greater Boston Real Estate Board and Tufts, 2023). The typical town puts 14% of CPA spending into housing. | What did your town collect, what did it spend on housing, and how many homes did that create? Is anything banked? |
Sources: City of Boston, Income-Restricted Housing report (2025); City of Boston Neighborhood Housing Trust report (2017, rules); WBUR, June 7, 2023, citing the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and Tufts. We have not audited any of these figures.
Waiting for a home that does not exist yet
Buyers apply to lotteries for homes that have not broken ground. Inclusionary rules set aside a share of a project's homes, and the rest sell at market. Rebuilding existing buildings produces homes in about a year, so a family can plan around a date.
Inclusionary set-aside shares vary by town and project.
The ask
- A standard public ledger for linkage, inclusionary and CPA housing dollars: money in, money out, homes delivered, cost per home.
- Allow those dollars to fund small-building rehabilitation sold to first-time buyers.
- Make public buyer assistance repayable or shared-equity, so the money funds the next home.
Pillar: bureaucracy
What needs to happen to launch this
The model works on paper at the starting assumptions. These are the changes that would make it repeatable.
| Ask | The barrier today | Who |
|---|---|---|
| A path to a fourth home in a rebuilt 3-family | A fourth unit likely needs zoning relief in most 3-family districts. Boston's by-right ADU rules are limited and still changing. | City zoning, ISD |
| A rear addition of about 9 feet for family-size homes | Rear-yard and floor-area limits may require a variance. Not verified for specific districts. | City zoning |
| Clear guidance on sprinklers | State law requires sprinklers in 4+ unit buildings "substantially rehabilitated so as to constitute the equivalent of new construction." A gut rehab plus a new unit may trigger it. The SJC has said the test is stricter than a major alteration, but each fire chief decides first. | Boston Fire, State Fire Marshal |
| A gap loan for buyers of rebuilt small condos | The City's pilot offers up to $50,000 in 0% deferred loans to co-owners. In the four households above, a gap. A similar loan for individual condo buyers would close those gaps. | Boston Home Center, state housing agencies |
| A presale commitment for buyer contributions | Buyers need to know months ahead that their City contribution and rate discount will be there at closing. | Boston Home Center, lenders |
| One first-time buyer definition | Programs use different tests. Buyers who qualify under an exception often do not apply. | City, state agencies, lenders |
| A small-building option in homeownership development funding | The state's for-sale development funding notice requires at least 10 deed-restricted homes per project and net new units, so one rebuilt triple-decker does not qualify. A scattered-site portfolio of 10+ homes could. | State housing agencies |
| An investor tax credit for rebuild-and-sell | The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (H.R. 2854 and S. 1686) would credit investors who rebuild homes sold to buyers at or below 140% of area median income. It has been introduced in several Congresses without passing, per the sources we found. A state version could move sooner. | Legislature, Congress |
| Repayable or shared-equity public assistance | The City's assistance is a grant for Boston residents. A deferred loan or shared-equity structure would return money to the fund so it can help more families. | Boston Home Center, state housing agencies |
| Family succession terms | Public assistance is repayable on transfer. A death, a divorce settlement or an inheritance by a child or spouse who lives in the home should not make it due. | Boston Home Center, state housing agencies |
| Transfer-on-death deeds for homes | Massachusetts does not allow them, per the sources we found, so a home left to a child goes through probate. A bill (H.2124, the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) has been filed; we did not confirm its status. Public assistance terms should also allow a trust or joint title for family. | Legislature, Boston Home Center |
| Local housing dollars open to small rebuilds | Linkage, inclusionary and CPA housing dollars mostly fund larger projects, and reporting varies by town. | City and town officials |
| A seller incentive | No such incentive exists today. A state credit or tax deferral for owners who sell 3-families that need rehabilitation into this program is a proposal only. | Legislature |
Why hasn't this been done at scale? Our analysis
- Subsidy programs are built for scale. Their minimum project sizes leave out one-building rebuilds.
- The closest federal credit has been introduced repeatedly and has not passed, per the sources we found.
- Ten small buildings mean ten closings, ten permits and ten sets of neighbors. Large developers and lenders prefer one big deal.
- Flippers sell at full price. Presale pricing for first-time buyers only works when a funder, a builder and a buyer pipeline line up. Lower-cost financing or grants would help.
- The fourth unit and rear addition meet zoning and fire code with no standard path.
- We did not find a program that does exactly this. Related efforts exist. That is not proof that nobody has tried.
Three ways to deliver it
Developer-led. A private team buys, rebuilds and presells. Buyers use existing City programs. Works today where zoning allows.
Nonprofit partnership. A community nonprofit holds title or screens buyers and runs education; a builder does the work. Adds resale protections if wanted.
Program operator with a tax credit. The state allocates a credit for about 30 homes city-wide. An operator coordinates acquisition, builders and buyers, and earns a management fee. Investors take the credit.
For property owners
Own a triple-decker you would rather not manage?
This model needs buildings. If you own a 3-family that is vacant or needs a lot of work and want a simple sale without listing it, tell us a little. A direct sale can avoid listing costs, showings and commissions, and terms are disclosed before you agree to anything.
About the incentive
Proposed, not available. A state tax credit or deferral for owners who sell into this program is an idea for lawmakers to consider. No such credit exists today. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation.
Buildings with tenants have different rules. This model is designed for vacant buildings and those that need a full rehabilitation.
This prototype does not collect anything. The form shows what a live version would ask.
Method and sources
How to read this prototype
Assumptions that need real data
- Presale prices ($375K for a 1BR, $575K for a 2BR, $700K for a 4BR) are assumptions to be confirmed against real purchase, rebuild and market numbers. The price reduction control shows what lower-cost financing or grants might allow.
- Rate discounts: the City announced larger discounts than an earlier lender schedule. The tool defaults to the larger and lets you switch.
- Income limits for household sizes other than two are scaled from the City's two-person figure.
- Eligibility and marketing are open to everyone who qualifies. Outreach in Spanish and other languages is language access, not a preference for any group.
- Zoning, sprinkler and rear-addition rules for a specific building must be confirmed with Boston ISD and Fire.
- Buyer figures assume current Boston residents who live in the home. Credit score minimums are set by lenders, not shown by the City.
Sources
- City of Boston, Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program
- City of Boston, First-Time Homebuyer Program
- WBUR, Boston housing over libraries and per-unit costs (Jan. 2024)
- Bisnow, Boston developers turn away from high-rise (Sept. 2026)
- MAPC, Crowded In and Priced Out (2020)
- Trading Economics, US mortgage rates (Oct. 2026)
- NCSHA, Neighborhood Homes Investment Act summary
- State homeownership development funding notice (2025 round)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide, first-time homebuyer
- MGL c.148 §26I (sprinklers)
- BMN Boston, FY2026 residential tax rate