Elm Slough CLT holds 69 acres of historically significant land in permanent trust — so that the families who live on it build real equity, real stability, and a home they can pass to their children. The land stays. The community stays. The mission does not change.
Once in the trust, this land cannot be sold, foreclosed upon, or taken. No single person's debt, no generation's decision, and no market force can remove it from the community it belongs to.
You own your home — the structure, the improvements, everything inside it. You build equity with every payment. You can sell, improve, and pass it to your children.
Every home at Elm Slough is priced below market — for the first family and every family after. The resale formula preserves what you received for whoever comes next.
"A family willing to put down roots deserves ground that cannot be pulled from beneath them."
The CLT separates land ownership from home ownership. The trust holds the land permanently. You hold the home. Here is how that plays out across the moments that matter.
Below-market price. Smaller mortgage. The land is already held by the CLT — you are not financing it. Monthly costs are designed for a working family's income.
A 99-year renewable contract recorded in Gonzales County deed records. Your rights are in writing — not goodwill. Occupy, improve, sell, inherit.
Every mortgage payment is yours. Approved improvements increase your resale value. When you sell, you receive your principal paid plus your share of appreciation.
When you sell, the next family buys at the restricted price — the same access you received. Affordability passes forward, generation after generation.
Elm Slough Community Land Trust was founded by a family with deep roots in Gonzales County — on land that has remained in their name through generations. The decision to form a CLT was not made quickly. It was made carefully, with the next hundred years in mind.
Located on County Road 342 in Gonzales County, South Central Texas — between San Antonio, Austin, and Houston. The land carries a history longer than any document records it. It has been farmed, ranched, and held by one family through circumstances that took most land like it from the people who built it.
Through the work of a single generation, clear and consolidated title to all 69 acres was brought into one name. That clarity made a choice possible: to protect this land permanently — not just for the family that holds it, but for every family that will call it home.
The Elm Slough CLT is being formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, governed by a family board, with deed restrictions written into the land itself. The cattle ranch that runs on the majority of the acreage funds the CLT's operations. The 5-acre housing pilot begins the community's residential future.
Families who live at Elm Slough will own their homes, build real equity, and pass that ownership to their children. The land beneath those homes will never be sold. The community will never be displaced. What took generations to build will not take one generation to lose.
The land is held in trust forever. No board decision, no outside pressure, and no market force can remove it. The deed restrictions that protect Elm Slough are written into the land itself — not into any organization that could be dissolved.
The CLT is governed by a family board with succession written into its founding documents. Governance passes from one generation to the next by family designation — not by outside appointment, government, or any other entity.
Homes at Elm Slough are priced for what families actually earn. The resale formula is not a restriction on wealth — it is a promise to the next family. Every resident benefits from what the one before them gave forward.
The CLT earns its operating income from the cattle ranch ground lease and resident ground lease fees. The community is designed to sustain itself — not depend on grants or goodwill to survive from year to year.
The CLT model separates land ownership from home ownership. That separation is what makes the price affordable, the protections permanent, and the community stable. Here is everything you need to understand.
The ground lease covers every situation you will face as a homeowner. Nothing is left to guesswork.
The CLT approves your plans, you finance and build the structure. You own it from day one. Your mortgage is smaller because you carry no land debt. Approved improvements increase your resale value.
The CLT builds and sells you the home at a restricted below-market price. Standard mortgage on the home only. Monthly costs — mortgage plus ground lease fee — are designed for a working family's income.
You can sell at any time. The CLT has right of first refusal at the formula price. If it declines, you sell to any income-eligible buyer. You receive your principal paid plus your share of appreciation.
You can refinance. Lenders place a lien on the home structure only. Major loan programs including FHA and Fannie Mae have CLT-compatible products. The CLT maintains a list of experienced lenders.
Before a lender can foreclose, they notify the CLT. The CLT has the right to cure the default on your behalf and work with you on a path forward. CLT homeowners have significantly lower foreclosure rates nationally.
Approved improvements are credited at resale, increasing what you receive when you sell. Notify the CLT before beginning significant work. Approval is straightforward — not a design committee.
Qualifying heirs inherit the home and assume the ground lease. If an heir does not meet income eligibility, a defined period — typically six to twelve months — is provided to qualify or sell at the formula price.
The resale formula is not a penalty. It is how affordability passes forward. Here is exactly what happens with each dollar.
Home purchased at $120,000 in 2024. Appraised at $160,000 in 2029. $40,000 total appreciation over five years.
The remaining 75% does not go to the CLT. It stays in the home — keeping the next family's price $90,000 below market. The CLT earns its income from monthly ground lease fees, not from your equity.