IAPD, United States – Over the past few months the International Association for Peace and Economic Development has looked into the challenges of providing affordable housing for people. We have looked into the current homeless crisis that is pervasive in areas such as San Diego, California. We have also explored the problems that people face in building wealth through capital ownership. Owning capital in the form of shares, real estate or a business is one of the primary methods of growing a person’s security and wealth. Today, American renters barely make enough to survive, much less save.
On June 18, 2024, IAED hosted a webinar with an investment company called Roots, which has a unique investing ecosystem where commerce meets community. It provides a platform for those who have the resources to invest and make great returns, while creating an opportunity for those traditionally left out, the renters, to build wealth through a program called “Live In It Like you Own It.”
Roots works to transform the traditional renter-landlord relationship and build a more balanced world. Its residents have the opportunity to become owners and partners the day they move in with zero out-of-pocket costs.
Ms. Jori Mendel, chief growth and community development officer for the company, shared several personal stories of the many renters who have been able to save enough money to put a deposit on their own home. In addition to the rental program. Roots also provides people with basic financial education and assistance in other areas that they may be struggling with.
Ms. Mendel explained that Roots was founded by Larry and Daniel Dorfman, a father and son team with a commitment to making money while doing good. Their private real estate investment trust, based in Atlanta, Georgia, buys, manages and rents properties to low-income earners.
Their company offers renters the opportunity to invest their initial rental deposit in the Roots fund, with a quarterly rebate, thus becoming investors in real estate. They can begin with as little as US$100. “Building wealth begins with owning real estate,” Ms. Mendel explained. She said that this sense of ownership encourages renters to take care of the property, while allowing them to save for down payments on their own homes.
The webinar’s second speaker, Dr. William Eimicke, is a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is also co-author, with Howard W. Buffett, of Social Value Investing – A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships.
Dr. Eimicke said he is “a firm believer in housing as the key in moving people from poverty to a self-sustaining life.” He gave several suggestions of ways that public and private entities can work together to enhance home-ownership opportunities for low-income earners. For example, he said, Singapore has a policy that allows social security accounts to be used for housing, enabling people to build equity by buying a home.
Ms. Mendel agreed. “We talk a lot about public-private partnerships, and partnerships between landowners and people living there, and figuring out again, how can we provide equity and ownership to people, help them set themselves up for future success.”
For more information on this program, watch the video of this webinar.
