Frequently Asked Questions
MeadowView
What is MeadowView?
MeadowView is a community land trust development sponsored by Big Sky Community Housing Trust. Funded in part by Big Sky Resort Tax District, the project provides affordable homeownership opportunities to year-round employees. This 52-unit development located off Little Coyote Road consists of 12 studios and 40 two-bedroom units, each with a heated garage. Using the community land trust concept, the homes sell to eligible purchasers at a reduced rate and will maintain affordability in perpetuity through a ground lease.
What is a Community Land Trust (CLT)?
Under the CLT model, the Housing Trust retains land ownership but sells the homes. Owners save money on their homes by leasing the land instead of purchasing it. The owners' ground lease dictates terms of ownership, limits appreciation, and outlines qualifications for future owners. View the MeadowView Ground lease.
How does a community land trust work?
Homes resell to qualifying households for a below-market rate with a ground lease that limits the appreciation owners will receive at resale. When locals purchase in MeadowView, they earn 2% appreciation per year. This model allows households priced out of expensive markets to buy a home, benefiting from limited appreciation and housing stability while ensuring the homes remain affordable in perpetuity.
Who can purchase these units?
The target income range for purchasers of these units is between 60-150% of average median income, or between $40,000 to $130,000 for the household. Purchasers must work in Big Sky full-time, not own other housing properties, commit to live in the unit, and qualify for a conventional mortgage. The net worth of the purchaser cannot exceed half the value of the unit.
How do I become eligible to purchase a MeadowView?
Step One: Join BSCHT’s Homeownership Waitlist.
Step Two: To be eligible, candidates must also attend a Homebuyer Education Class. Big Sky Community Housing Trust does not offer this class. NeighborWorks Montana offers the course online, allowing you to complete it at your own pace.
Are all MeadowView units already sold?
Yes, all units have been sold. The construction of MeadowView completed in the summer of 2021. Units will only become available when current owners choose to sell. There is currently a waitlist for eligible buyers.
How much will the units cost?
Is there down payment assistance available?
Will I have to pay back down payment assistance funds?
What costs should I anticipate?
Buyers are responsible for their monthly mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, utilities, and HOA dues. The monthly mortgage payment will vary by buyer and is determined by the buyer’s primary lender. HOA fees will cover lawn care, snow removal, garbage, insurance, and maintenance of the building exterior. The total for taxes, insurance, and HOA fees is approximately $500 a month for two-bedroom units and $300 a month for studios.
What is the purchase process?
Step One: Join BSCHT’s Homeownership Waitlist.
Step Two: To be eligible, candidates must also attend a Homebuyer Education Class. Big Sky Community Housing Trust does not offer this class. Two options exist to complete this course:
- HRDC in Bozeman offers the course virtually. Visit HRDC’s Website for more information, call HRDC at 406-587-4486, or email homeownership@thehrdc.org
- NeighborWorks Montana offers the course online, allowing you to complete the course at your own pace.
What financing is available?
BSCHT gives potential buyers a list of lenders that have financing history with MeadowView. First Security Bank in Big Sky negotiated a Fannie Mae option that provides a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but buyers may use any qualified lender of their choosing. All loans to purchase MeadowView units need to meet conventional lending standards and conform to a ground lease project. A rural development loan, which offers a 5% down payment option, has also been approved for the project.
How much will I need to contribute to purchase?
The minimum buyer contribution is between 5% and 20% of the purchase price, which includes the earnest money due at the time of signing the purchase contract as well as the funds brought to closing. Down payment funds can also be gifted to the buyer.
Can I use a co-borrower?
Yes. Subject to the primary lender’s requirements, you can utilize a co-borrower who does not intend to live in the home to help you qualify for the mortgage.
Can investors purchase MeadowView units?
No. MeadowView units must be owner-occupied and are not available for purchase by investors. Short-term rentals are strictly prohibited in MeadowView.
How do I sell my MeadowView unit when I’m ready to move to another property?
When owners decide to sell their home, they must sell to a qualified buyer on the wait list who meets BSCHT's work, residency, and financial qualifications. If a buyer is not readily identifiable, owners may resell to BSCHT.
Can I rent out a bedroom in my unit?
Owners of two-bedroom units may rent out a room on a long-term basis of six months or more. Tenants must work full-time in Big Sky. The current maximum amount of rent allowed is $800 a month plus utilities.
Will any three-bedroom units be available?
There are no three-bedroom units available in MeadowView. BSCHT is exploring future development projects to accommodate this community need.
Good Deeds
Who is eligible?
Anyone interested in purchasing, selling, or investing in a Big Sky property may participate.
What properties are eligible for Good Deeds?
Properties located within the Big Sky Resort Area District are eligible to apply.
How do I apply?
Applicants must complete an application. If the Good Deeds application involves a sales transaction, the applicant must also provide a preapproval letter from a lender. If the applicant is a current owner, BSCHT requires proof of ownership and mortgage information.
What are the key terms of a Good Deeds restriction?
- At least one occupant must work a minimum of 30 hours per week in Big Sky and use the property as their primary residence. The occupant can be the owner or a tenant.
- This occupant must only earn 75% of their income in Big Sky.
- Short-term rentals are strictly prohibited.
Where can I find information on the Good Deeds agreement?
What happens to the deed restriction when ownership changes?
The deed restriction follows the property in perpetuity. Because a property can only be deed restricted once, additional Good Deeds funding is not available to subsequent buyers.
As an investor, can I participate and rent my property?
Yes, you can rent your property. At least occupant must work in Big Sky a minimum of 30 hours a week and earn 75% of their income in Big Sky. Short-term renting is strictly prohibited.
How does this program relate to Rent Local?
| Rent Local incentivizes unit owners to rent their homes to local workers. | Good Deeds incentivizes unit owners to preserve their property for residents. |
| COMMITMENT: four years max | COMMITMENT: forever (transfers with sale) |
| Buys a temporary restriction | Buys a permanent restriction |
| Stop-gap measure intended to immediately create inventory | Permanent solution to reserve existing inventory for locals |
| Cash paid for each year owner commits to Rent Local | Cash incentive paid once in exchange for the deed restriction |
How much money will I receive for a Good Deeds restriction?
The amount a Good Deeds restriction is worth depends on the circumstances, how much an applicant requests, and whether the property meets the review criteria. Currently, awards do not exceed 20% of the property's appraised value. BSCHT reserves higher award percentages for buyers using the funding as a down payment.
Who determines if a property will receive a Good Deeds restriction?
A trained and dedicated committee reviews all applications and make recommendations to BSCHT's board of directors.
What are the tax implications if I participate in Good Deeds?
Because each individual's tax circumstances are different, applicants should consult with their tax professionals.
How does BSCHT validate a property’s value?
Before purchasing a deed restriction, BSCHT requires an appraisal of the property at the applicant’s expense. BSCHT recommends all applicants apply for the program before ordering a new appraisal, unless one already exists that is six months old or less.
Rent Local
How do I apply for Rent Local as a property owner?
BSCHT recently paused homeowner applications to the Rent Local program while it seeks additional funding. Please email info@bigskyhousingtrust.com to add yourself to the waitlist.
How do I apply for Rent Local as a tenant?
The first step is completing the Housing Trust’s rental prescreening form. Then, actively watch the current listings page for future rental opportunities. When you find a listing that is of interest, please email info@bigskyhousingtrust.com to receive the complete application.
What if I already rent on the long-term rental market?
The Housing Trust will suspend funding for owners already on the long-term rental market in 2024. Owners who already rent to locals can instead apply to the Housing Trust’s newest program, Good Deeds. Good Deeds pays property owners up to 20% of their property’s appraised value in exchange for permanently requiring a member of the Big Sky workforce to live in the home.
How long can I rent my property through Rent Local?
Does the Housing Trust help owners find tenants?
The Housing Trust offers free tenant screening to any property owner needing long-term tenants, provided the owner does not exceed Rent Local’s rent caps. Owners do not need to participate in Rent Local to use the free tenant screening services.
Can I choose my own tenants?
Do you have a lease I can use?
Please email info@bigskyhousingtrust.com for a leasing template.
Can I rent my property through Rent Local for just a season?
No. Owners must commit to Rent Local for a minimum of one year.
What incentives do you offer for owners flipping their vacation rental?
No. Owners must commit to Rent Local for a minimum of one year.
Powder Light
Who is eligible to rent in Powder Light?
Any business that is registered with the Big Sky Resort Area District may rent bedrooms in Powder Light. (Businesses must register with Resort Tax prior to applying for Powder Light bedrooms, even if their business does not collect the tax.) Nonbusiness owners are not eligible to rent bedrooms in Powder Light.
Are pets permitted in Powder Light?
No, pets are not allowed in Powder Light.
Are utilities included in the rental rate?
All costs, including utilities, are included in the $1,700 per bedroom rental rate.
Is smoking allowed?
Powder light is a smoke-free campus.
If an employee finds alternate housing before the lease ends, am I able to transfer the lease to another employee?
Powder Light double-occupancy bedrooms will lease directly to businesses who may sublease the bedrooms to their employees. If an employee changes jobs or finds housing independently, the business may place a new employee in the unit instead.
What is the minimum and maximum number of bedrooms my business can rent?
The minimum amount of space a Big Sky business can rent in Powder Light is one double-occupancy bedroom. You cannot rent a single bed. The maximum is set based on current availability and demand.
How much is the rent at Powder Light?
The monthly rent is $1,700 per bedroom. It includes all furnishings, utilities, and Wi-Fi.
Can my business put just one employee in each Powder Light bedroom?
RiverView
What is RiverView Apartments?
RiverView Apartments is a collaboration between Big Sky Community Housing Trust, Lone Mountain Land Company, Resort Tax, and Big Sky County Water and Sewer to build new apartments off Highway 64.
BSCHT's portion consists of 25 apartments in two buildings on the west end of the campus. Because it earned $6.49 million in federal funding for the project, BSCHT is subject to federal leasing requirements.
LMLC has two apartment buildings on the west end of campus and three dorm-style buildings on the east end. It used private funding to build its portion and is not subject to federal requirements.
When will RiverView be ready for occupancy?
BSCHT's portion of RiverView welcomed its residents in September 2024. LMLC anticipates leasing its dorm-style units before the 2024/2025 winter season starts. LMLC's apartments will open in early 2025.
How much will rent be in RiverView Apartments?
BSCHT's apartments will rent to households earning between 30% and 80% of the area's median income. Rates are set annually by the federal government and are approximately 30% of a household's income before taxes.
LMLC has not set its rental rates yet.
Can I purchase a RiverView Apartment?
What is the rental process?
BSCHT has yet to establish the rental process because construction will not finish until June 2024. If you are an employer or employee interested in renting at RiverView, please join the RiverView Waitlist. The Housing Trust will provide more information in 2024.
Are pets permitted at RiverView Apartments?
BSCHT permits pets in its portion of RiverView. Registered ESA and service animals are allowed.
How many bedrooms are in each apartment?
The apartments are a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedrooms.
How many bedrooms and bathrooms are in each dorm?
LMLC’s RiverView dorms have two different floor plans. One will have eight single-occupancy bedrooms, and the other will have four single-occupancy bedrooms. There is one bathroom for every two bedrooms in LMLC’s dorms.
COLD SMOKE
What happens if voters do not approve the Cold Smoke housing bond?
Without resort tax bonding, the Housing Trust cannot build Cold Smoke or another neighborhood of its size to address the community's shortage of 1,000 homes. Because federal and state programs do not target middle incomes, no government funding streams exist for this purchase. Additionally, the land costs in Big Sky exceed annual resort tax collections and funding provided by local foundations.
Rather than purchasing a large, shovel-ready plot like Cold Smoke, the Housing Trust could continue to buy small plots of land for development, as it did with MeadowView and RiverView, while reclaiming existing homes via Good Deeds. This method would take 20 years to create 389 homes, whereas the Cold Smoke neighborhood will only take seven to build.
Where can I find more information about the May 6 ballot measures?
Bonding allows the community to borrow against Resort Tax’s future revenue to address critical needs, such as housing, without increasing the current resort tax rate or impacting property taxes.
How can I vote in the May 6 election?
If you are an ACTIVE registered voter with the Big Sky Resort Area District boundary, you will automatically receive your ballot in the mail at the end of April. The Gallatin County Elections office must receive all ballots back by 8 PM on May 6.
CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ARE AN ACTIVE VOTER
3 WAYS TO RETURN YOUR BALLOT
1. RETURN BY MAIL (Postage is required and should be mailed by April 28 to be received and counted)
2. DROP OFF BEFORE MAY 6 at the Gallatin County Elections Office located at 311 W. Main St., Room 210, Bozeman, MT 59715
3. DROP OFF ON MAY 6 at the Big Sky Water and Sewer District Office located at 561 Little Coyote Rd or the Gallatin County Elections Office.
Why should the community use public dollars for Cold Smoke?
Cold Smoke is an investment in the workforce that Big Sky’s tourism economy relies on and is an important step in ensuring that those who make Big Sky thrive can also call it home. Because 80% of the workforce cannot afford market-rate housing, the community must find ways to reduce these costs to keep its critical service providers like teachers, nurses, and firefighters. By bringing public dollars to the table, the Housing Trust can rent and sell Cold Smoke homes at a discount from the open market despite high construction costs.
Creating accessible and stable housing for our workforce enables our working residents to live in the community they’re helping to build and support. From conservation to child care, the arts, and parks & trails, Big Sky depends on active community members to nourish and maintain all the organizations that help make this a great place to work, live, and play. By investing in long-term affordable housing, the community can ensure residents flourish, keeping Big Sky a great place to live, prosper, and raise a family far into the future, bolstering the local economy, and enhancing the cultural landscape of Big Sky.
Why does the community need a neighborhood like Cold Smoke?
The 2023 Housing Needs Assessment Update estimates that 80% of Big Sky's workforce cannot afford market-rate homes and that the community also has a housing deficit of 589 homes.
Since 2023, the addition of 79 new homes for the workforce has reduced the catch-up need to 510. At 389 homes, Cold Smoke can eliminate a massive chunk of this need.
Why is the Housing Trust attempting to purchase the Cold Smoke land?
In 2020, Big Sky residents voted to increase Resort Tax by 1% to fund 60% of a new water and sewer treatment plant. This vote also reserved capacity in the new plant for the construction of affordable workforce housing.
The Housing Trust views this vote as a community mandate to use these rights to address Big Sky's housing shortage. Cold Smoke, located next to the Water and Sewer District, qualifies for annexation into the district and comes with infrastructure and entitlements, streamlining development. Other plots of land under consideration would require at least five additional years to build the infrastructure and obtain zoning approvals.
What if Cold Smoke is not annexed into the Water & Sewer District?
Without annexation into the Big Sky Water and Sewer District, the Housing Trust cannot build Cold Smoke. The property needs access to the water and sewer services reserved by the District for new workforce housing.
Who currently owns the 100-acre parcel known as Cold Smoke?
Big Sky Community Housing Trust hopes to purchase the 99-acre Cold Smoke parcel and infrastructure from Lone Mountain Land Company for the appraised value, using a bond against Resort Tax. Voters will decide in May whether to approve this purchase. Before the May election, the Housing Trust and Lone Mountain Land Co. will agree on the final purchase price. Resort Tax has approved the land purchase for up to $45 million and the infrastructure purchase for up to $15 million.
When will Cold Smoke be ready for occupancy?
Cold Smoke is a multi-phase project in its initial planning stages. Because of this, an accurate timeline is not yet available. If BSCHT can secure Resort Tax bond funding to purchase the land in 2025, it hopes to deliver the first 50-100 homes in 2028 and complete the entire project by 2032.
How does the community ensure it does not overpay for Cold Smoke?
If voters approve the bond in May, the Housing Trust will use its portion to purchase the land and infrastructure for Cold Smoke from Lone Mountain Land Co. The proposed contract with Resort Tax will not allow the purchase to exceed the appraised value, as determined by three independent appraisals. Currently, only two of the three appraisals have been completed. Before the May vote, all appraisals will be completed, allowing the community to know the final purchase price currently under negotiation.
What is the total project cost, and how will you pay for these costs in addition to the bond?
The Housing Trust project expects Cold Smoke to cost approximately $220,000,000 in total. In addition to Resort Tax funding, the project will leverage commercial financing, philanthropy, and other grants to begin construction. Initial home sales will help provide capital for future construction.
With 1,000+ vacation rentals, why not reclaim this inventory instead of building new homes?
The Housing Trust already reclaims existing homes through its Good Deeds program. However, the program is naturally limited by the available inventory for purchase, and much of this inventory is located in HOAs with either deferred maintenance or high fees to address maintenance. Due to inflated housing prices, it's also less expensive to build on this scale than it is to purchase existing inventory one condo at a time.
How much will homes cost to buy or rent at Cold Smoke?
Building costs are high, and the project is still in the preconstruction stage. The Housing Trust cannot finalize rental or sales prices until it has fully secured the land, funding, and contractors for the build. If the Housing Trust can successfully purchase the land, it hopes to sell Cold Smoke homes to residents with an AMI (area median income) of 120% to 250%. BSCHT will set rental rates below 150% AMI.
Rent or monthly mortgage payments cannot exceed 33% of these income ranges because of the water and sewer connection rights the project hopes to gain by annexing into Big Sky County Water and Sewer District.
The chart below shows the current incomes in Gallatin County, as set annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 100% column represents the county's median income for various household sizes.
What type of homes will be available at Cold Smoke?
Because the Housing Trust still needs to purchase the land and complete the annexation process, it cannot finalize construction plans yet. However, it is working with architects on preliminary plans.
The 264 apartments will neighbor RiverView Apartments along Highway 64. These eight buildings will contain studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Most will rent directly to local employees, but some may also be available for purchase.
The Housing Trust will nestle the 125 homes into the hillside across the river and away from the highway. The homes will have either two or three bedrooms and a garage.
Will there be dorms at Cold Smoke?
No. Although Cold Smoke will offer many rental opportunities, it will not have dorms. Instead, the apartment buildings will contain studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units with all standard amenities, like laundry.
Will there be an appreciation cap for Cold Smoke homes?
Cold Smoke purchase opportunities will share the same appreciation cap as MeadowView Condos, which is 2% per year. An appreciation cap prevents market pressures from driving prices beyond the reach of average wage earners, ensuring that the community's initial investment to purchase the land and sell below-market-rate homes passes to all Cold Smoke owners, keeping the community livable for future generations.
Who can rent at Cold Smoke?
Cold Smoke rental opportunities will be available to any full-time member of Big Sky's workforce, regardless of their employer.
Who can buy at Cold Smoke?
Cold Smoke purchase opportunities will be available to any Montana resident who is also a full-time member of Big Sky's workforce, regardless of their employer. Additionally, buyers must reside in the home year-round, qualify for a conventional mortgage, and meet local income requirements. Cold Smoke buyers cannot own other residential property. For example, if buyers own a MeadowView Condo, they must sell their existing home to upgrade to Cold Smoke.