Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Pledges $5M to Home Downpayments for Teachers

When housing costs too much or educators have to commute from far away, there’s rapid teacher turnover that hurts students. That’s why Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s philanthropy vehicle is funding home downpayment assistance for roughly 60 educators and support staff at three schools near Facebook’s headquarters.

The $45 billion Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is putting $5 million into a fund for Landed, a Y Combinator startup that offers to pay up to half of the 20 percent home downpayment for educators with zero interest or monthly payments. Instead, Landed recoups its investment when the home is sold or refinanced, assuming up to 25 percent of the appreciation or depreciation of the home’s value.

Any money earned from the upside on the Landed’s investment will be put back into the CZI fund to make it sustainable and fund downpayments for more educators. Meanwhile, Landed makes its money by taking a cut of the standard referral fee earned by real estate agents that it connects to the educators buying homes, who don’t pay any extra to use Landed.