Contract buying gained prominence on Chicago’s west and south sides in the 1950s during a time when black communities were systematically denied financial resources to purchase homes by the banking and insurance industry, and when local and federal policy conspired to build separate and unequal neighborhoods. Predatory lenders stepped in to fill this void, selling homes to black families on contract—characterized by exploitative terms like high-interest rates, inflated sales prices and a lack of traditional homebuyer protections.
This practice continues in 2017.
Together with the Woods Fund Chicago and Polk Bros. Foundation, MPC will host a half-day forum that will bring together a set of civic, government and community leaders in a series of conversations to discuss contract buying as it exists today. We invite you to join us for this discussion on Friday, September 29 where we will explore the history of contract buying (also known as contracts for deed, or rent-to-own contracts) and its relationship to segregation in Chicago, how it continues to damage present-day communities of color, and solutions to address this resurging housing practice.