Housing Plan
The $0 Down, $700-Per-Month Housing Plan
Washington, DC is facing a housing crisis that continues to push longtime residents out of the city they helped build. Addison Sarter’s housing plan is designed to address this crisis with a bold but practical solution, one that expands homeownership without raising taxes or increasing government spending.
This proposal creates a real pathway for DC residents to own homes for $0 down and approximately $700 per month, using the same resources the city already spends today.
What This Plan Does
The $0 Down, $700-Per-Month Housing Plan removes the biggest barriers that keep families from owning homes in DC.
- Families would own their homes, not rent
- No down payment would be required
- Monthly housing costs would be capped at around $700
- Homes would be built to remain permanently affordable
This plan is focused on stability, ownership, and long-term opportunity not short-term fixes.
Why This Matters
Homeownership remains one of the most effective ways to build stability and generational wealth. Yet in DC, rising prices and high upfront costs have locked many residents out of owning a home.
- Keeping DC residents in DC
- Preventing displacement of longtime communities
- Giving working families a real chance to build equity
It is designed to lift families into homeownership, not trap them in perpetual renting.
Why This Plan Works
No New Taxes. No New Spending. This housing plan works because it uses existing public resources more effectively.
- Homes would be built on publicly owned land, eliminating land acquisition costs.
- Monthly payments would go back into a public housing fund, helping finance future homes.
- The same amount of money DC already spends would be used just redirected toward ownership instead of temporary solutions.
This creates a sustainable system that supports long-term housing stability.
Who This Plan Helps
This plan supports:
Longtime DC Residents
Protecting residents who have built their lives in DC and deserve the opportunity to remain in the communities they call home.
Renters Ready to Own
Creating a realistic path to homeownership for renters who are currently priced out of the DC housing market.
First-Time Homebuyers
Supporting first-time buyers with limited savings by removing upfront barriers to owning a home.
Where This Model Comes From
From the 1930s through the 1960s, the federal government supported $0-down, low-cost homeownership programs that helped build the American middle class.
However, those programs overwhelmingly excluded Black and other non-white families.
This plan applies the same proven concept affordable ownership while ensuring access for the communities that were historically left out.
Why This Is Urgent
Most DC residents rent, housing costs continue to rise, and families are being displaced from their neighborhoods. Rent payments build no equity or long-term security.
Without bold action, these trends will continue. This plan offers a concrete step toward stability and ownership.
How We Make It Work
DC already spends approximately 100-140 million a year on housing. This plan uses that same funding to build permanently affordable homes with ownership instead of rental dependency.
Homes would be built on public land across all eight wards, using community-centered models that preserve long-term affordability, partner with public entities, and strengthen neighborhoods rather than displace them.
Below are other policies I will fight for in DC:
- 1. Year Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave
- 2. Establish paid DC neighborhood watch patrols made up of DC residents. This will NOT replace the police, but will be used as an additional program to allow DC residents to unite with their neighbors to keep their neighborhoods safe. In the 90’s, Addison’s father started an Orange Hats Neighborhood Patrol chapter in their neighborhood,Langdon Park, in Northeast DC, to help protect the community. This is one of the organizations that this policy drew inspiration from.
- 3. Establish more mentoring programs and activities for youth. Recruit males from UDC, Howard University, AU, GW, Catholic U, etc to get college credit or community service hours to mentor youth in DC.
- 4. Guaranteed Paid Jobs for DC residents who are most at risk for gun violence and crime.
- 5. I will fight for schools in low income neighborhoods to have equal funding as schools in wealthier neighborhoods. Currently, wealthier neighborhoods in DC have more private funding through Parent Teacher Associations. I will fight to make sure schools in low income neighborhoods have just as much funding.
- 6. Establish a DCTAG fund for entrepreneurship. Add entrepreneurship classes to DCPS curriculum. DCPS students will get up to 10K for four years, for a business.
- 7. We will protect our immigrant communities in DC by fighting to end all cooperation between ICE, MPD, and DC Council.
Stay Connected
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