A company provides you with a lump sum in exchange for partial ownership of your home, and/or a share of its future appreciation. You don't make monthly repayments of principal or interest; instead, you settle up when you sell the home or at the end of a multi-year agreement period (typically between 10 and 30 years).
It's agreed between the Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) and Equity. Importantly, it enshrines the rights of performers to ongoing payments when their work is exploited beyond the initial usage through residually based payments and/or royalties or collective licences.
The AEA works to negotiate quality living conditions, livable wages, and benefits for performers and stage managers. A theater or production that is not produced and performed by AEA members may be called "non-Equity".