Session 5

 

Topic: Affordable Housing

 

Convenor:  Herk Connor

 

Note Taker: Jean Ambrose

 

Participants:

 

 

Herk Connor: Ritchie county new CDC and housing is a focus, needs more info, has a lot to learn
Jeff Jenkins, Ritchie banker, does housing development deals for his bank:
Gordon Lambert: chair of McDowell county commission; prison coming need housing need better housing to be able to attract
Howard Tyree: WVHDF area manager southern WV, 22 counties,
Sherrie Bossie, senior program director with WVHDF , help people connect
Sharon Walden, Ex Dir for 3 non-profits doing affordable housing for 11 years—wants to share her knowledge and experience
Gretchen Cramer, Ansted, housing their primary need, only expensive vacation homes , bad rentals;  need entry and mid level housing and need to learn how, have a couple of willing land owners
Charles Feller, Mullens, everyone has left –have homes sitting empty, in limbo, need to identify homes and match with willing buyers perhaps start a housing development Authority, what is the best way to proceed, have housing if we can get buyers and sellers together, need to catalog and identify funding so they’ll live here
Christy Laxton, dir Wyoming EDA, same issues as Mullens

 

Key themes, outstanding questions, observations:

 

What is affordable definition according to WVHDF? There are definitions for the individual and definitions set by various funding programs. The national standard is that the individual pays not more than 35% of income for housing costs, including principle interest taxes and insurance. There is a maximum income limit of who can live in that property, depending on criteria of various forms of funding.
80% 100% 120% 140% of poverty level are the different thresholds.
 
Participants described several common problems:
 
  • ·        Turning existing empty houses into a positive benefit and the fact that recent problems in the secondary loan markets are increasing standards for existing houses that may not be up to code and therefore don’t qualify for loans.
  • ·        The timing of getting housing ready for new economic growth such as prisons bringing new employees to the area. Investors don’t want houses to stand empty, subject to vandalism and other holding costs. But if communities don’t have housing to keep people there, the new prison doesn’t benefit them economically.
  • ·        Providing decent housing for moderate wage workers when builders don’t want to build houses priced less than $150,000.
  • ·        The tendency of residents to try to profit by jacking up housing or rental costs and having it backfire by hurting the people who are going to stay in the community. The need to get control over price gouging—need to talk to owners about their community—do they want everyone to be transients, who won’t stay and contribute to the growth of the community.
 
  • ·        The need for consumer education about needing to set priorities, make hard decisions. Wealth asset is home not car. Have to give up that car, have to make hard decisions, our desires are more than we can afford. People often don’t want the houses they can afford but they can afford the car payment for the new SUV.
  •  Problems with property and flood insurance adding to make houses unaffordable. The fact that a basic new house in McDowell County costs $95,000 to build but will only appraise, new, at $59,000.
 
Some solutions discussed were:
 
  • ·        Find out bands of wages for people coming in, then figure out if new housing is possible, or modular, or existing housing is more practical.
  • ·        Talk to experienced public housing authorities about setting up housing development corporations—do research. Virginia Lewis in Mingo Housing Authority—has done both rental and single family development. Sharon Walden in McDowell has developed all kinds of housing.
  • ·        Go to www.wvhdf.com for info on all WV Housing Development Fund products and programs, and links to other housing and housing resources—use them as a resource, they will come to you, ask for their help. 
  • ·        Start to inventory existing structures and land, which ones are better for rental, home ownership, or commercial. Can start assessment now., in order to know what you need so you will set up the right development corporation with the right powers
  • ·        Educate the community about price gouging. Get realtors and appraisers on board (a tough one.)
  • ·        Don’t just depend on one source of funding—diversify.
Consider these sources:
            FHLB—Affordable Housing Program
            Housing Assistance Council (HAC)
            USDA—multi-family and single family programs
Sharon Walden in McDowell County reported these sources for home repair:
            HUD—RHED
            DEP septic system funding
            FHLB home repair grants
            FORD foundation 4% loan funds
            USDA 504 home repair 1% loan funds
 
  • Look for sources you can leverage.
  • You don’t necessarily need to work with banks and may get better deals as a non-profit.

 


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