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Affordable
Housing? Obviously No Problem!
Published Saturday,
November 9, 1996
I dont know
why I own a TV. I can go to the Rood Center any Tuesday and watch
a segment of The Dumb and the Restless, and that should tide
me over for the week. I refer, of course, to the meetings of the
county Board of Supervisors. Somehow, fate has given Nevada County
residents one of the most amusing and entertaining boards ever.
In recent months, weve had these treats: 1) a budget that hurt libraries,
cops, and just about everything else; 2) holding back on the hiring of
a deputy; 3) the self-congratulatory salary increase; 4) a Brown Act violation
regarding the wild and scenic decision; 5) and (the jewel
in the crown) turning down an affordable housing grant. Further, the Board
has offered no censure of Mike Ferguson for his deficiencies in the Sam
Strange case or his failure to prosecute Deputy Shawn Joyce.
Now of course The Union wouldnt condone my calling the Supervisors
names. Its not dignified or fair. Its unsound
editorial policy. However, their behavior is certainly nameable:
stupid, inastute, stupid, narrow, stupid, self-serving, stupid, and arrogant.
Oh, and did I mention stupid? Please note I dont say evil.
Im convinced the Supervisors sincerely believe in their actions.
Like children with loaded guns, they mean no evil, yet can be quite dangerous.
On October 22nd, the Board did a rerun of The Three Stooges
by rejecting a plan to seek a $600,000 grant for an affordable housing
development. Fran Moe Grattan, Christine Larry
Foster, and Karen Curley Knecht voted it down. Why?
Because we dont have a problem with affordable housing. Just
ask Christine. The Union reports she said there are some
350 homes selling for under $140,000 in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
book. Besides, we might be creating an artificial economy.
Grattan, The Union says, expressed concern that the county could
be committing scarce mortgage credit certificates to this particular project
Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck. Maybe the Supes just didnt want to rob
poorer people of their dignity by giving them an easier opportunity to
buy a home.
So they turned down a grant. A grant! A grant that would help
low-income people and not affect real estate sales (its only a 22-unit
project, for heavens sake). Oh, I sleep better nights knowing
our county is administered by rocket scientists.
What Christine didnt make clear in the newspaper is that a $140,000
home is not affordable. With a 20% down ($28,000!) FHA financing
today would result in monthly PITI payments of $960.19, and (if the buyer
has NO other debt) requires an annual income of $34,908.00. Too
bad for the poor. Let them eat biscotti.
I dont believe she explained that the average price of an active
listing is $239,376. The average price of a closed listing is $174,271.
She may have not mentioned that the current real estate market is terrible
for sellers and agents. There are 1526 active listings, but last
month there were only 79 closings.
What people need are houses listed at $99,000 or less. The Grass Valley
area currently has about 31 such houses. But what makes housing affordable
isnt just price -- its financing. And easy financing is what
the Old Girls Network turned down.
To be fair, low income people can find a house and financing if they work
at it. There are listings under $99,000 in each of the Board of
Realtors areas. Further, there are some great mortgage loan brokers
who will help buyers find flexible financing (like the Community Home
Buyer or Weighted Average Coupon Loan programs). Im told that
lenders are more aggressive than ever, and want to come up with programs
that can put buyers in homes. However, that doesnt mean you
turn down grants to help low-income people buy homes.
What a great day it will be when we require intelligence testing for County
Supervisors! What a refreshing day it will be when Christine goes
back to writing listings that say Owner desperate! Great views!
Wont last long at this price! What a nice change when
Frannie goes back to making trophies and Karen goes back to whatever she
did before playing at county government. Can anyone out there remember
why we voted for this crew? No, I cant either.
Barry Schoenborn is a technical writer, and a ten-year resident of
Nevada County. You can write to him at barry@wvswrite.com. The opinions
of columnists are not necessarily those of The Union.
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