OK Housing Stability Program White Paper - Initial Draft
Jul 6, 2023 15:02:11 GMT
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amashaney likes this
Post by Margee homeowner on Jul 6, 2023 15:02:11 GMT
It is always troubled me that people who can afford paying rent at say $1000 a month cannot seem to be able to purchase a house in which their mortgage payments would be $600 a month because of down payments.
Once upon a time I had a hand up from my parents, who helped us with a down payment in order to buy a house. For us, like many others, I suspect, our monthly payments were nearly cut in half as rentals were much higher than paying for a house. It was a catch 22 we needed to save enough for a down payment, but couldn’t save because our rental costs were too high. Once owning a home, we were finally able to put money aside.
I think the system needs to be changed at the very beginning of the process. We had a long rental history of being able to pay our rent every single month and on time. Simple math should have shown that with our rental history, we could easily have afforded a mortgage at half of the cost of our rental payments. If the system cannot be changed, then perhaps giving people a hand up with that first down payment would be a good idea.
I also work as a mentor at Resonance. We have lately been talking to the girls about what they need for their future lives as good citizens. One of the main complaints they had was rental applications that asked if they had any kind of criminal background. Answering honestly always gets them kicked back to the street. The best option for them is purchasing a home for which they have no down payment. No one asks when you purchase a home, whether or not you have a felony on your record.
It would be great if programs like Resonance and others in town who help women exiting incarceration to have a state funded program that teaches women in the situation, how to own a house, make simple repairs, learn, budgeting, understand the importance of paying things on time, understanding the credit card system, etc. a program that if completed would set aside, money for them for their first down payment. Maybe a program in which they needed to put a certain portion of their paycheck aside each month with matching funding from the state some thing in which they would have to have shown that they are committed to making their own lives better and not just being handed some thing , most of the women that I’ve met in this program are really working hard to become their best selves.
And if I were to have a dream of the best case scenario would be that there would be a little pockets throughout a city that were built with the purpose of single family/single people housing that was very affordable for people’s very first home. These communities would have access to a bus route, and a small gathering place in each that had a fresh market and maybe like a coffeehouse where people could get to know their neighbors and not have to ride a bus in order to put food on the table.
Once upon a time I had a hand up from my parents, who helped us with a down payment in order to buy a house. For us, like many others, I suspect, our monthly payments were nearly cut in half as rentals were much higher than paying for a house. It was a catch 22 we needed to save enough for a down payment, but couldn’t save because our rental costs were too high. Once owning a home, we were finally able to put money aside.
I think the system needs to be changed at the very beginning of the process. We had a long rental history of being able to pay our rent every single month and on time. Simple math should have shown that with our rental history, we could easily have afforded a mortgage at half of the cost of our rental payments. If the system cannot be changed, then perhaps giving people a hand up with that first down payment would be a good idea.
I also work as a mentor at Resonance. We have lately been talking to the girls about what they need for their future lives as good citizens. One of the main complaints they had was rental applications that asked if they had any kind of criminal background. Answering honestly always gets them kicked back to the street. The best option for them is purchasing a home for which they have no down payment. No one asks when you purchase a home, whether or not you have a felony on your record.
It would be great if programs like Resonance and others in town who help women exiting incarceration to have a state funded program that teaches women in the situation, how to own a house, make simple repairs, learn, budgeting, understand the importance of paying things on time, understanding the credit card system, etc. a program that if completed would set aside, money for them for their first down payment. Maybe a program in which they needed to put a certain portion of their paycheck aside each month with matching funding from the state some thing in which they would have to have shown that they are committed to making their own lives better and not just being handed some thing , most of the women that I’ve met in this program are really working hard to become their best selves.
And if I were to have a dream of the best case scenario would be that there would be a little pockets throughout a city that were built with the purpose of single family/single people housing that was very affordable for people’s very first home. These communities would have access to a bus route, and a small gathering place in each that had a fresh market and maybe like a coffeehouse where people could get to know their neighbors and not have to ride a bus in order to put food on the table.