Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1982)
Cost goes higher Home owning still possible By Steve Knight Ot lh» Emerald Along with whooping cranes and black-footed ferrets, add first-time home owners to the endangered species list of 1982 Recent estimates show that only about 5 percent of the population in this country earns enough money to qualify for a home mortgage But there are ways to beat the high cost of owning your own home, says Hank Laramee, project cordinator of a self-help housing organization based in Eugene Laramee says his private non-profit organization — Homestead — provides low interest loans and technical training to groups of families willing to "work cooperatively together building each other's homes " By incorporating this old fa shion concept of "barn rais ing," a person can knock $8,000 to $10,000 off the con struction costs of a new $40,000 home, he says And people don't have to be skilled carpenters to join the self-help housing program Homestead provides a con struction supervisor who teaches pre-construction classes and assists the owner builders throughout the home construction period, he says In addition, people with low incomes can, in some in stances, receive the self-help loans for less than 2 percent interest with no down payment requirements, he says "(The owner-builders') labor is the down payment.” But for all its ecotopian trap pings, Homestead actually receives its funding grants from the Farmers Home Administra tion, a credit agency of the U S. Department of Agriculture. And because the FHA is the “hous ing arm of rural America,” tight restrictions are placed on the self-help housing loans, La ramee says. Lane and Marion are the only counties in the state where self-help housing is of fered To qualify for the loans a per son must: • Build in a community of no more than 25,000 population. The township must also have ‘(The owner builders’) labor is the down payment.’ city sewer and water and paved streets Laramee says Eugene and Springfield are the only communities in Lane county excluded from the loan pro gram • Have no large outstanding debts. • Have savings of at least $300 to cover cost of hand tools and insurance • Have a steady, verifiable in come Another stipulation is a person’s yearly income must be between $6,000 and $18,000. If a person meets these FHA requirements and receives a loan, then he joins an “associa tion" of six to 10 families who build each other’s houses at the same rate of construction An average cluster of homes takes about eight months to fin ish, Laramee says, adding that each family of the association is legally obligated to commit 30 hours a week toward the con struction projects. “You have to pretty much forget about a social life for a year,” he says. With self-help loans, six homes in Oakridge are currently under construction, nine houses in Veneta and six in Lowell are planned for this summer, Laramee says. Students interested in the program might have a hard time becoming eligible for a self-help loan. The FHA wants people who have "good stable jobs" and are more settled than students, Laramee says. However, students still might not be able to take advantage of the program even after they have graduated Pres Ronald Reagan's 1982 budget calls for the elimination of all funding to federal housing programs, he says. Slashing FHA funds would, in Laramee’s opinion, “nail the coffin shut on housing in Amer ica.” He is, nevertheless, some what optimistic the state government would help fund the self-help program if Pres Reagan's cuts are approved later this year. For more information, call Homestead at 344-4007 THE BETTER THE. BREAD 1 THEBETTaTHFPl77t f STEAL THIS MEW OUR BASIC couhst} if u&itrw ttjvmtc ro»»rc SJfOcf Asre*r<p cuttm A*t oun my snu4c r D0NTASKU5 WHEN-LEONARDO DA VINCI'S BIKTHPAY IS I SMALL PIZZA. stAvet o*H -r*c ITALIAN SAUSAGE PEPPERONI FRESH TOMATO CARIANT SALAMI BSBYCLAM6 #CAPOCOLLA (#/»«* H4M) ADDITIONAL items TOR ONLY 7a create your own FAVORITE combination M T*T OU* WVH »*«C,AL ' *msnvu*\5*> FRESH MUSHROOMS CANADIAN BACON ANCHOVIES BLACK OLIVES SHRIMP PINEAPPLE zucchiiti mi PEPPER 50< ^GcaaPd|S' 174 E. Broadway 542 5306 An Evening of Jet Age Jump Music With ORNETTE COLEMAN r UNO PRIME TIME One sax. two drummers, two bassists, two guitarists 1 i'UNOBV MttPCH 7 " EMU SaiLROOM Jazz historians agree that Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane were the two most dominant figures m Jazz m the last guarter of a century ' ‘kefs available at EM: Main Desk. Everybody s f Eartbriver/Diana S on tbe mall tec arris. ASUO Presents NATIONAL SECURITY ONTERRCE LEADING EXPERTS SPEAK OUT ON THE ISSUES SURROUNDING US. NATIONAL SECURITY National security. It is a topic worth understanding bec ause it has an impact on all of us. Take the opportunity to learn the issues and theories of US national security and its impact on the world. Among the topics to be discussed are the history and evolution of national security strategy, the economics of military spending, assessing the Soviet threat, all-volun teer manpower vs the draft, the world’s response to US-USSR strategic policies and more The well-respected panel of speakers includes Ray Cline, ex-deputy director of the CIA, and Major General Robert Cocklin, executive director of fhe Association of the US Army. Be a part of the Northwest National Security Conference and learn how national security affects you. February 25-27 EIWU Ballroom Tickets available at the EMU MAIN DESK UofO students/faculty: $l.50per event - $800 for the entire conference General Public $200 per event - $1200 for the entire conference Recycle this paper
