•.
R ■ <1 M B
> *
■ .
r- -■ •
•'/>'.
»• . . • «r-
.J
’
_ ’ ’ 4* ' • ,
• • ••
>
4 "
4 •
% - •.
\\
*
•
4
♦’>
P age B4
F ebruary 7,1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
anh
bserUer
Hillside Housing Proposed
Continued
ntinued from front
w ill create
create an an “ u "u
n frie
street
w ill
n frie
n d n ly d ” ly ” street
▲
Senior Planner M ichael Harrison,
the c h ie f architect o f the A lbina C om
m unity Plan, says, “ I ’ d have pre
ferred to see 100 units on this site.
I t ’ s near a bus line and a school, i t ’ s
on the
periphery o f the residential neigh
borhood so it w o u ld n ’ t have impact
ed it, and it w ould have afforded a
nice view.
“ B ut w hat’ s proposed here is legal
and a p p ro p ria te ,” H arrison said.
“ This property has been vacant for a
long tim e and w e’ ve seen some pret
ty unpleasant things proposed fo r it.”
C ity o ffic ia ls have a bigger prob
lem w ith the proposed design.
They feel that having o nly a series
o f garage doors facing M ississippi
scape that w ill discourage people
from b ik in g o r w alking there.
The houses should “ relate to the
surrounding neighborhood,” planner
Ruth Selid said.
Peter W ilc o x o f Portland Com
m unity design replies that in the im
mediate area there isn’t much o f a
residential neighborhood to relate
to. M ost o f the nearby buildings are
either industrial or used fo r industri
al purposes, he says.
“ I f o u r houses must face outward,
we can’t achieve home ownership on
this site, w hich is what the Boise
neighborhood wants,” W ilc o x said.
Charles Durham adds, “ W e ’ re tak
ing the cars out o f the in te rio r o f the
site, and leaving a place fo r children
to p la y.”
A th
i««np
A ird
th ird
issue is the proposed vaca
tion o f a non-existent N o rth Revere
Street on the site, to be replaced by
driveways to the ro w houses and
three existing homes.
C ity transportation officials tend to
oppose street vacations. A t best, it is a
process that w ill take at least a year.
Ed Durham said the current right
o f way serves no purpose.
“ The first thing people w ould ask
when they v is it the site is, ‘ Where is
Revere Street?” ’ he says. “ The sec
ond is, ‘ H ow w ould the c ity ever
build it here?’ ”
D e s p ite
these
h e s ita tio n s ,
Hayakawa says, the Planning B u
reau likes the project and wants to
help see it get approved.
Asked i f it could w in c ity approval
he said, “ Yes, w ith o u t hesitation.”
Home Sweet Home
Continued from Metro
▲
said Doreen Roozee, who is the asso
ciate director at the Christian-based
program.
Habita! does not ju s t give away
homes. It is a jo in t venture in w hich
recipients from the housing m in istry
are involved in the w o rk at various
levels. This apparently is to reduce
cost and increase the pride o f owner
ship among fa m ily members.
Needy fam ilies who apply to Hab
itat projects are selected based on
their level o f need, their willingness
to become partners in the program
and their a b ility to repay the loan.
Loan terms are adjusted by H abi
tat to fit in d ivid u a l budget require
ments.
The program, founded in 1976,
builds and re h a b iliu te s homes. The
houses are in turn sold at no p ro fit to
partner fam ilies w ith no mortgage
interest over a fixed period. The cost
o f the homes are pegged approxi
mately at $35,000.
M any other programs lik e the
Northeast C om m unity Development
Corp. (N E C D C ) and H O S T (Hom e
Ownership A Street A t A T im e ) are
equally as beneficial, depending on
how much you want to spend and
how long you want to wait.
R equirem ents fo r a p p lica tio n s
vary. Some cater to middle class wh i le
others seek out the needy w ith fle x i
ble mortgage payment arrangements.
N E C D C ’s Nehemiah program, for
example, is designed to assist first
tim e homebuyers w ith low er o r mod-
chase these homes.
Fannie Mae: 224-1354
Housing Authority of Port
land: 228-2178
REACH Community Devel
op me nt Corp.: 231-0682
HOST Development, Jnc
331-1752
• Sabin Community Develop
ment Corp.: 287-3496
Northeast Community Devel
opment Corp.: 282-5482
Portland Development Com
mission: 823-3200
• Bureau of Housing and Com
munity Development: 823-
2375
Portland Housing Center:
282-7744
ROSE Community Develop
ment Corp.: 788-8052
Habitat for Humanity: 287-
9529
Housing DevelopmentCenter:
335-3668
Neighborhood Partnership
Fund: 227-6846
• Com m unity Developm ent
Network: 239-4553
erate incomes. It requires a m inim um
o f $1,000 cash investment from the
buyer.
H o m e s p u rch a se d u n d e r the
Nehemiah program are e lig ib le fo r
mortgage financing loans. This is a
m in im u m down payment loan o f
fered at special interest rates. A d d i
tional down payment may be required
From Vanport
Extension To
M^jor University
The price tag o f each house in the
N ehem iah program varies, deter
mined by the appraised value upon
c o m p le tio n
o f c o n s tr u c tio n .
Nehemiah homes re ly heavily on c ity
bonds and federal grants. The p rin c i
pal goal o f the program is to rescue
and upgrade d eclining urban areas.
The c ity o f Portland has w aived de
velopment and perm it fees fo r the
agency’ s houses and M u ltn o m a h
C ounty is p ro v id in g 130 tax fore
closed properties at no cost.
A consortium o f lending institu
tions also are funneling approxim ate
ly $2.8 m illio n dollars in reduced-
rate c o n s tru c tio n fin a n c in g fo r
Nehemiah home purchases and reha
b ilita tio n .
These financial blessings are en
abling N E C D C to d rive down costs.
M o n th ly housing payments, w hich
includes p rincipal, interest, taxes and
insurance are approxim ately $475.
H O S T, in i t ’s e ffo rt, unites ag
gressively the e fforts o f the private
and public sector to stabilize and
revitalize in n e r-city neighborhoods.
Through i t ’ s netw ork o f banking
partners and industry experience,
H OST assists buyers by w o rkin g w ith
local lenders that design financing
plans to a variety o f income levels.
It is s till unclear i f all these pro
grams have had an effect on the over
all real estate market, but experts are
saying, i f anything, these programs
help educate the masses about real-
estate opportunities.
LISCENSED IN OREGON SINCE 19Z5
Singles & Seniors, i can help you!
"1st Class Guarantee"
A-ZEBRA
IB rmls O Realty Inc.
Continued from Metro
▲
A dinner break w ill be served in
the Smith C enter’ s Parkway C om
mons from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. w ith
neighboring restaurants o ffe rin g spe
cia l dishes in honor o f the anniversa
i f you resort to other loans to pur
Affordable Housing
Hotlines:
300 NE Multnomah, Suite #27
Portland. Oregon 97232
George A. Hendrix
MBA, GRI, Broker
(503) 230-1390 • (Res.) 287-6837
ry-
The grand finale w ill fo llo w in a
“ Carousel o f M usic” featuring four
hours o f music by M ichael A lle n
Harrison, the D ub Squad, O f f the
Record and A ll N ig h t Cowboys. The
performances w ill take place in the
new Harrison H all. Adm ission is $6.
Dad’s
Strides
Speedy Service
Friendly
Call For Quote
■HUi
heating oils
Best Cash Prices
104 NE Russel
Portland, OR 97212
282-5111
Homebuyers Look At Affordability
Y Y o o
u u ’ve
’ ve heard
heard all all the
the old
old «»vinos
sayings:
His eyes are bigger than his stomach.
D on’t bite offm ore than you can chew.
Her reach exceeds her grasp.
But when it ’s time to take the plunge
to buy your first house, you chuck
reality. You dream.
Take Dean Sheets’ fantasy home
— a two-story, cottage-style charmer.
Perfectly quaint until he saw the price
tag. $175,000.
“ I was blown away by it,” said
Sheets, 26, a geologist.
And frustrated. The experience al
most persuaded him to continue rent
ing unti I he could buy the perfect house.
But then Sheets had an epiphany o f
sorts; a reality check experienced by
many first-tim e buyers.
“ I came to terms w ith it and said I ’ ll
buy a scaled-down version o f what 1
want in 10 to 20 years,” he said.
Sheets’ experience is not unique. In
one 1989 ERA study o f real estate
brokers, 56 percent o f brokers who
.u „. „
w ith that.”
In the $65,000 to $80,000 range,
-
_ .
figure out what you can afford based
on your other debt.
I f you are shopping for a house, you
w ill have to get used to the term “ debt
ratios.” These are your debt-to-income
ratios.
you can get a nice home w ith tw o to
three bedrooms and one to two bath
rooms.
For what many renters spend on
rent, some home buyers can get a nice
starter house. For example: a $70,000
house w ith a $625 to $630 monthly
mortgage plus closing costs o f about
$4,500.
N ew home buyers are warned to
The first ratio is 28 percent. This
dictates that your monthly home mort
gage payment — including loan prin
cipal and interest, taxes and home in
surance — must not exceed 2 8 percent
o f monthly gross income.
The second ratio is 36 percent. This
requires that your mortgage payment
plus all long-term debt (credit cards,
peruse “ home a ffo rd a b ility” and “ how
much can I borrow?” charts with a
grain o f salt. The charts, which fre
quently run in newspapers and maga
zines list m onthly payments but only
include principal and interest.
not exceed 36 percent o f your monthly
gross income.
To get a true cost o f your house,
buyers must factor in taxes, insurance
For a couple w ith a dual monthly
income o f $5,000, their total monthly
and home association fees, where ap
plicable.
mortgage and long-term debt payments
cannot surpass $1,800 ($5,000 X 36
percent).
It’ s also a good idea to sit down and
student loans, car loans, etc.) should
responded said first-time buyers over
estimate what they can afford. An ad
ditional 32 percent said first-tim e buy
ers underestimate what they can af
ford.
N ew home buyers m ight have an
idea o f what they can spend from their
monthly budget, but “ what they don’t
understand is how much house they
can afford on that amount,” said Linda
Gates, a realtor.
PURHAtë
In Sheets’ case, he turned toa realtor
and patiently viewed properties for
nine months. Then Gates found It —
the perfect place at less than h a lf the
cost o f Sheets’ initial dream home: a
four-bedroom, tw o-fireplace house
w ith character, mature trees, archways
C O N T R U C T IO N
D E V E L O P M E N T
and hardwood floors fo r $74,000.
“ You can’t expect for your first
house to be your dream house,” a wiser
Sheets said about his March 1995 pur
chase. “ You have to come to terms
EDWARD T. DURHAM, JR.
(503) 3I9-O 82I
FAX 283-2977
B
610 7 SW MURRAY BLVD., STE 143, BEAVERTON, OREGON 9 70 08
a n k in g
on
A
m e r ic a
*
At last,
ahorne
equity line
that pays
you back.
t Northwest Color
Construction & Painting Company
John McVeety 282-9233
□ Quality Home
Remodeling
□ No Project Too Small
□ Finish Carpentry &
Woodworking
□ Senior Discounts
□ Storm Windows &
Doors Installed
□ Interior & Exterior
Painting
□ Pressure Washing
□ FREE Written estimates
Warm your home now with an
efficient gas furnace from Rheem rM
□ Oil to Gas conversions
$200 rebate (terns apply,
□ Central Air
Conditioning
□ Gas Firelogs
& Fireplaces
Q Gas Wat„ Heaters
Q C u s to m
□ Financing Available
O.A.C.
Get a
bonus up
It never fails. You set out to buy
that new gas oven and the
m atching refrigerator when
suddenly, you realize that the old
microwave just has to go. Well,
it’s not a problem with Bank o f America’s
home equity line that pays you back.
Now. fo r a lim ite d tim e, you can get a
bonus up to $500, plus a great interest
rate without paying pointx or fees.
And. it ’s as easy as calling
Loan By Phone.“ A ll you have
to do to apply is pick up the
phone, give us a little informa
tion and you’ ll have your
answer before you know it. Simply stop by
any branch or call 1-800-T he B of A. After
all, with a bonus like this, we’ re pretty
sure you can think o f a thing or two you’d
like to have. On us, o f course.
to $ 5 0 0 .
m
Bank of America
Call today for free consultation
License #81322
Bonded & Insured
s ir
jg s . ' ¡ r a g s g
y
j y
j a
s
°' c" drt * ho
»¿a g - s e
-o '" ”
s
i s
s
a
m is a s