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F ebruary 7,1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
anh
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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.
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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
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