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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 2003)
Page A2 <L lie |Jo rtlan b (ßbserucr October 22. 2003 Housing Dreams Materialize for 200 Residents Host helps the working class find their home by J aymee R. C i ii T he P ortland O bserver working poor or working class, few safety nets are in place and they are left to fend lo r them selves with m ajor expenses such as buying a home. Yet ex p erts agree that hom e ow nership is good for individuals, good for fam ilies and overall good for com m unities. It seem s that housing options are often available for the filthy rich and dirt poor. F o r e x a m p le , on a go rg ed b u d g e t, p e o p le c an c h o o se b e tw e e n h o u se s an d c o n d o s , v in ta g e and d e c o , e a s t sid e an d w est sid e. Host D evelopm ent identified O n th e o th e r e x tre m e , m an y o r g a n iz a tio n s a re d e d ic a te d to that gap o f service in 1989 and has s e rv in g the n e e d s o f th e p o o r since broken ground on 200 hom es an d h o m e le s s , so m e tim e s p ro in north and northeast Portland. Host is a nonprofit organization v id in g th em w ith fo o d , s h e lte r an d g u id a n c e to g et th e ir liv e s making hom e ow nership affordable to P o rtlan d ers through p artn er b ack on tra c k . But for those in betw een, the ships with corporations, building Jamar Brown (far left) joins a groundbreaking ceremony in north Portland in observance o f Brown becoming the 200" homeowner helped by Host Development, a housing program for the working poor or working class. The ceremony included supporters Regan Leon o f US Bank, John Miller, executive director of Host, Bob Repine, director of Oregon Housing and Community Services and Ted Gilbert. Host chairman o f the board. contractors and the Portland H ous ing Center. Host raises donations and seeks out corporate grants to cover hous ing closing costs. Because o f the relationships it has built in the co m m unity, much o f the housing sup plies and labor costs are donated or Open House Sunday, November 2, 2003 l:00pm-4:00pm De La Salle North Catholic High School 7654 North Delaware Avenue Portland, OR 97217 (503) 285-9385 very cheap. U nlike H abitat For H um anity, a n o n p ro fit d o in g s im ila r w ork. H o st's clientele qualify for m ort gage loans and m ake m onthly p ay m ents on their homes. Host prim a rily serves single heads o f house holds and people o f color, and cli- ents qualify if they are at or below 100 percent o f the m edian fam ily income. "A lot o f program s exclude folks betw een 80 and I (X) percent o f the m edian fam ily incom e. T here are not m any options for these people," said John M iller, executive director o f Host D evelopm ent. "B ut th a t's your average w orker and the way the Portland housing market is, it’s really hard for that group. W e feel like w e’re filling a gap.” T he h o u sin g m arket in north a n d n o r t h e a s t P o r t la n d h a s ch an g ed trem en d o u sly in the last five years. M iller said. L ots that H ost co u ld o n ce acq u ire for b e tween SI (),(XX) and 3>2().(X X) are now g o in g fo r b etw een $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 and $75,(XX). "N orth and northeast Portland went from being not as desirable to being very desirable," M iller said. For this reason. Host is expand ing services to southeast Portland, and looking to buy property and build hom es in the southeast Lents n eig h b o rh o o d , w h ere p ro p erty prices rem ain low. The Host team plans to move the 2(X)‘h family served by theirprogram into their new hom e by C hristm as. T hirty-five more houses have since begun construction. “W e're continuing to look for land,” said Miller. "The biggest chal lenge is finding affordable land.” F or m ore in fo rm a tio n , v isit w w w .hostdevelopinent.com . National Leader Home Buying Fair Reaches Out Locally Event to offer mentoring and support c o n tin u e d fr o m F ro n t particularly focuses on enhancing reading,” he said. The campaign is in conjunction with an Education Summ it next year in Washington, D.C. The event will murks 50 years since the Brown v. B ourdof Education court case which led to the desegregation o f schools. The I ! rban I .eague i s a al so m em ber o f the um brella organization L eadership C onference o f Civil R ights, w hich is active on legisla tive and political fronts. A ccording to M orial, the U r ban League protects civil rights forali. “W e have to reach out for the cause o f diversity to Hispanics, to Asians, to Jew ish-Am ericans, to th e g a y /le s b ia n /b is e x u a l/ transgender community, on a broad range o f civil rights," he said. W ith the hom eow nership rate this effort AAAH has created the for A frican A m ericans in Portland H om ebuyerCoaching Project which lagging below the national aver pairs volunteer hom eowners with age, a local volunteer group is striv hom ebuyer hopefuls to provide peer ing to m ake this y e a r's A frican mentoring and support. A m erican H om ebuyer Fair an even T his y ear’s fair is scheduled for bigger success. Saturday, Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 Organizers with the African Ameri p.m. in the Legacy Em anuel H ospi can Alliance for H om eow nership tal A trium , 5 0 1 N. G raham . hope those who take the first step by People can pre-register for the attending the fair will continue to fair by visiting the AAAH w ebsite make progress towards buying a at w ww .aaah.org orcal ling 503 285J’ home long after the event. To aid in 5555, extension 558. WELLS FARGO The Next Stage® Life is full of big questions. Where to find the right home equity line of credit doesn't have to be one of them. Sniper Suspect Pleads Case Before Jury c o n tin u e d fr o m F ro n t F erg u so n an d te rro rism su sp e c t Z a c a ria s M oussaoui, w ho decided to go it alone in court. K evorkian is in prison, Bundy w as executed in 1989, Ferguson is in prison for killing six people on aco m m u ter train, and M oussaoui is aw aiting trial on charges tying him to the Sept 11.attacks. W earing a suit and tie. M uham m ad delivered his ow n opening statem ent M onday, telling tfie ju ry in ram bling fashion that he is being perse cuted by people w ho do not know the truth about the sniper shootings. “T h ere’s three truths: The truth, the w hole truth and nothing but the truth. I alw ays thought there w as ju st one truth," he said. "Jesus said, 'Y e shall know the truth.” ’ W ith M uham m ad acting his ow n law yer, the trial will probably becom e an unruly affair in I've never seen anything short o f a disaster with someone representing themselves. The prosecution doesn't like it, because they don't want to be viewed as beating up on a novice. Home equity financing that's right for you from Wells Fargo. What could be better than a home equity line of credit rate of only 3.99%? How about the peace of mind of knowing that it is a good deal too? At Wells Fargo, we get to know you and your needs so you get the right financing to help you to your Next Stage. And all of our home equity lines of credit have flexible terms, competitive rates, and affordable payment options. We have everything from mortgage refinancing, home equity loans and lines of credit to personal credit options.Talk to a Wells Fargo banker, call 1-800-WFB-OPEN (1-800-932-6736) or visit wellsfargo.com today. 'A variable annual percentage rati APR) of 3 99" will be made available on home equity lines of credit ranging from $50,000 to $750,000 “ ««. with a maximum combined loan to value of 80" excellent borrower credit history, and a Wells Fargo PACK account.There is no annual fee. The rate is subject to change monthly, with a minimum APR of 3.99<1t and a maximum of 18%. This rate requires that automatic payments be made from a Wells Fargo checking account Hazard and flood insurance (if required) must be in effect on the property securing the account This 3.99' i APR is based on an index p |is a margin. The index is the highest prime rate published in the Western Edition Wall Street Journal Money Rates table. The margin is based on the credit limit combined with the loan to value and Wells Faigo's evaluation o f the borrower's credit history. As of July 1,2003, the index value was 4% and the margin was minus 0.01. 2003 Wells Fargo Banks. All rights reserved. Members FDIC. - Paul Marcus, a law professor at the College of William & Mary which the orderly,judicial courtroom atm osphere is interrupted by aw kw ard m otions or speeches from an untrained defendant, said Paul M arcus, a law professor at the C ollege o f W illiam & Mary. “ I'v e never seen anything short o f a disaster w ith so m e o n e re p re s e n tin g th e m s e lv e s ,” M arcus said. "T he prosecution d o e sn 't like it, because they d o n 't w ant to be view ed as beat ing up on a novice. It's also a very serious problem with the judge, should he actively intervene if the person begins using this as a kind o f soapbox." M arcus said M uham m ad will probably be able to continue defending him self, with his law yers on standby, as long as the judge c o n siders him m entally com petent. " It's a very low standard, m eaning that you understand the proceedings against you, and that you are savvy enough to co o p erate,” M arcus said. r
