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œiîe^Jortlanh O bserver
March 16. 2005
H ousing
Home Buying
Help Offered
Free workshops
at Reflections
B u ying a hom e ju s t got a
little less in tim id a tin g .
A fre e w o rk sh o p s p o n
sored by broker L oretta C h an
d le r and John L. S cott Real
E state is o ffered to p ro sp e c
tiv e hom e b u y ers on T h u rs
day, M arch 24 from 6 to 8 p.m.
at R e fle c tio n s C o ffe e and
B ooks lo cated at 455 N.E.
K illin g sw o rth St.
A hom e b u y ers p re se n ta
tio n w ill c o v e r fin a n c in g
q u a lific a tio n s, FHA and VA
fin a n c in g , title and escrow
pro ced u re, fix ers, investm ent
p ro p e rty , and m ore.
An array o f p ro p erty c u r
re n tly on the m ark et in select
P o rtla n d n e ig h b o rh o o d s and
s u r r o u n d in g c o m m u n itie s
w ill be on d isp lay .
A m o rtg ag e b ro k e r w ill be
a v a ila b le to d isc u ss fin a n c
ing and to start the hom e loan
p re -q u a lific a tio n pro cess.
F or m ore in fo rm a tio n , call
503-435-7280.
' cl
I JJ.
Land Trust Program Keeps Homes Affordable
Brings down
the cost of a
purchase
Harmonia Murray w on’t sugar-
coat herexperience of looking for a
house.
“It was depressing,” she said.
“There is a lot of anticipation in
home buying.”
The homes Murray could afford
on the open market were “fixer-
uppers,” houses that would take a
lot of money and time to make liv
able for her and her three teenage
daughters.
While taking a Home Buying
class at Portland Housing Center,
Murray learned about the Portland
Community Land Trust (PCLT).
PCLT is a nonprofit, community
organization that safeguards land
in the Portland community to pro
vide affordable hom eow nership
opportunities. PCLT creates per
manent affordability by bringing
the land under the house into trust,
thus the purchase price and mort
gage payments are 30 to 40 percent
below market value. When a family
decides to sell a Portland Commu-
After all of her hard work, Murray
said that she “likes the feeling of
independence when she com es
hom e,” and that “this home means
freedom.”
Sales prices are set at levels that
give income qualified buyers a rea
sonable monthly mortgage pay
ment. Homes currently for sale in
n o rth and n o rth e a st P o rtla n d
through PCLT include newly con
structed two bedroom town homes
for $ 109,900, a duplex that is being
built on the Interstate Max line, and
a newly renovated four bedroom
older home in the Kenton neigh
borhood.
Portland Community Land Trust
is committed to increasing the op
portunities for low and moderate
income residents to achieve the
freedom of homeownership. Free
orientations are held regularly to
introduce interested home buyers
to the program and the homes that
are currently available. The next
one is W ednesday, M arch 23 from
6:30 to 7:30 pm at the PCLT office,
Harmonia Murray (center) found a home for her family through Portland Community Land Trust.
3109 B N.E. B roadw ay. If you
Using her personal savings and ment and fireplace, access to bus w ould like to learn m ore about
nity Last Trust, the home is resold
to another family with limited in PCLT funds, Murray closed on a stops, and close to work, schools PC L T ’s hom es for sale, please
come, thus keeping the house af home that met all of her priorities: a and affordable grocery stores. It contact 503-493-0293 or check out
Concordia bungalow with a base also met her need for affordability. w w w .pclt.org
fordable for future generations.
MMMHNM
New Columbia: Fresh start for an old neighborhood
continued
from 45
already gentrified Alberta Street, it makes
one wonder where the "diversity” of the
neighborhoods come in.
“If it happens slowly nobody pays at
tention,” Wilhelm said. “It’s got to be
tough for people who have lived there for
generations.”
Arbuthnot said that hopefully with New
Columbia, this w on’t happen and resi
dents will begin their new lives with the old
sense o f community.
“We would like to see the residents be
empowered to have a say in how the
formation of their community goes,” she
said. “To also be mindful of what was there
before, what were the strengths, the safety
of the children, of people looking out for
each other?”
Appeal of new homes
Siblings Brenda and Gordo Prestegui were residents o f Columbia Villa before
the reconstruction.
photo by
The hurdles seem somewhat fragile at
times, but thankfully the Housing Author
ity of Portland has made a conscious effort
to stay in touch with all the former resi
dents during their displacement.
“T hey’ve continued to offer the ser
vices and help to keep them readjusted so
that it doesn’t feel that these people are
abandoned so that this isn't a big land
grab,” Arbuthnot said. “I do think that
systems are putting put in place. It feels
like it has a pretty good chance."
While the neighborhood was greatly
affected by a temporary move, many are
looking forward to coming back.
“There are some people who have never
lived in a brand new home,” Arbuthnot
said.
“From the moment we began talking
with people, they said it's going to be
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
The New Columbia site will feature 850 units, including public housing,
affordable rental housing, elderly housing and homes for sale.
great,” Wilhelm added. “W e’re going to
have parks, w e're going to have open
space. W e’re going to have our neighbors
around us again. I think there are enough
people that are going to come back to find
if not their old neighbors, they ’ 11 find simi
larities in their new neighbors. It’s the
people’s will to make this work."
Arbuthnot credited the Housing Au
thority for listening to the residents.
“They are empowering the residents,”
Arbuthnot said. "There is a great sense
of hope that a lot of people are express
ing.”
W ilhelm hopes that with the docu
mentary. a project sponsored by the O r
egon Film and Video Foundation, the old
residents of Colum bia Villa can come to
understand them selves better and be
aware o f the changes coming.
"T h ere's a theory out there in physics.
Every time you observe som ething it
changes that thing. I think by us observ
ing (the people im pacted by the reloca
tion) there may have been some positive
change,” W ilhelm said.
“ W e’re interview ed m ore than 75
people,” he said. “W e’ve been able to
help ou, a little bit, a small way to maybe
push for a higher rate o f success for this.”
For more information on New C olum
bia, visitw w w .hapdx.org. For more infor
mation on the documentary, call 503-287-
3731.
Dreaming of owning your own home?
You can buy a h o m e through th e
Portland C om m unity Land Trust
loan
of Owning
Your Own Home?
Portland Community Land Trust offers:
. Quality homes at affordable prices (income qualifications apply)
. Shared appreciation that ensures affordability for the next buyer
.
rvices
Support through the home buying process
Want to learn more?
Attend a free
PCLT Homeownership Orientation:
Wednesday, March 23rd, 6:30-7:30 pm
Thursday, April 7th, 6:30-7:30 pm
Tuesday, Apri, 19th, 6:30-7:30 pm
Advertise with diversity in ffl,*$ 3 o rtla n b <Obscvuev
( all 5O3-2KX-OO33
ads@portlandob
scia
e i.eo m
C all for more inform ation: 503-493-0293 or
visit our website at w w w .pelt.org