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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 16, 2004 Low-income housing on hold for applicants By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Burdensome credit-card debt is keeping this town’s working poor from buying 15 new, affordable homes, leaving the nonprofit developer in the position of begging for applicants. An "incredible deal" awaits 15 lower-income families, provided they’ve kept their debt low — especially credit card debt — and are able to do simple construction tasks, helping build townhouses on Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland this spring. Breaking ground on two parcels of land bought with a $350,000 grant from the city of Ashland, Rogue Valley Community Development Corp. will build townhouses that it will sell to lower-income individuals and families at $120,000 — about half their market value in pricey Ashland, said RVCDC Director Ron Demele. The parcels are at Siskiyou and Park and at Siskiyou and Faith. They were purchased with funds from federal community development block grants. Although 42 percent of Ashland residents qualify by income, only four of 120 applicants have so far made the grade, because "the rich are getting richer and the poor are using credit cards," said Demele, with the result that almost all suitable applicants have too much debt to qualify for loans. Without a minimum of nine qualified applicants, none of the homes can be built. Advertisement To qualify, single applicants must earn less than $29,200, couples must earn less than $33,350, families of three must earn less than $37,500 or families of four less than $41,700. Applicants should not be "too poor," that is, their income should not be more than $5,000 to $10,000 below these figures. Applicants must also agree to 30-35 hours of part-time, weekend, layman-type construction tasks, such as painting, roofing and carpeting. To start the process, applicants may contact Roxanna Zepeda of RVCDC at 734-2355. The loans are provided by Rural Development, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We start by running a credit check, and that’s where most of the applicants fail," said Demele. "Rural Development expects you’ll need a third of your income for house payment and if they find you have too much debt, especially on credit cards, then they just don’t have the assurance that you can make the payments." Applicants’ chances of qualifying for the loans are improved by having dependents, either children or older relatives, said Demele, adding, "single parents do well with this." The townhomes, designed by Medford architect Bruce Abeloe, are to be built with two or three bedrooms, common walls, private back yards and private porches. RVCDC will hire a professional construction supervisor. "Getting one of these homes is like winning the lottery," said Demele, noting that applicants may not already be homeowners, although they may have liquid assets to contribute toward the down payment. Owners are free to sell the homes later at a profit, but deed restrictions bar them from "making a killing," said Demele. "They have to sell to another party with income that qualifies them, just as the seller was qualified." The homes cannot be rented out. If five more qualified applicants can be found in the next two months for a total of nine, construction on the project can start in February or March, Demele said. The final five homes, with five qualified applicants, could come later. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers