This Topic: Affordable Housing

[leanne finlay]

The ONLY (effective) way to ensure that Affordable Housing remains affordable is to have it managed or owned by a non profit agency. There are several non profits that do that; the Community Land Trusts actually buy and own the units, and can sell them to lower income people.

So long as we allow builders/owners to have credits for AH units, we should ensure that the units themselves be owned by CLT's or held perhaps in trust by the County (I don't know if that is actually possible, but why not?), and the County would then contract with an outside vendor non profit to manage the particular units. There are many models around the country where this has been done with very strong results.

There is no effective way you can cap appreciation on privately owned property, and it is useless to even try to figure out how to do that. We don't need to reinvent any wheels here - there are good models for us to follow. The key is really the $$$ -- how to get the $$$ contribution from a owner/builder to a proper fund for AH. Or, if the owner/builder builds AH units in their building, then how to get the ownership or the management of those units into the hands of Community Land Trusts to own/manage and/or non profits who manage AH rentals.

Keeping AH units out of the "mainstream" market is key.

Perhaps we need to have Sandra Stipe from Saratoga Housing, a Community Land Trust right here on Whidbey, to come to one of our meetings and give us a 1/2 hour presentation?

-Leanne

[Lou Malzone]

There is absolutely an effective way to cap appreciation - put it in the county code. Privately owned property is regulated in many, many ways. Appreciation is NOT a "sacred cow".

[leanne finlay]

Many areas have tried to cap appreciation, including the Seattle Metro area in the 1980's. I can't find any areas where code caps for appreciation has actually worked.

Putting units into management by groups who specialize in affordable housing rentals and Community Land Trusts does work, and works well. And, doing so, means that the County has far less enforcement issues to put into their budgets - which seems like a good thing.

[Jerry Hill]

It's great to see so many good ideas and I want to make sure there is another pertaining to affordable and low income housing. The discussion gives us ideas towards incentives in creating this kind of housing.
Link to, http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18095

I hope this adds perspective to our discussion.

[Bill Frederick]

<b>Demand grows for affordable housing for seniors</b>

A worthy topic for us to develop some creative encouragement to help meet the need from the increasing number of "senior citizens" living and coming to live in the Freeland area.

Originally published Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 12:08 AM
<a> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2009708524_seniorhomes23.html?syndication=rss&rssref=a </a>

Along with health care, housing availability for the nation's poorest seniors is the most important issue facing our growing older population.

By ADRIAN SAINZ

The Associated Press

Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute in Seattle, stands in a drought-tolerant garden atop The Bart Harvey building, which provides affordable housing for seniors, along with such perks as good views of the city.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Charleen James enjoys reading on a sunny day outside her apartment in the new Bart Harvey building in Seattle.

The Bart Harvey in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood quickly filled its 50 units when it opened in July.

The studio and one-bedroom units in The Bart Harvey efficiently use space and have energy-efficient appliances.

The Bart Harvey is just a building, but it rescued Felicity Morrison from a homeless shelter.

Morrison, 63, lived in a Seattle shelter for a year after losing her job and being evicted. It was a place full of unsavory characters and no privacy — a "hell on Earth," Morrison calls it.

A few months back, a counselor learned of The Bart Harvey development, 50 brand-new apartments in Seattle for seniors 62 and over who earn half of the area median income, or less. Morrison qualified, and moved into her one-bedroom unit last month.

"My apartment is really beautiful," said Morrison, who receives $1,057 monthly in Social Security and disability payments and pays $270 a month in rent. "I can sit in my living room and see Lake Union. I can see the boats on the water."

"Housing affordability is, quite frankly, almost a crisis for many older Americans. It's getting worse over time," said Elinor Ginzler, AARP's housing expert. "Many low-income seniors ... find themselves in a position where they can't afford a fair-market rent and are closed out of waiting lists for subsidized rentals."

<b>Along with health care, housing availability for the nation's poorest seniors is the most important issue facing our growing older population. A congressional report done earlier this decade by a commission on affordable housing and health needs for seniors said one in six people will be age 65 or older in 2020. Today, the ratio is one in 12.</b>

Demand for government-subsidized rental properties for seniors far outweighs current and planned future supply: Many existing buildings desperately require updating. Hundreds of units are lost when buildings that were once financed under Housing and Urban Development Department programs become obsolete or are sold.

<b>Despite efforts of nonprofit groups and developers, new construction isn't keeping pace with demand, especially during a recession, where financing is hard to get.</b>

The low-income senior population lives mostly on fixed incomes from Social Security. Two in five households 65 or older earn less than half of the national median income, and about one in 10 household heads in that age group live in poverty, according to census data.

Government support comes from several sources, including tax credits for investors in affordable housing, and the Section 202 program that provides grants and rental help through nonprofit sponsors of low-income senior housing projects.

Section 202, the only affordable housing program dedicated only to seniors, currently has about 250,000 units, said Brian Sullivan, a HUD spokesman. Meanwhile, local housing authorities administer millions of rental units for the nation's poor, regardless of age.

Waiting lists can be a year or longer for affordable rental units. On average, nine people are on the waiting list for each existing Section 202 unit, said Tom Slemmer, president of National Church Residences, a nonprofit that provides 25,000 affordable units for seniors whose average age is 80 and average yearly income is $10,100.

<b>Housing costs are a heavy burden. About a third of renters 65 and over spend half their income — or more — on rent and utilities. Balanced with the cost of health care, medicine and food, this group fights to survive on a monthly basis.</b>

<b>As the senior population grows, where are they going to live? </b> By the year 2020, 730,000 additional rent-assisted units will be needed for senior households age 65 and older who have problems paying for housing, according to the Congressional report.

That amount is daunting, considering an average of 3,000 to 4,500 new Section 202 units are approved per year, said Nancy Libson, director of housing policy for American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

A big issue, as always, is money. For the Section 202 program, the House has proposed $1 billion in the 2010 budget, while a Senate committee is seeking $785 million. Those totals have remained relatively flat for about eight years, Libson said.

<b>"The Section 202 program is a terrific program that is tiny compared to the demand for it," said Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.</b>

<b>Couch said efforts must be made to preserve and renovate the existing stock of affordable senior housing, adding energy efficiency and universal design concepts in the process. Renovating an existing building usually costs less than constructing a brand-new building.</b>

As critical, essential services such as health care and transportation must be made available to seniors who are living independently, to let them age in place and avoid having them "institutionalized" in a nursing home.

The ongoing credit crunch has clearly affected developers of low-income senior housing, partly because tax credits that serve as incentives for investors in affordable housing have not been attractive enough to spur construction. Slemmer said a few National Church Residences projects have been delayed due to financing problems, though none has been canceled.

Still, National Church Residences has been able to rehabilitate some Section 202 projects, including a $13.2 million renovation of a 150-unit building in Sandusky, Ohio, paid for by a combination of tax credits, grants and other sources. The renovation included asbestos removal, energy efficiency improvements and new kitchen appliances, Slemmer said.

Back in Seattle, all 50 units at The Bart Harvey are filled, including at least 10 for previously homeless seniors, said Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute, which developed and operates the building, along with 45 others in the Seattle area.

<b>Residents at The Bart Harvey pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities, with rents averaging between $150 and $250 per month.</b>

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

More Real Estate headlines...

E-mail E-mail article Print Print view Share Share

Comments (1)
Hide comments / Show comments
Thank you for drawing attention to this important topic. There are some senior housing options listed on the www.helpwithmyparent.com website for... Posted on August 22, 2009 at 10:02 PM by Tony Morrison.