Affordable Housing

I used to think that owning a home was one of the most critical steps towards becoming self-reliant. But now I qualify that by thinking about affordable housing with reasonable, stable financing is pretty critical too. There was a story in the Saturday Columbia Tribune featuring two homes CMCA has owned for some time and a discussion with Dianna Moore, Economic Development Director, and the CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority, Phil Steinhaus. Insufficient income and bad credit make owning a home particularly difficult. Add to that some unscrupulous banking practices like those highlighted in another story in the Tribune and you've got a recipe for disaster. For families that are right on the edge of having the capacity to purchase, a risky loan with wildly varying interest rates on too much home can mean trouble down the road. The other story focused on a couple being lured in to buying more house than they can afford by the mortgage lenders. The conventional wisdom about "buy as much as you can afford" doesn't seem to hold true anymore. Our homes are available for those making up to 80% of median income (roughly $20,000 more than the federal poverty level) and they come with downpayment assistance. As critical as homeownership is to getting out of poverty and staying out, we've got to make sure we aren't pushing families too quickly or getting them into financial arrangements that will be difficult for them in the future. I heard on NPR that interest rates can jump as much as 10%-15% depending on the kind of adjustable mortgage agreement in place. That kind of bump could send at-risk families over the edge, cause them to lose their home, ruin their credit and put them in a worse situation than when they started. Obviously we don't want to do that.