Attainable Housing in Grand Lake
Donna
In the meeting on August 27, 2007 at Trinity, it became clear
that we do not need to address the purchase of affordable housing;
purchasing is not the goal of the majority of locals who need
assistance.
When you consider that if they buy affordable housing and there is
a limit on the amount of money they can make when they go to re-sell
the property, then the Town has taken away the main reason for
anyone to own.
The Grand Lake area needs affordable rentals. Rental opportunities
abound. Our office, Mountain Lake Properties, keeps track in the
computer as a favor to prospective tenants and landlords, at no
charge to either. We currently have twelve available properties on
a list, ranging from $500 per month for a small cabin to $1,500
per month for a 3000 square foot home. In most cases, tenants
are asked to pay for heat and electricity over and above the rent.
At all times, we also have a wide selection of affordable homes
to buy, in case anyone might be interested in purchasing a property
on which they will be permitted to make a profit when they go to sell
it.
Today, these range from a two bedroom on 4/10 of an acre with three
outbuildings priced at $159,000. to several three bedroom homes with
garages (and one with a retail shop where they could run a business)
for $269,900. Attainable housing is already here for those with the
need,
the desire and the ability to take advantage of it. People who work
in
and near the Town of Grand Lake should benefit from subsidized rents
here, not those working in other towns in Grand County.
There are probably a variety of reasons why some individuals have not
already purchased a home. Maybe they fear that they may not continue
to be employed on an ongoing basis as result of our seasonal
economy,
their employer's continued need for them in the future, etc. Or they
may
be aware that their past credit history may preclude them from
purchasing.
Some may be unsure that they will be able to continue to reside in
our
area on a long-term basis as a result of employment circumstances and
consequently do not wish to become tied to a property purchase and
mortgage here.
Now let's take a look at the landlord's point of view.
Prospective landlords are leery of bad experiences, because
almost all have had more than one. Most prospective tenants
can pay the security deposit and first month's rent up front;
most cannot pay the last month's rent as well, before they
move into their new quarters.
If prospective tenants would agree to give up a certain amount
of their rights to privacy, perhaps there could be a central location
(Grand County Housing Authority?) where credit reports could be
run and then kept on file for six months, shared with prospective
landlords with written permission from the prospective tenants and
then destroyed after six months. This would be a great help to the
tenants, because if the landlords are smart, each will run a credit
check before they allow the tenants to move in, and each time a
credit check is run, it lowers the prospective tenant's overall
credit score. (Yes, landlords should even run a credit check on
tenants who describe how perfect they are. Con men are great at
appearances: "I don't drink; I don't smoke; we don't have pets.")
Also, if a prospective landlord has a bad experience with a
tenant,they would have a central "bank" in which to log that
information. Checking these references would save future
landlords a lot of mental and financial anguish, and would
make the many vacation home owners in Grand County
feel more comfortable with opening up their homes and
allowing locals to have a comfortable and affordable
place to live.
With subsidized rentals, the appearance of the home should not be
expected to be new.I think we would all agree that affordable and/or
subsidized housing need not, necessarily, be new construction.
Forcing developers to pay for new housing units at their own expense
with no guarantee of resale simply raises the cost of housing for
everyone.
Your comments and feedback are welcomed.
You may also visit our office on the Boardwalk in person to give
yourinput or call us using 970-627-3103 or toll-free: 866-296-1949.
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Happy Wanderer
That all sounds reasonable to me.
Perhaps a few tales, with names removed,
would help people relate to everything
more directly. I hope you get lots of input.
Donna
Please drop your "inclusionary zoning" for new projects. The plan was
for each developer to build at his expense "attainable housing", in
which at least ten per cent of the new homes or condominiums that he
builds will be sold to people who will qualify for low income housing
and who will be severely limited on the amount of profit that they
will be able to make when they sell the property.
What is the point of purchasing at all, if one is limited to a profit
of three per cent on their investment in the future? One might as well
rent.
What happens if no one steps up to buy the "attainable" units that the
developers have been forced to build? The Town feels that they are
providing a service (by forcing developers to provide that service
solely at the developer's own expense) with no regard as to whether
individuals will take advantage of it. History suggests that they may
not.
For many of the seasonal workers and locals with families who need
assistance with housing, it seems to be advantageous to live in town.
Following is simply one example of what the Town of Grand Lake could
do which would actually work and which would benefit many.
The mobile home park behind Columbine Cabins is for sale, and could be
purchased with foresight by the Town of Grand Lake.
Location? Ideal! As you know, it is within walking distance of the
post office
two grocery stores
the elementary school
bus stops for middle school and high school
playground
little league field
two lakeside parks, and
shops and restaurants where many locals are employed
As the Town is obviously quite serious about providing a service for
those who need housing assistance, here is your golden opportunity.
You could use the affordable housing funds that you have accumulated
so far to make the down payment. The mortgage could be covered by the
amount of rent that you take in from the existing rentals. Currently,
the income is $5,900.00 per month. You can look forward to almost 100%
occupancy. The present owner typically has a waiting list.
The property, four 50 x 150 foot commercial lots, currently consists
of 14 mobile home spaces and one four unit apartment building - level
land, easy to build on... You could start construction with a new three
story building behind the existing apartments. In the future, with
adequate notice to the owners of the mobile homes who are paying you
space rent, you could plan to build a really large apartment building
with basic finishes - an assortment of one, two and three bedroom
units, three stories high.
Just imagine how many families that would accommodate!
For extra parking, the town might be able to purchase the steep
hillside across the road to the east. With its own equipment, it could
eat away at the hillside, selling the dirt locally to those who need
fill, and flatten out the land into a nice level parking area, perhaps
to accommodate an extra vehicle for each of the families who live in
your apartment building.
Instead of developers building vacant housing on their own spread out
properties, they could make a donation into an attainable housing fund
that the Town will use to pay off the land and to go towards the cost
of building. Donations would be made as developers sell units, out of
each closing.
The future looks reachable and, working together, we should be able to
provide safe, warm and comfortable housing for those who are currently
in need and lacking in adequate resources to achieve this goal on
their own. Please let me know what I can do to be of assistance.
(As you are probably aware, the mobile home park is currently for sale
through our office, Mountain Lake Properties. I would certainly not
want anyone to think that that is my motivation for proposing this
property and as a result, should the Town choose to move forward with
this purchase, I would be willing to waive my commission as my
contribution to attainable housing in our area. And, should you not
find this particular property suitable, I would be happy to lend my
expertise, at no charge, regarding the purchase of any other property
the Town might want to consider.)
Ron R
Lake. This approach to affordable housing seems to make more sense
in
areas where developers construct medium to large sized projects that
result in a meaningful number units. How many permanently affordable
units be expected in town during the next few years? Will it be
enough to make a difference? Is the plan for them to be permanently
or temporarily affordable?
Donna's concept about the Town acquiring the mobile home property by
Columbine Cabins has the potential to be much more effective than the
Town's approach from the standpoint of expediency and the number of
people who can be helped, at least in the foreseeable future.
I agree with Donna that there is a risk that affordable units may
stay
vacant given the demographics of this community. That would benefit
nobody and require the Town to expend resources administering a
program that is not meeting its objectives.
Ron