Give Housing a Voice Blog

In an October article, CNN Money reported that economists now believe that housing market is making a comeback faster than originally predicted and in spite of the hurricane that devastated the northeast region. This is contrary to the prior belief that visible recovery would not take place until later in the 2013 year.

There has already been a notable increase in housing prices on both new and existing homes. Not to mention even lower mortgage rates. David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders reasons the increase to people simply regaining confidence in the market. And Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com mortgage informational site, is recommending those waiting for the right time to jump in now and not to expect lower prices. It seems that there has never been a better time to invest in a home.

For those wanting to buy a home, even if you think that you can’t, RUPCO offers first-time homebuyer classes which focus on navigating through the home purchase process in addition to home buyer financial education and credit counseling. While the classes provide valuable information for all homebuyers, attendance of these classes qualifies some eligible families to receive first-time homebuyer assistance grants.

Being an educated homebuyer gives you tools that can help prevent you from facing the same foreclosure crisis so many others have. RUPCO has a simple registration process for the Homebuyer Orientation and homebuyer classes. It just takes a call to Mary Ann Marrero at (845) 331-9860 x220 or an email mmarrero@rupco.org to pre-register.

But what does this mean to those that are still at the mercy of the recent economic crisis?

Are they being left behind and forgotten? – No. RUPCO and organizations like them are still very aware of the housing and financial needs of the communities they serve. Many individuals and families still require assistance in homeownership retention. Foreclosure counseling and prevention services as well as reverse mortgage counseling are still very much a necessity.

RUPCO launched the RUPCO Foreclosure Counseling website last year in order to provide a more straight forward resource for homeowners facing potential foreclosure. The website is a great starting place for anyone behind in their mortgage payments and not sure how to go about getting help. The website streamlines the application process by providing a check list and allowing you complete paperwork online before you meet with a counselor. Now you can spend more of your time getting help instead of applying for it.

If you want to know how RUPCO can help you just call: (845) 331-9860.

There was a time when the purchase of a home called for many preparations, one of which was not the possibility of foreclosure. Today, the insecurity of the job market symbolically stands as the first domino threatening to collapse the foundation of stability that many are still striving to achieve. The recent economic crisis has left some wary of such long-term commitments like the purchase of a home. The foreclosure funding cuts for counseling and prevention have only added to social insecurities by weakening a much needed column of support; reducing hardworking examples of achievement, to jaded fiscally frightened individuals and families. The thought of owning one’s own home is rumored to have become the “impossible dream.” But nothing is impossible, only mathematically improbable…right now.

Economically, according to the Associated Press and Forbes Magazines, there is evidence of a positive climb of the housing market toward stability. However, the budding housing market recovery has done little to quell fears, especially for those in need of affordable housing. Even with reports from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that 25% of metro U.S. markets are consistently showing improvement, fear still looms. Healthy stability is still a long time coming. But this is by no means reason to give up on the dream of owning a home.

While building a home may lean more toward the scale of financial improbability in this current market, the availability of various housing resources and options is paving the way for economic growth. Projects such as RUPCO’s repurposing of the Lace Factory in Kingston will bring 50-60 affordable artists housing units into the community. The opening of Greens County’s Housing Choice Voucher program will allow some lower income families to find safer, more stable home environments. And the much anticipated completion of Woodstock Commons, an Intergenerational Campus for seniors, working families, and artists will serve many purposes pushing toward the long term goals of economic recovery, growth and stability.

Some may ask how rentals can be helpful to those seeking to own homes. Simple. This is social and economic preparation. In a stable economic market, affordable rental housing allows individuals, families, and small business owners like working artists prepare for the next step toward “the dream.” Affordable housing allows those in the lower economic tiers to focus more on long-term financial stability. With financial education and affordable homeownership programs, the “impossible dream” can find its way into fruition.

Statistically it is shown that homeownership helps build communities. But not everyone is at that ready point. The different housing options and assistance programs offered by RUPCO help to ensure that those who are can move forward and those not yet there will get there.

KOSCO, NYSE&G, Central Hudson, HeritagEnergy, Effron, Ace, Sunshine, O & R – no matter who you pay to heat you’re home, you’re probably paying too much. How many checks do you have to write before you admit you’re paying too much and do something about it?

It’s never been easier to reduce your monthly heating bills. Just pick up the phone and call 331-2140 x 260 and RUPCO’s Green Jobs/Green New York team will get you started!

1. Just saw a neat video of some guy who did this and he’s thrilled with the results. After you make your first phone call, a GJ/GNY team rep will help you pick a contractor to do your energy audit. It’s so cool. They come in with infrared lights and a giant blowing machine and show you where all the heat is escaping from your house. And for most people, this part is FREE!

2. After they figure out what to do to stop the heat loss, you pick a contractor, get an estimate, and get the work done. Maybe the insulation in your house has sunk and you need new insulation. Your basement may need sealing. Cracks get filled in, pipes get insulated, and of course, they look at your light bulbs!

3. Paying for the improvements? No problem. The pre-screened contractors are fair about pricing. And there are agencies like NYSERDA & RUPCO to help. In some cases, there are grants to do all or part of the work. And for the part you have to pay, there are low interest loans that get paid back from the money you’re saving on your energy bills.

Yup. It’s true. NYSERDA is offering a new, convenient option for financing energy-efficiency improvements on small homes. Participants in the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program may be able to get financing through NYSERDA’s On-Bill Recovery Loan Program.

This special low-rate program allows you to pay for energy efficiency improvements to your 1-4 family home through a charge on your monthly utility bill. The payments appear as a separate line item on your utility bill and are financed at a low 2.99% interest rate that may be tax deductible. Repayment amounts will be based on your projected energy savings. And get this. If you sell your property, the program is transferrable to the new owners!

So in 3 easy steps, you save money, get a more comfortable and safer home, and increase the value of your property. What’s stopping you?

A couple of announcements about housing this week made housing advocates feel almost as warm inside as the unseasonably warm outside!

First up was an announcement from the Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan that new regulations are being implemented to prevent discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. On one hand, the announcement seems a little late. Housing advocates in our area have long adhered to the basic principle and it almost seems silly that it must be announced and regulated.

That said, we realize there are many out there who still need to be told that this is unfair and illegal. HUD’s rule clarifies that otherwise eligible families may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in such relationship. Read it here:
http://1.usa.gov/z6nq5I

Better late than never!

The second important announcement this week came out of Governor Cuomo’s office. He accelerated the implementation of a new program that will save New Yorker’s big bucks on their energy bills and create jobs for contractors at the same time.

On-Bill Recovery Financing enables qualifying homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient with no cash up front. Some improvements may also qualify for NYSERDA or utility incentives or rebates. The balance of the cost of the energy efficiency project can be financed and repaid through savings on energy bills. Check it out -
http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/1312012energyupgrade

So cash-strapped New Yorker’s can get an energy audit, figure out the cost of improvements that will make the home more energy efficient, calculate how much they will save on their utility bills, and have the funding for the improvements deducted from those savings. A “pay-as-you-save” program. Got to give it to the Governor on this one. It really is brilliant.

RUPCO is implementing a major Green Jobs/Green New York program through out the Hudson Valley so following the details on their website is always a good idea.
www.rupco.org

Affordable housing is a problem everywhere – and for the same reasons it’s important in the Hudson Valley, it’s important on Long Island. Housing colleague Marianne Garvin makes a compelling case in an op-ed piece for Newsday. She could be speaking for the Hudson Valley as well. She says in part:

“While market-rate and luxury rental housing can be built without public dollars, housing at lower prices needs public subsidies to be both profitable for developers and affordable for tenants. The public sector can entice developers to build and manage affordable workforce housing by forming partnerships with the private sector. Offering federal tax credits, which are sold to private corporations such as financial institutions, brings in private capital as equity — not debt — thereby reducing the operating expenses of the development. Another way operating costs are lowered is by the public investment of low-interest loans.

In exchange for these public incentives, the developer’s profit is regulated by law and monitored by the IRS. This ensures that the rent is affordable to people earning less than 50 percent of Long Island’s median income of $107,000. To support local services, the rents cover an operating budget that includes property taxes.”

Check out the full op-ed piece in Newsday because it speaks to us as much as them! And while you’re at it, sign our housing petition on the home page to make your voice heard.

Picture getting dressed for work – in your car – because you have no home. Picture your kids doing their homework – in the car – because they have no home. If you try doing this just one day, you will be taking a major step in understanding why safe, decent affordable housing is a basic human right and why homeownership is still the great American Dream.

But for those in our community who work at minimum wage jobs, the concept of homelessness isn’t just an abstract exercise, it’s a real possibility and the dream of just getting a roof overhead trumps the dream of homeownership. For those who need help just to pay their rent, the thought that they could one day own a home is as frightening as it is inspiring. At its 30th anniversary, RUPCO will honor three past clients who, with courage and commitment, moved past their fears, overcame the hurdles and who are today, homeowners, giving back to their communities.

Tanyikia Davis will be given a Community Partner Award for courage and commitment in her triumph over adversity. Once homeless, with one child and a child on the way, Tanyikia came to RUPCO for help. With rental assistance, Tanyikia became housed and set personal goals related to transportation, education and employment. She met her goals and exceeded them, moving from family self sufficiency into homeownership. Today, she is dedicated mom, a respected employee at HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. She is clearly a role model for what someone can achieve with a little support from the community.

Lori Rotollo was a transplant to Ellenville, a single mother with a young son to care for. Having moved to the area from Michigan, she had no support network and didn’t feel any sense of commitment to her adopted community. With help from RUPCO, Lori became a first time homeowner and established a strong presence in Ellenville, where her son could walk to school and she could keep a close eye on him. Lori excelled in her work at the Institute for Family Health, becoming a supervisor and an active member of the Ellenville community. When the founder of the Warwarsing Council of Agencies left her post, that association of human service agencies started to flounder. Seeing a need, Lori filled it, becoming a hands-on coordinator who has helped the group flourish and enhanced coordinated delivery of services needed by low income families in some of the counties most rural areas.

Natasha Grant was a young mother, who married her high school sweetheart, Steven Grant, and has struggled to balance work, family life and school. Working as a waitress while Steven drove a bus, the couple moved into Birchwood Village to find decent affordable housing for their growing family of four daughters. But the couple did not want to be getting assistance forever and yearned to own a home of their own. They joined RUPCO’s Family Self Sufficiency program and leaned how to set goals, achieve them, and reach new goals. Both Natasha and Steve had education in their plans and both of them worked two jobs each to achieve the American Dream. Natasha has finished her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Human Services and Steven continues in school. Natasha works for Family of Woodstock as a counselor at Midway, one of the few residential teen programs in Ulster County. RUPCO helped them buy their first home and they are well on their way to creating for their children, the kinds of roots they want.