Real or Myth: Urban Affordable Homes
I live in a major metropolitan area - not big like New York or San Francisco or Chicago, but the metropolitan area is at 1.5 million. I’ve recently been on a quest to find a buyer a home and we’ve definitely been on a roller-coaster ride. I don’t like roller-coasters because they make me think my head is going to explode when the migraine sets in after being jerked, rolled, and having had my stomach fly up to my throat. Just no.
Fortunately, the roller coaster Aunt B. and I have ridden hasn’t been that drastic, but some of the results have at least warranted an upset stomach for me. The problems we’ve encountered in the hunt for her home begs the questions B. asks,
And it just leads me to continue to wonder–when we talk about there being a lot of affordable housing in Nashville, is that really the case? Right now, for instance, there are 695 houses on the market under $125,000, which makes it seem as if there’s a lot of housing stock for working class people. But if sixty percent of those are pits that need major help before you can get into them, are they really real possibilities for folks? Because, even if you can rehab them–if you have the skills–if you don’t have the money, is that house really feasible?
This observation led to another’s comment that really sums up a silent problem our nation is having:
But more generally, the loss of affordable housing stock for the lower 50th percentile of folks is the unmentioned scandal of U.S. cities.
Are there affordable homes available in our U.S. cities? If they are affordable, are they liveable? Do they require tens of thousands of dollars in renovations before someone can move in? Will the pipes need to be replaced to gain a strong water flow free of potential lead poisoning. Is the roof ready to cave in? Are there vines growing out from outlets? I’ve seen all of these problems in the last year - most in the past month.
Forbes magazine recently published an article about the most affordable places to live. Included are Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis… a city for every climate!
From personal and professional experience, I can tell you that although home prices are dropping daily and meeting qualifications of FHA loans may become more difficult, it doesn’t mean buyers will have an easy time finding a home that meets their needs.
People looking for affordable homes often need to have easily accessible public transportation, need to be able to purchase food nearby, should live in an area with plentiful jobs, and the cost of utilities shouldn’t be crazy expensive. Are there really places like this out there?
