Low Income Housing Guide

Low Income Housing Benefiting from the Recession??

The recession may be biting hard on the many economic fronts but one sector that is suddenly getting attention in terms of long needed funding is low income housing. The many foreclosures has resulted in a very high demand for such housing due to many people not being able to purchase their own homes.
Victims of the economic crunch, they seek help from the government and with a new president, he can’t wait to oblige, promising part of the trillion dollar bailout funds to be released by the Federal Bank into the public housing sector. The HUD has welcomed the news which is good for with it they can indeed house more people who need more permanent residences. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mack and Mae - Government Control?

This is a proposal by some lawmakers which was more than just stiffly opposed by the housing industry that has seen minimal government control in the past years. The proposal came as lawmakers are trying to find a way of avoiding the same problems from haunting them and in the long run, to protect the American public as a whole who suffers most from such economic crisis. Both parties being the largest home lenders in the US are quite silent on the matter with guarantees from the President himself for support to the two giants in the housing industry may it be expressed verbatim or not. Read the rest of this entry »

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President Pledges To Boost Weakened Public Housing System

It takes a recession, a rash of foreclosures and millions of homeless people, and not to forget, a new President to bring much needed focus to the long decaying public/low income housing industry that suffered a lot from budget cuts, thanks to the last administration. Budgets and allocations were slashed as the economy turned sour at the end of their term of office, leaving the new leader to pick up the pieces of the shattered economy. The program has decayed so much that when the economy slid, Read the rest of this entry »

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Basic Info on the LIHTC or Tax Credit

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is basically a housing support initiative from the government that began in 1986. The LIHTC aims to give both individuals and families with low to moderate income. A little more than a dollar but not more than two dollars (which is adjusted based on the inflation rate) per person in each state is allotted to funding housing projects for qualified households. There is a table of income based on the size of the household that determines who is eligible for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. While the LIHTC is a government project, the developments themselves are privately owned, but the companies receive 10 years worth of tax cuts as a sort of payment for financing a low income housing project.

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Selling your House - Not Good Timing

The health of the housing market has again been changed with January trends showing that the home prices are going down to ever low levels since the crisis began. There are a lot of people who have opted to go and sell their homes in exchange for rental properties but even them are finding themselves ina fix when even the properties they are renting get foreclosed leaving them with nowhere to go. Foreclosures are on the rise and jobs are still being lost meaning people are getting desperate and frustrated at the length of time it takes for their bailout funds to get to them. Most Americans who face foreclosure are getting bailout checks and tax discounts to help ease the foreclosure problem yet with time against them, they may have to settle for foreclosure after all.
Pople are left with no other options for they are facing more serious problems than just late payments. Seeing your home going up for auction may be the most painful experience for most for they have invested all their life’s savings into their homes yet in spite that they still loose everything.

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Pre-Fab Housing Units

Though more associated with low-cost housing in third-world countries, such technologies are available making housing affordable for both developer and buyers. The foundations for the walls are done traditionally with the walls pre-cast in a plant where concrete is poured into molds and released after a few hours. This type of technology in housing allows fast building thus cheaper houses for the masses. The wall segments are then positioned into the dug foundations bolted together form above, filled with concrete and the floors filled in and leveled.
The ready made roof is then put in place bolted to the walls and reinforced with clamps to protect from strong winds. The fitting crews then go in, installing the internal walls, doors and jambs as well as electrical, water and gas fixtures. They are however quite prone to damage from ground shifting, cracking walls, so location in earthquake prone areas would require a lot of bolstering to the foundation.

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Prefabricated Container Vans

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Low income houses are normally made of cardboard tubes, prefabricated materials, geodesic kits, inflatables and polyurethane igloos. In recent years, builders have started using second hand container vans to build not only homes but also offices, clinics and restaurants.

Somewhere in the Bicol region in the Philippines, an entire resort, where international wakeboarding competitions are being held annually, used container vans as some sort of cabanas in place of a regular hotel room.

These accommodations are just like the usual hotels, only less expensive and a little smaller but they have all the usual amenities, the twin beds, receiving area, intimate dining area, a bathroom, with cable and internet connections and an air conditioning system.

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Buying the House you can Afford

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Acquiring a house entails a lot of both standard and additional fees. Affordable housing more often refers to rental housing within the financial capacity of a certain community but it has now come to include both the renters and buyers from all income brackets.The normal parameter for the affordability of a house is a housing cost lower than 30% of the gross take home pay of a household. Housing costs included in this are insurance and taxes for the owners and basic utility costs. If the operational expenses of running a house goes beyond 30%-35% of the total gross take home pay, then that house is considered unaffordable.
Another way of measuring housing affordability is by looking at the regular hourly wage of full time workers who are being paid only the minimum wage set by their local, regional or state government. The objective is for a full time worker to be able to afford a small house or apartment in the area where his or her work is.

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Low Income Loans

Acquiring a property can be difficult. You need money. Everything needs to be budgeted. And if you want something more, you’ll have to pass it up some other time. good thing though, there are special low income loans that caters to the people who earn low income. Low income earners are those whose income falls under 50-75% of the area median. If you pass this criteria, you are qualified to avail of the loan. You have two options to apply for the loan. The secured low income loan and unsecured low income loan. In the secure income loan, you provide a collateral. Anything with high value like car, appliances etc. Under this option, you can request for a large loan amount. And repayment terms of up to 30 years. In the unsecured low income loan, it will be limited to 25000(Pounds) and repayment terms range up to 10 years only. For best deals, try to search and compare loan offers.

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How to Apply for Low Income Housing

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If you are in need of a place to live and you are either homeless or at or below the poverty level, you may qualify for low income housing in the area in which you live. If you are in need of finding a home or an apartment for you and your family, it is best to begin the application process as soon as possible.

How to Apply for Low Income Housing
Step1
Turn on your computer and access your internet browser.
Step2
Go to the public housing site for low income families and select the state in which you live.
Step3
Examine the list of available agencies and choose the one that is closest to where you live or in the county that you reside in.
Step4
Gather the contact phone number and contact person and take down all necessary information regarding the agency.
Step5
Keep track of contacts. Record all pertinent information on a piece of paper for later reference.
Step6
Pick up your telephone and call the designated number and contact person. Explain that you want to apply for low income housing. Set up an appointment to go in person and complete the application process.
Step7
Go to the appointment and be sure to bring all financial records and asset information. When the application is complete you will be notified of your eligibility. You may be placed on a waiting list.

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