Section 8 Housing Choice, and the Foreclosure Market
The foreclosures are piling up, investors and middle class homeowners are losing their speculative real estate investments and even primary residences. Meanwhile, section 8 renters have been unable to find anyone willing to rent to them. A couple of years ago, the statistics show that somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 percent of section 8 housing voucher holders, had to LOSE OUT ON THEIR SUBSIDIES. THEY HAD TO RETURN THEIR VOUCHERS, AND RELINQUISH RIGHTS TO ANY HOUSING HELP. [THAT'S THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS ONE STATE ALONE. MULTIPLY BY 50 ]….Because not enough landlords wanted to rent to them, for whatever reasons. Or, maybe the deposits and rents were way too high. So what happened to these 30 percent of poor, who lost out? where are they? well, no doubt, this may account partly, for the huge increases of homeless in that same time frame. THIS STATISTIC WAS RIGHT NEAR THE TIME WHEN HOUSING PRICES IN GENERAL, HAD REACHED SKY-HIGH LEVELS IN THIS STATE AND EVERYWHERE. And they haven’t improved, they may have in fact gotten worse for renters.
So now I ask…..in view of the foreclosure crisis as well…..
Why on Earth hasn’t HUD been using this opportunity to help section 8 voucher recipients to become homeowners?
Some housing authorities allow the voucher holders to BUY, not just rent, housing with the vouchers. That makes sense! Poor people desperately need to develop equity in something. It does not cost the program any more than renting. It helps society in general. It’s a great option. BUT NOT ALL HOUSING AUTHORITIES OFFER THIS CHOICE OF BUYING VERSUS RENTING WITH THAT VOUCHER!
That’s why I say that HUD should wake up, and require all the housing authorities that can afford it, (or help them afford it) to give that buying choice to all the section 8 voucher holders. This is the moment, or coming soon, when house prices are the lowest since what, 15 or 20 years ago?
This is the opportune moment, to get those low cost housing payments into the hands of the low income renters. AS OWNERS.
SO, i AM GOING TO BE CALLING ON MY SENATORS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND MY LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITY, TO TRY AND URGE THEM TO GET THIS TYPE OF THING GOING.
IF YOU AGREE, OR GET A GOOD IDEA ALONG THESE LINES TO HELP THE POOR IN THIS HOUSING CRISIS, THEN WHY NOT CALL YOUR LEGISLATIVE PEOPLE AS WELL. AND YOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY.
WHY SHOULD ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES BE GIVEN BY HUD, TO ENTREPRENEURS AS INVESTORS, WHO WILL THEN “FLIP” THE PROPERTIES AND PROFIT OFF THEM BY DOING WHAT THEY ALREADY DID, RAISING THE PRICE TO MAKE A PROFIT? BUY LOW, SELL HIGH. THEY SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY ONES TO BENEFIT FROM THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS.
HUD AND THE RULEMAKERS, SHOULD TURN THIS CRISIS, INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR THE POOR, THE DISABLED, THE ABANDONED WIVES, THE BATTERED WOMEN, THE STRUGGLING OVERWORKED OVERTIRED SINGLE PARENTS…. AND JUST WATCH THE BENEFIT AND THE IMPROVEMENT TO INDIVIDUALS, AND SOCIETY IN THE USA.
