Is affordable housing government or public issue?

City of Austin believed that affordable housing should become public concern and decided to shift affordable housing from a regulatory to incentive-based development model.
In April 2000, Austin city council  passed a resolution called S.M.A.R.T. Housing™ in order to moderate the trends that made much of the local real estate unaffordable for low and medium income families. What this initiative proved is that in order to succeed it required active participation from private sector (in this case developers and builders).
Seven years later, resolution is proving to be not just smart, but successful, too.
Yes it’s slow. Yes, the demand is much higher than originally anticipated, and yes, it creates whole new set of challenges and issues such as possible increase of poverty in already low-income neighborhoods.
But, this initiative created more than 8,200 units (3,000 single-family and 5,220 multifamily units), and is currently building another 1,750 units, and preparing to build additional 1,750.
Lets do some math: 8,200 + 1,750 + 1,750 = 11,700 If the average household size in Austin is 2.34 – that’s 27,378 people with home.
Now, my question is: If it works in Austin, what prevents other Texas major cities to do the same? As a matter of fact, what prevents other US major cities to do the same?
It is quite obvious that we can not rely on authorities to do everything for us, and that private sector should not exist, merely, to write a check for donation, but to actively participate in creating sustainable programs to empower the community at large.
And it is also clear that our authorities should have the ability to create a platform that will support such initiatives, and not undermine them with tedious rules, regulations, and truck-load of paperwork.
With all due respect to our politicians, I have more fate in successful businesspeople creating a program that will produce benefit (profit) for the community. They already proved to know what they’re doing, with their businesses.

Do we really need a house loan from Wallmart?

Loaf of bread, milk, cereal, tooth paste, home equity loan… This is certainly not the shopping list I would like to keep in my purse.

H.R. 698, the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007 (not to be mistaken with H.R. 698 Citizenship Reform Act of 2005), which provides enhanced regulation of parent companies of industrial loan companies (ILCs) and strengthens the national policy separating banking and commerce, finally passed House Financial Services Committee and is headed to the full House for a vote.

This would restrict big retailers from operating an industrial loan company (ILC), which is a type of bank. Home Depot and Wal-Mart have applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to open ILCs, although Wal-Mart withdrew its application in March.

NAR (National Association of Realtors) has argued that banks should be “honest brokers” of financial services, and should not be swayed into making credit decisions based on their affiliation with retailers.

For the testimony of FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) please see the testimony given by Sheila C. Bair.

To share your opinion on proposed bill, contact your Congress Representative

Proper landscaping can save power consumption and lower bills

Plant deciduous trees on the east, west, and south sides of your house. Because deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn, they allow the sunlight through in the winter to warm your house thus saving on heating. In the spring and summer when their leaves are out they block sunlight to cool your home. You can save from 10% to 50% in air-conditioning power consumption in this way. In addition, if you plant a tree where it will shade your exterior air-conditioning unit, it will run more efficiently and use less electricity.

Plant evergreen tress in two or more staggered rows on the northwest side of your home to act as a windbreak (or the side with prevailing winter winds where you live; if you’re not sure call your local meteorologist at any airport or weather station). The windbreak will help reduce home heating fuel consumption and save on fuel bills.

Before you plant trees around your property it’s a good idea to consult a professional gardener, a tree service, or your local forestry department to find out the optimal positioning and conditions for your tree planting.

For more information on energy preservation, please visit Kyoto Action

Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University Warns of Foreclosure ‘Rescue’ Scam

Convinced that home foreclosures will rise dramatically in the next two years, the chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University warns that a new scam threatens homebuyers desperately looking for a way out of financial stress.
“Predatory lenders now offer what they call ‘rescue loans,’” said Dr. Mark Dotzour, “but homebuyers are neither rescued nor do they actually receive loans.”
Here is how the scam works. The homebuyer gets behind on mortgage payments. The predatory lender offers a “loan to get caught up” on the delinquent mortgage payments. In exchange for the rescue, the homeowner signs over the title to the predator, who promises that the homebuyer may remain in the home while paying rent. The predator
then sells the house to someone else, and the original homeowner gets an eviction notice.
About a dozen states have passed laws designed to deter rescue loan fraud, but Texas is not one of them.

For full article, please go to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Houston’s property tax rate is Number 1. in the nation

And this is the first place many of us would not like to see. A new report by the Tax Foundation, titled “Property Tax Collections Surged with Housing Boom” confirms what we’ve, already, seen in our new property tax assessment for 2007.
Key findings of above mentioned report are:
1. Property taxes highest in the Northeast, Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
2. New York and New Jersey dominate list of high-tax counties
3. About half of all property taxes go to public schools
4. Property taxes rose faster than incomes from 2002 to 2004
5. Housing market decline may force local government to cut spending or raise property taxes.
To read the full report, please go to Property Tax Collections Surged with Housing Boom

Hottest 10 Buyer’s Markets and 5 of them are in Texas

According to Housing Predictor, hottest 10 Buyer’s markets are:
1. Albuquerque, NM
2. McAllen, TX
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. New Orleans, LA
5. Austin, TX
6. Houston, TX
7. Biloxi, MS
8. El Paso, TX
9. Little Rock, AR
10. Dallas, TX
Housing Predictor’s selection of the Hottest 10 Buyers Markets are ased on surveys conducted on 75 markets under consideration from more than 250 local housing markets forecast on the web site.
The highest amount of forecast appreciation during the remainder of 2007 was given the heaviest weight in the survey. Market conditions, sales velocity, pricing and more than 20 other factors were also considered.
The Hottest 10 Buyers Markets represent growing local economies, which are sure to foster growth into 2008 and some even into the following decade.

For more information, please go to Housing Predictor’s Hottest 10 Markets