Help for housing?

Posted by Wyoming Real Estate

August 10, 2007

The Wyoming Business Council says it needs 10 times what it received from the Legislature to encourage construction of affordable homes for Wyoming’s growing work force.

The council is seeking $10 million to help communities finance the cost of sewer, water and streets needed for new housing as part of the Workforce Housing Infrastructure Program.

The 2007 law allocated only $1 million in loans only for housing infrastructure as a pilot project. The $10 million request is predicated on the expectation the Legislature next February will modify the program to include grants.

Proposed rules that the Wyoming Business Council adopted July 13 specify that each project demonstrate a method to prevent unduly enriching a developer and to prevent speculators from buying a house in order to quickly sell it at a profit.

The project, the rules say, may require the homeowner to live in the house for at least five years to get the lower loan interest rate.

If the home buyer sells before the five years are up, the interest rate would then be calculated at the same rate as the first mortgage.

The $10 million housing program request is part of the Business Council’s nearly $53 million budget request for the 2009-2010 biennium. It also includes an additional $12 million specifically for construction of child care facilities in the state.

Currently child care grants come from the same pot of money that pays for all of the Business Ready Communities Program projects, aimed at helping communities grow and diversify their economies. The council is concerned that the child care projects compete with the traditional types of projects paid for by the program.

The proposed rules defines “affordability” to mean that monthly mortgage payments including taxes and insurance do not exceed 30 percent of the homeowner’s monthly gross income.

By JOAN BARRON - The Casper Star Tribune

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