Gary, Indiana to sell its abandoned homes for $1

[theHandpuppet]

At first I thought this was a great idea because it seemed so many poor could finally have the chance to own a home. However, as I kept reading I discovered there was this little caveat:
"...as long as they meet a minimum income threshold (starting at $35,250 for one person) and demonstrate the financial ability to bring the neglected property up to code within six months."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/us/a-chance-to-own-a-home-for-1-in-a-city-on-the-ropes.html?hpw
A Chance to Own a Home for $1 in a City on the Ropes
By STEVEN YACCINO
Published: August 14, 2013

GARY, Ind. — As a tower of black smoke rose above this blighted city last week, a group of neighbors huddled across the street from a burning house, trying to guess which other vacant properties on their block would be arsonists’ next target.

“There’s so many,” said Tasha McMiller, 50, a resident dismayed by the estimated 10,000 abandoned homes here. “They’re a burden.”

Officials say that a third of the houses in Gary are unoccupied, hollowed dwellings spread across a city that, like other former industrial powerhouses, has lost more than half its population in the last half-century.

While some of those homes will be demolished, Gary is exploring a more affordable way to lift its haggard tax base and reduce the excess of empty structures: sell them for $1....

[exboyfil]

1. What's the problem

At $7.25/hr working 220 days/yr you only need to work 22 hrs/day.

[davidpdx]

2. That is way too high for one person

I could see the $35,000 for a family of 4, but 1 is ridiculous. One of my parents who lives by themselves only makes a few thousand more than that and bought a condo.

[theHandpuppet]

3. Totally agree

Seems to me the people who are going to jump on this will be slumlords. I had hoped this would be more of an opportunity for people of limited incomes who really need housing.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. That's right.

Either slumlords or people with a lot of money who will want to flip the houses will buy those properties. They should give low income people a shot at owning property. They could stipulate that the owner of the property must live there for at least the next 5 years.

They built some new houses here in my town several years ago and sold the houses to low income people under those conditions and today it's a neat little neighborhood. A woman donated that property to the city years ago because she wanted housing built for low income people so they could have a middle-class lifestyle. They planned it, built it, and sold the houses and it's been a success. I think it was likely built with a FEMA money grant after Katrina. I don't see why they couldn't do something similar with those houses in Gary. It would certainly be a noble thing to try.

I think it might work if these blighted cities would offer these cheap houses to low income people across the country. Let people apply for these residences and make some deals. A lot of people would relocate just to be able to own their own home. I would most definitely consider it. I know it can't happen, though, because we can't bypass the blood-suckers from getting their piece of it all.

[theHandpuppet]

10. Proof that it CAN work

Sounds like Gary didn't even give it a try. Easier to take quick money from slumlords who will in turn overcharge potential low-income renters for the privilege. Sure, they'll get the buildings up to code initially, then once they've got the return on their investment(s), they'll let the property go to seed and the city will be stuck with the property all over again. It's a racket.

[FrodosPet]

13. Sell them for a dollar to the poor

Then the government should give the owners a $25,000 voucher account for cleaning and rehab.

Set it up so the housing agency handles the money, paying it directly to contractors instead of the occupants, and you can eliminate possible misuse of the money.

For $250,000,000 the city of Gary can put 10,000 houses back on the tax rolls.

[hobbit709]

4. So they're flat out saying they don't want any poor people in their city.

[theHandpuppet]

6. Sure sounds that way to me

Nice, huh?

[onethatcares]

5. looks like

I'm out of that equation, but with an average income of 32,900 and a median income of 24,600 one would guess there aren't going to be many takers .

[HardTimes99]

8. I'm so flashing on R. Dean Taylor about now:

[link:http://

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[Xithras]

9. I understand where the comments are coming from, but remember that owning a house is expensive.

If the toilet breaks, or the roof leaks, or the plumbing needs to be rebuilt, there's no landlord to call for a fix, and contractors rarely take payment plans. We do no favors to the poor by sticking them into run-down, unmaintained homes with serious repair needs, when those poor lack the financial means to make the repairs. If you're renting a house and the main sewage line breaks, you call the landlord and get him to fix it, or you call the state and have the guy prosecuted as a slumlord if he refuses. If you own a house and the main sewage line breaks, you whip out a checkbook and be prepared to hand over around a thousand dollars in cash, or you grab a shovel and start digging "potty holes" in your yard.

If these homes have been abandoned for a while, they will all need expensive repairs to make them safely habitable. As many of these homes will be older and contain hazards like lead paint and asbestos, moving in right away and repairing them slowly or "as the budget permits" won't be a realistic option. That's not even addressing the mold and infestation issues that are fairly standard on unoccupied homes that sit closed for an extended time. The house may only cost a dollar, but I'd be shocked if any of these homes would be habitable without at least a five digit cash investment.

"Housing the poor" may be a worthy cause, but sticking the poor into substandard and potentially dangerous housing, without any funding to make the needed repairs, in a city with chronic and serious unemployment issues, doesn't do those poor any good.

[Marrah_G]

11. I agree

These homes are going to need alot of rehab in a very short amount of time.

[Xithras]

12. My brother in law used to rehab and "flip" abandoned tax-sale homes.

I didn't have much to do with the operating side of things, but I visited a number of the homes he bought and and had a financial stake in his small company.

He did dozens of houses like these, and I can't think of a single instance where he purchased a house that was actually habitable. Nearly every house required between $15,000 and $25,000 in work before they could be lived in, and some required more. None required less. That's cash money that has to be paid to the contractors when the work is done.

The poor who would benefit the most from a free home rarely have that kind of cash just sitting around, and no bank is going to write a mortgage on an unliveable home, even if you got it for free and are planning on using the mortgage money to repair it. That's why it's pointless to give homes like these to the homeless. Cities like Gary don't have the funds to help low income buyers fix these homes up, so the homeless would have no resources to help them make the homes liveable.

[FrodosPet]

14. Five hundred One Percenters, paying a half million each

And the poor in Gary will have clean safe houses with no further costs beyond property taxes and ongoing upkeep.

160,000 One Percenters paying an average of a half million each would rehab 4,000,000 homes around the country.

[SoCalDem]

16. Many (most?) of these houses have been stripped of anything that could be sold

The are just creaky shells sitting on overgrown lots. (most of them)

and poor people do not have the money to rehab them to even the barest of live-a-bility..and then what? Joblessness is rampant there, and how does a jobless person pay the taxes and repay the loans for the rehab?

It;s a vexing problem,

What WOULD work would be for the city to "buy" them rehab the best ones and use them for their low-income housing

[nobodyspecial]

15. Might help to actually read the article

"The program, announced in June, will offer Gary residents a chance to pay less for a house than for their morning coffee, as long as they meet a minimum income threshold (starting at $35,250 for one person) and demonstrate the financial ability to bring the neglected property up to code within six months. Those selected would have to live in the home for five years before receiving full ownership.

Nearly 400 people picked up applications on the first day they were available. After an extensive preselection process, the city will choose 12 out of 25 finalists in a lottery next month."

Offer open only to Gary residents.
Income needed to bring house up to code for safety of resident and meet goal of improving city.
Have to live in property for five years to get ownership.
Only starting with 12.