CITY HOUSING PROGRAM FALLS SHORT REPORT FINDS INLAND EMPIRE INNOVATIVE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer When it comes to innovative affordable-housing programs, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. doesn't stand out from the crowd, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report released Monday. The city was one of eight municipalities that failed to rate a mention in the ``Affordable Home: Best Practices in America'' report compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based Homeownership Alliance. Meanwhile, the now-bustling metroplex of Riverside, San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Ontario, collectively the Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. , and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. did. Those two areas are on the opposite ends of the price spectrum, so affordable housing is not viewed as an oxymoron by the alliance. But alliance officials point out they are not singling out L.A. and the seven others for criticism either, noting that the 20 municipalities examined have some form of affordable-housing program. The 12 featured in the report have more innovative components, though, officials said. The report is a sampling of what the alliance thinks are some of the best affordable-housing practices in the nation. ``We tried to find places that had a good mix of ... programs that would help the homeowner get into a home,'' said alliance President Rick Davis
For example, in the Inland Empire the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside joined the Riverside-San Bernardino Housing and Finance Agency and created the Public Lease-to-Purchase program. It helps people who can afford making a monthly house payment and have a good record of paying their rent. It allows participants to lock in a home price and use the lease-purchase period to establish or repair their credit and eventually buy the home. The alliance sent letters to housing officials asking for information about their programs and checked out the Web sites of each city. Davis wants to give the findings wide distribution. ``What we hope is that (cities) will look at this as a primer to the kinds of programs they can participate in,'' he said. Not having their programs highlighted didn't seem to miff anyone at City Hall, either. ``In terms of why we didn't make it to the list, I would suggest you speak to the Homeownership Alliance and ask them why that happened,'' Diana Rubio, a spokeswoman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , said in a voice-mail message. While the city didn't score any points with the alliance for innovation it didn't seem to get any credit for volume, either. The city's Housing department (www.lacity.org/lahd/) offers eight homebuyer-assistance programs. They include loans for low- and moderate-income first-time buyers first-time buyer n → persona que compra su primera vivienda first-time buyer n → personne achetant une maison ou un appartement pour la première fois first-time buyer , down payment assistance, tax credits and below-market rate loans. Meanwhile, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles is the public housing agency for Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1938. There are more than 60 public housing locations in Los Angeles. (www.hacla.org) participates in the Federal Section 8 program that dates back to the Great Depression. It used to just focus on rental assistance but now included a purchase component, too. And the authority offers the Home Ownership Supportive Services program that teaches prospective buyers 22 hours of financial literacy Financial literacy is the ability of individuals to make appropriate decisions in managing their personal finances. Raising levels of financial literacy is now a focus of government programmes in countries including[1] Australia, Japan, the United States and the UK. and the process required to buy a home. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: INNOVATION Source: Homeownership Alliance |
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