OCHI - News

From the Oakland Tribune, 1/26/04

From Section 8 renter to home owner
Oakland Housing Authority program helps low-income families buy their own houses
By Chauncey Bailey
STAFF WRITER
Monday, January 26, 2004 - OAKLAND -- Janet Adams, a mother of two, has gone from welfare and being a Section 8 renter to becoming an East Oakland home owner.
Adams, 28, is the first person to take advantage of the Oakland Housing Authority's Section 8 Home Ownership Program, which allowed her to use a government subsidy toward the purchase of a newly-constructed home on Seminary Avenue, a three-bedroom place with two bathrooms and a wooden deck. Adams also is the first person to buy a house under the Oakland Community Housing Inc. Infill Home Ownership Initiative, which uses manufactured housing technology to fill vacant lots and replace neighborhood eyesores with high-quality housing.
Oakland Community Housing Inc., which has built1,000 units during three decades, constructed Adams' home, which is valued at $270,000. It could be worth as much as $340,000 in a few years, officials said.
Section 8 is a government-sponsored subsidy that pays a portion of a tenant's rent on a scale based on income and the market value of the housing. The program is run by the Oakland Housing Authority, which runs public housing in the city.
Adams also received loans and grants from the city of Oakland's Mortgage Assistance Program and the California Housing Finance Agency.
City officials have been working to provide loans, down payment assistance and credit counseling workshops that target low-income minority renters in an effort to increase home ownership opportunities.
They have been stymied by the fact that low-income families are unable to buy homes because the median home price in the Bay Area is $400,000. Many low-income residents might be intimidated by the conventional mortgage process or are targeted by so-called predatory lenders, who charge higher rates to those with poor credit records because they are deemed a higher risk by banks.
East Oakland flatland community leaders have said neighborhood pride will grow and blight will decrease if more renters can buy homes.
"I didn't want to be another statistic, a renter," said Adams, who was only 13 when she gave birth to the first of two children. "I was just determined to get a home."
It almost didn't happen. Just before Adams was ready to close on the transaction earlier this month, a banker erred on a document and said there was a credit history problem. It took a week to fix the problem, Adams said.
Sharon Harrison Brown, OHA deputy director, said the process took about 18 months. "We had to find a place that was affordable and she could use her Section 8 subsidy. She stayed with the process and got help with the down payment.
"One of our goals and a goal for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is to encourage home ownership. We are hoping to get another 10 people in this program this year."
Adams went through OHA's Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The voluntary program helps low-income renters with skills to find better-paying jobs, establish a good credit rating and save for a down payment.
Adams was able to find work as a customer service representative at Providian and later a job at SBC, where she is now employed.