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Some new affordable housing options in the City of Orlando

By
Real Estate Agent with Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. BK627826

The City of Orlando has come up with another bright idea.  Let's use our tax dollars to buy workforce housing.  You can read a detailed article about this in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel. The city is considering charging devleopers a linkage fee to help pay for this. 

I always find it amusing that every statement or article on this subject describes the workforce as firefighters, teachers, and policemen.  On top of all these professions already being government employees (which makes the government look pretty pathetic), many of these people work additional jobs on the side at great pay anyway. Teachers only work 9 months a year.  Many police work side security jobs that pay great hourly rates. And all their jobs are unionized.  I certainly am not out to bash these professions, but honestly they are not suffering nearly as bad as people in the private sector who don't have a guaranteed paycheck with lots of pensions and vacation pay and health insurance.  Come on now!

The other thing that nobody wants to bring up is that the State of Florida is required by law to use the money from documentary stamps (paid every time a deed or mortgage gets recorded) to pay into the workforce housing fund.  Instead for years, the State of Florida has raided this fund to pay for other projects, and thus allowed workforce housing to kind of go by the wayside.

It is nice to see that Orlando's Mayor Buddy Dyer just got re-elected last week at the same time the property tax reform amendment passed.  Interesting.

  

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central and South Florida.

We buy houses cash, sell properties, and list properties in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Pine Hills, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Saint Cloud, Davenport, Winter Haven, and more. www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/  

Comments (1)

Lisa Spalding
Casa Latino Four Corners, REALTOR, CDPE - Longwood, FL
REALTOR, CDPE
Isn't it the same City of Orlando that gives $7,500 to people in those professions (teachers, nurses, firefighters...) to help defray the cost of buying a house?  I may be wrong but many people in these professions can and do already have money saved for that while other people in different professions (uh, I mean jobs) can make just enough money to NOT qualify for down-payment assistance programs but still really need them.  I seriously DON'T know the answer to affordable housing or to programs that allow most people to get into their first home.  Interesting post. 
Feb 07, 2008 10:10 AM