Wonderful news! Oregon Affordable Housing advocates have helped secure much needed funds to help retain low-cost rental housing units, funding that will include saving 667 apartment units in Jackson County, Oregon, keeping these units from being sold at market rates when their contracts expire soon. With the low rents maintained to help the tenants, these buildings need maintenance that has not been in the budget. With only $7 million allocated to the entire state, plus $4 million for the State's Affordable Housing Tax Credit program, these funds are going to be stretched very thin to meet the needs of low to very low income Oregon residents. Since these units house the most vulnerable members of our society, the elderly, disabled and working poor, I say this is truly wonderful news! Hopefully, the remaining funds needed that will originate from Bond sales, tax credits and bank financing will come through.

What about Affordable HOMEOWNERSHIP, though? You know, the motivator many young families have to provide stability to their household, the long-term investment they may plan to one day own free & clear when it is time to retire? That white picket fence and lush green lawn they get to paint and mow on weekends when they aren't on the field with their children? That outdoor living we Southern Oregonians enjoy so much? What about the friendships that are built with one's neighbors? The home they may one day bring an elder parent in to that needs extra care and is the base their adult children will come back to? Most buyers are not investors focused on flipping homes and short-term gains, and don't walk away from their homes when a business cycle hits a low point when they find their gamble did not payoff, yet these buyers who represent the stabilizing force in the real estate market cannot get the financing they need.

With the suspension of the State's CashAdvantage bond loan for first time home buyers due to lack of buyers for the bonds that fund this program, 100% conventional financing programs disappearing due to mortgage insurance companies tightening criteria, and Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance programs under the gun, how will the next generation of low-to-moderate income people achieve home ownership? They don't qualify for the subsidized rental programs, have very little disposable income to set aside to cover large down payments and closing costs, while many make very responsible credit decisions, paying their bills on time and limiting their debt.

One by one, the programs they have been using to become homeowners are falling by the wayside, while their parents, who these buyers will need to look to for help with their down payments, are facing their own challenges with lower interest payments on their savings, stock prices going downward, and health, food and energy costs going upward. It has been a decades-long, uphill battle to bring about the rate of homeownership we have in the USA. In less than a year, these efforts have tumbled down like a house of cards in the breeze becoming only an illusion.

Are we redrawing the lines in the sand? Do we wish to force more of our middle class into poverty? Do we wish to, at a snail's pace, start all over again with these efforts of increasing sustainable homeownership?

I realize major corrections needed to take place to undo the series of bad decisions that have led to our current real estate and mortgage markets conditions. The pendulum has swung too far out with this correction, and needs to come back toward the middle, where the majority of our populace lives.  Bad habits need to change; people need to live within their means; education of industry professionals and homeowners needs to take place.

This article will be the first of three in a series offering solutions I believe could make a difference in our current market.  Although some of the programs I refer to are area specific, they are replicated in various forms throughout the country. Please chime in with your ideas and experiences, so that together we may bring about positive change.

Together, we CAN make a difference!

 Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

Part 2 http://activerain.com/blogsview/453131/Now-Is-The-Time

Part 3 http://activerain.com/blogsview/453188/Now-Is-The-Time