Affordable Housing in Southern MD

[seasquirt]

It's called "having roommates"... I make less than those teachers' salaries you quoted (but not by much), and I live in a 4-bedroom house... with two other girls! It takes some effort to find a rental, and the options are limited (with 2 dogs, they were even MORE limited), but there ARE options.

Even if I could afford to live on my own, I don't think I'd want to. I like having a housemate, and I like saving the money.

[mrs potts]

Ok...seems like affordable housing is not an issue in SMD.  This will be my last post on this issue - seems that my opinion is not the one shared my members of the community.

[Ken King (Premo)]

Starting salary of $31,200 is not bad for someone just out of college. #I also don’t agree with your basic assumption of deductions from their pay being at 50%. #Most who went to college to become teachers were there with scholarships or grants so the repayment of a student loan is probably not as bad as you make it. #Car payment, they need a new car? #Nah, this is not a necessity they can get back and forth on something less then a new $20-30,000 auto. #The last brand spanking new auto I bought was back in 1979, since then I have obtained used vehicles that do the job of getting me back and forth to work rather well. #They could probably do that to if they desired to. #Car insurance, if it isn’t new (or should I say financed) you can get by on liability alone significantly lowering the outlay for insurance costs. #Health Insurance is probably not that bad either considering the associations that teachers can belong to and their union perks. #More realistically I would believe that average deductions would be about 30% which would leave that person with about #$1800 a month to live on. #Now if they are the sole breadwinner then this might still be tight, but it is most definitely doable. #If they are the second income then no worries as they should have “money coming out the wazoo”. # # If the teachers are interested in purchasing a home they have several programs that can get them in with nothing down and extremely low interest rates. #There are additional incentives for them like signing bonuses and such. #So is it as bad as you make it to be? #I think not.

I still haven’t figured what you are trying to get across other then singing the blues for the less fortunate. #Having been there and worked my way out I might understand them but I know there are already a lot of programs out there for their help if they get off their lazy butts and go find it. #Maybe that is were you should exert your energy.

[vraiblonde]

Heck, I raised two kids by myself on $30,000 a year and we did okay.  And this was only a few years ago.  Even when I quit my job to start a business, I was only making maybe $20,000 a year and we <i>still</i> managed to have a house on the water, dinner out once a week and the occasional ski trip.

[jlabsher]

Southern Maryland isn't bad for the area.  All the people #####ing about high prices in St. Mary's or southern Calvert should look in Montgomery, Howard or even Frederick counties.  We just moved here from St. Louis, work in DC and St. Mary's was the best affordable area for us.  Did you see the Washington Post last Saturday?  There was a place that in the midwest would go for $40K that was valued at $400K in Alexandria.  The DC area is ridiculous for housing prices.  If you think SOMD is bad, how does somebody making $40K survive in Montgomery County or DC?  I for one have no idea. SOMD is the best for the area.  Is it government's responsibility to provide housing.  Didn't see life, liberty and cheap housing mentioned in the Bill of Rights!

[marchblaze]

Okay, I've "listened" long enough...Mrs. Potts, while you do make valid points on behalf of the 'underdog', I believe you need to be enlightened a little. #Yes, there are many homes in Calvert and St. Marys that are under 100,000, this is considered affordable housing for our area. #Unfortunately people are not taught that not paying their debts can keep them from qualifying for a home, and it's amazing how angry they get at me when I tell them their credit is bad! #The section 8 program is almost a joke. #Landlords don't want to accept the vouchers because it takes forever to get housing to do the inspections, then you wait weeks for your money, and when the tenants move out and trash your home, housing wants nothing to do with you. #I've seen homes where the tenants have taken everything possible, including the outlet covers, the shower heads. The expense you're left with to repair the damage...
When you direct the Section 8 people to the apartment complexes that HAVE #to take the vouchers, you are arrogantly told that they do not want to live there. #Can you afford to be choosey in this situation?  If you don't like the neighborhoods then change them, change yourself and work your a$$
off to get out of there.
As for work, there is plenty of hiring going on around here. #The problem is finding people who want to work! #Education or not, if you need money, you need to work 1,2 or 3 jobs, and be proud of it.
I'm done

[Frank]

vraiblonde on 1:04 pm on Mar. 21, 2002[br]Heck, I raised two kids by myself on $30,000 a year and we did okay. #And this was only a few years ago. #Even when I quit my job to start a business, I was only making maybe $20,000 a year and we <i>still</i> managed to have a house on the water, dinner out once a week and the occasional ski trip.

Damn, girl! What did you live in on the water, a rowboat? My math might be surprisingly unsophisticated, but it seems to me at 20k you couldn't possibly afford to pay 1000/month in mortgage payments.

As a general rule, banks usually gauge your highest purchase price on a house as being roughly three times your yearly salary. From what many here have mentioned, a lot of houses in this area are simply out of their price range. Now I know that no one is owed a home. Nobody is being made to sell a house way below its value. I do think however, you need a reasonable balance in any area with a growing population.

You can 'gentrify' a depressed area of a city, but not a region like St. Mary's. It can't work.

[Lilly]

Blondie - I believe you - anything is possible!  

Mrs Potts - the reasons that most of us don't share your same conviction is that we are real people too - and most of us have dealt with our share of hardship and survived - while we have seen people around us take one hard blow and let it ruin thier lives.
Most of the people in those situations have somewhere along the line made some decision that put them there (not all, most).  Whether it be drugs, credit cards, early pregnancy, too many kids, or just overall poor decisions.  It is thier responsibility to pick themselves up out of the gutter and make the right decisions.
I have made poor choices in life - I had a baby too early - wasn't able to finish college - but with determination I found a good job with a good company who would pay to finish my education.  My husband was in the military and making much less than the figures you mentioned but we did it.  We saved - not spent.  We ate cheap meals and drove cheap cars.  It was hard but we did it and now we are better off for it than had we cried woe is me and given into government programs and housing.
I too have done volunteer work in this county - I think we should always help our neighbors who are less fortunate - I worked with illiterate adults and you would not believe how many of them were just unwilling to learn anything.  We would explain that they could get better jobs (or jobs at all) and they would brush us off - they had no desire to better themselves.  Yes, every once and awhile was a person who was stuck in a bad situation and would genuinely want to improve thier life and usually they were able to.  But I just don't feel sorry someone who asks for help and then turns it away because it is too much "work".  
There are plenty of opportunities for those willing to look for them.

[geekboy]

First off I hate when someone will not work, collects welfare and spends it at the liqour store.  I hate giving 40% of my paycheck up to taxes etc.  Last year I averaged a 55 hour work week, that doesn’t sound too bad until I tell you that most of the over time was in 4 months.  I had some 90 hour weeks in there.  The more I worked the more they took.  

But  I do feel that affordable housing in the Lower St Mary’s Area is a myth.  I have been out of college for almost two years and do really well for someone my age, but I feel that I can not afford to buy a decent house down here.  Maybe my idea of afford is messed up.  I currently pay $700 a month in rent, but my utilities are low.  I would go as high as $850 a month mortgage payment, but I would have to buy the household appliances like washer/drier, stove, etc as well as lay out the ridiculous closing costs.  

I can't imagine how someone that makes less and has kids gets by.  

This area is overpriced for what it is,  I have been to many areas of the country that are much nicer but cost less.  Orlando, Roanoke, and Charlotte are all cheaper to live in.  The house prices aren't too outrageous (but are still over priced), the rent is however nuts.  In Orlando this apartment that I pay $700 a month for would be about $550, that is downtown.

Oops had some spelling errors

(Edited by geekboy at 5:31 pm on Mar. 25, 2002)

[Ken King (Premo)]

Geekboy,

It wasn't that long ago (10 - 15 years) that rent wasn't a problem in this area.  You could find that slightly run down home in a fairly nice area for $300 to $400 a month, apartments could be found for about the same.  Then BRAC, three Naval installations close and their functions move to Pax, about half of those working at the closing bases move down this way with the jobs.  Most available homes and apartments are gone and the building boom starts.  Next NAVAIR moves down here and everything is all crazy as prices shoot through the roof as supply can't keep up with the demand.  Now more private companies are coming to the area seeking work with the Navy.  It is doing nothing but getting worse.  As the increase in the area is from people above minimum wage (way above) the builders are going with the money building bigger and more expensive homes.

Is there any money to be made by making affordable housing?  Probably, but not until the builders can make more of the big money from the big projects that seem to be abundant right now.