From the 1990s to today, we have seen a huge increase in the need for affordable housing. By “affordable”, most lenders view this as having a maximum of 30% of a person’s income dedicated to the household. For people who have a higher percentage rate, they are deemed as risky or too in debt. Because of that, trying to own a home becomes a distant and frustrating dream.
However, through numerous studies, it has been determined that approximately 12 million people in the United States who rent or own a home actually have more than 50% of their income going toward the household. Another study shows that a person working a full-time job while making minimum wage is also not able to afford fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country. The bottom line is that with such numbers, it is no wonder people are not able to afford to buy a home.
To make it more feasible for people to buy housing, the government has stepped in to create special programs. For instance, three specific divisions of the government have stepped up to include the Office of Housing, the Office of Public and Indian Housing, and The Office of Community Planning and Development. With nationwide programs now in place, low-income families have the same opportunities as other people for buying.
One particular program by The HOME Program is designed to expand the options for affordable and decent housing for low to very low-income families through a series of grants. In the past 16 years, the result of this one program is more than 450,000 affordable houses been acquired, renovated, or built. Then, another program called SHOP was set up to provide funds for non-profit groups to purchase various sites on which homes exist or could be constructed.
Finally, the Homeownership Zone program was put together so that communities could reclaim damaged or vacant properties, turning neighborhoods into new, single-family locations. The results of this program have been incredible. As you can see, buying a house is possible with the government’s assistance. Just remember, these programs are just a few of the many options available and in fact, we see the number of programs continuing to grow, making homeownership a viable dream.