Category: Housing

At this week’s Council meeting, we’ll discuss two important topics on the housing situation in College Park. In the two parts discussion, the City Council will look into the data on the single-family and rental homes and explore ways to preserve the neighborhood against the conversion of single-family homes into rental homes. Additionally, the Council will discuss how to increase the supply of affordable housing in the College Park

• Preserving Neighborhood – Single Family Vs Rental Homes

Many single-family neighborhoods in College Park have had comparatively high percentages of

detached rental houses, particularly for local university students. Single-family houses are attractive for student rentals due to the affordability and less restrictive environment compared to apartment buildings and on-campus dorms. Property owners of detached housing can generally obtain more total rent from four or five renters than they could obtain from a typical family.

Despite the addition of new apartment units off-campus and new dorms on-campus, the number of for-rent detached single-family homes has generally remained constant. In some neighborhoods, anecdotal evidence indicates that previously owner-occupied housing is being purchased by investors to offer for rent and that investors are out-bidding potential owner-occupants. The City Council and staff often receive complaints about noise and other disruptive issues with rental houses that code enforcement, contract police, and University police deal with on a regular basis.

• Exploring Affordable Housing:

The City Council has often asked about affordable housing units when evaluating residential development proposals, and the Council hears from students and other groups about the cost of

rental housing in the City. This discussion will provide an opportunity for the Council to review general definitions of affordable housing, some data regarding housing and affordability in College Park and the region, and various strategies that could be used by the City, County, State, the Partnership, and the University to support housing affordability and also preserve homeownership. The Council will discuss various policy options for increasing the housing supply.

Towns and jurisdictions often use the number of housing units in different sections / areas within their towns when they analyze events (such as crime incidents) and discuss future policy decisions (such as adding future amenities etc.).  Recently, I came across the latest data on the apartments (student and multi-family) in the city. I combined that with the number of single-family homes in different neighborhoods and prepared this list.

The County has recently introduced  Purchase Assistance Program (PGCPAP) providing home purchase assistance to eligible, first-time home buyers to purchase residential properties in the County.  Home purchase assistance includes down payment, mortgage principal reduction and/or closing costs. Are you interested in a USDA home loan? Visit https://cishomeloans.com to learn more about it. The mortgage loan is funded by a lending institution, such as a mortgage company, bank, savings and loan association and the mortgage is insured by hud. Hard money lender Seattle is the #1 lender for hard money loans, fix & flip loans, commercial bridge loans, and rental property loans.

Single family dwelling units, townhouses, and condominiums are eligible for assistance. Eligible properties include resale, foreclosures, short sales, and new construction. If you’re looking for a new home, you can look into homes for sale in Beaufort, SC.

The maximum loan amount is $15,000.00, with a purchase price limit: $462,000 (resale or new construction). Loan terms include 0% interest, deferred payment. Purchaser must pay back the loan in full when the home is sold, transferred or ceases to be the primary residence of the buyer(s) regardless of the length of residency. To learn more about bank loans and the requirements needed, you can visit a helpful site similar to beehive.org/rigby/.

If the buyer a police officer, a deputy sheriff, a classroom teacher, a firefighter, an emergency medical technician . or a nurse, they may be eligible for an additional $5,000 based on their need. This would bring the total loan amount to $20,000. If you’re looking for more ways to get yourself out of debt or loan, you can visit a site like https://www.debtconsolidation.com/how-to-get-out-of-debt/ for more info!

More about the application eligibility can be found here: https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/2965/Purchase-Assistance-Program-PGCPAP. The application related documents for new homebuyers can be found here: https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/2966/First-Time-Homebuyer-Documents

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Additionally, the City of College Park provides $5,000 grant for new homeowners in the city. More on the program can be found here: http://www.collegeparkmd.gov/government/planning/homeownership_grant_program.php

The College Park City University Partnership also provides $15,000 to the UMD staff towards the down payment or closing cost assistance for a home purchased anywhere in College Park. More here: https://www.collegeparkmd.gov/Planning/CPCUP_Home_ownership_program___guidelines_and_application.pdf

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During last Tuesday’s Council vote on rent stabilization, we looked at the number of units / beds in the on-campus and off-campus student apartments in College Park. These numbers play important roles in determining the demand for rental properties in College Park. Based on the data provided by our planning department, by next year, we will have a total of 5,847 beds for UMD students in the city. 2867 more beds will be added in coming years. Additionally, College Park has a total of 744 number of units and 518 more is expected to be added in coming years.

D.C.’s vacant property tax law is designed to reduce vacant and blighted properties like this one. But the law has its own challenges.

This morning, I came across a discussion on vacant and blighted properties in our district in north College Park. A neighbor was referring to a house, which has been vacant for at least 2 years and has been recently broken into.

One idea to address to reduce vacant and blighted properties is to adopt ordinances similar to what the D.C City Council has recently adopted. According to this law, the vacant property owners are charged $5 and $10 per $100 of their property values for vacant and blighted properties respectively. This is way more than the normal occupied property rate, which is $.85 / $100.

Please see here more about D.C’s vacant property tax program.