Basically, I got shit done.  As previously outlined, I have to turn in 8 stories in 4 weeks.  As of the end of week two, I’d only turned in two stories.  That put me well behind pace, and I had ground that needed to be made up.   Last week, I attended three events, wrote three stories, and turned in my application for News 21.  I feel like I have a fighting chance with News 21, if only because I’m a serious worker and people around me know it.  That’d be a nice little thing to participate in.  The project itself seems pretty ambitious, and on top of that, it pays $7,500 for 10 weeks.  Not too shabby.

Now I can’t say that the work I churned out this week is all that captivating.  The Soundslides project I cranked out sucks–not from a technical standpoint, but that the event didn’t warrant a multimedia piece.  It was supposed to be a Home & Business Expo–it was six tables in an elementary school hallway.  Again, not so exciting or noteworthy.  As the prof who graded the project told me, when doing a story, you either want to blow something small up, or you want to take something big and whittle it down.  I should have called the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce and made this into a story about what they’re doing to drum up business in this economy.  That’s the story.  Unfortunately, I was working on a tight deadline and hadn’t done any of my multimedia projects yet.  So, here’s that piece of crap, along with the other articles I turned in. For some reason, the captions are all showing up on one line–not sure why that is. Oh well.

To be honest, I think the one I did Friday on the RIF district is the most important/best thing I’ve done in beat reporting.  It’s not the most well-written thing I’ve ever done, but at the same time, I went to this meeting at 8 a.m. and turned it into a story by 4 p.m.  On top of that, I got to interview the 49th Ward Alderman, Joe Moore.  I don’t think anyone else in my class can say that they’ve done that.  A feather in my cap, if you will.

Without further ado:

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Special assessments, valuation appeals and HO2 policies—owning a condo involves a lot of jargon.

The Rogers Park Community Development Corporation offers crash-courses in condo-ese—and also acts as a tutor for residents willing to learn.

“The condo training is for prospective first-time condo buyers,” said Caleb Sjoblom, director of the Rogers Park CDC.   “Its goals are to prepare condo buyers for their rights and responsibilities and inform them of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, and some of the legal regulations, and to get them up-to-speed with what to expect when they buy a condo.”

These sessions outline basic details with examples of condo buyers’ rights, state laws, types of ownership, how condo associations work, insurance information, and maintenance and management details.  They also explain options available to help residents increase purchasing power. They turn the jargon into functional language.

“Condominiums are a big responsibility,” said Django Baker, a Bucktown resident who attended a training session on Tuesday evening at the Rogers Park CDC office.  “You want to make sure you have a lot of reserves and a lot of research done going into it beforehand.”

Baker came to the training session out of frustration with an eviction he is going through; the apartment building he was living in was lost to foreclosure.  He planned to buy a house before he moved into the apartment, but that property fell into foreclosure as well.

“I’ve never been evicted from anywhere, and I’ve never owned property, so I’ve never been foreclosed on,” he said, “but I just decided I’m never going to sign a lease again.  For the amount of money I’m paying for rent—for a little bit more, and biting the bullet on these closing costs and everything—I can own something where I have more protection and somebody just can’t come in and slip me a five day notice.”

Baker’s sentiments echo those of many who have never owned real estate.

“I want to own something of my own,” he said.

Subsidies offered by the city of Chicago make buying a new or rehabbed condo cheaper for many in the market.  CPAN, short for Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods, offers below-market sales prices for those who qualify.

During the condo boom that ended a few years ago, CPAN was created to keep 10 percent of all new construction buildings at an affordable purchase price.  The Rogers Park CDC’s job is to find and train buyers on owning the units.  Along with CPAN, the Rogers Park CDC has an agreement with IHDA, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, to provide a down-payment loan that buyers do not have to make payment on for 30 years.  A down-payment assistance grant is also available to help with closing costs, increasing a buyer’s purchasing power, depending on the income.

In order to qualify for CPAN, residents must not have owned a home within the last three years, and have an income up to 100 percent of median, as outlined by the Chicago Department of Community Development AMI table.  Those with incomes up to 80 percent of median may be eligible for purchase price assistance.

For example, a CPAN-qualified homebuyer finds a condo listed at $160,000, and is eligible for $20,000 of assistance.  The homebuyer will only have to be approved for a loan of $140,000, though the $20,000 assistance is put as a lien on the home and must be repaid if the condo is ever sold.  The difference between what the unit costs and what it’s appraised for is also put as a lien on the property, but again, is only paid if the home is ever resold.

Further assistance may be available through the Chicago Community Land Trust.  Most CPAN units are included in this initiative, meant to preserve long-term affordability.

“Before CCLT, CPAN would only be affordable for the first buyer,” said Sjoblom.  “If a unit is introduced into the CCLT, the affordability is permanent.”

With a 99-year term that sets a ceiling for resale price, these homes must be sold to the CCLT or another income-qualified buyer if the buyer intends to resell.  That resale price equals the original purchase cost plus a percentage of the market appreciation, and in most cases, will be below market price.

On top of that, CCLT units are eligible for property tax reductions.  For example, if 10 years down the road, the condo bought for $140,000 has appreciated to a value of $200,000—the owner only has to pay property taxes on the original $140,000 purchase price.

While the Rogers Park CDC advocates and informs about buying new and rehab condominiums, it also helps residents decide if a new home is the best fit.

“New construction is at an all-time low in this market in 2009 and it will certainly continue in 2010,” said Sjoblom.  “We’ve tried to focus our efforts in helping folks purchase resale condominiums, because prices are way down from what they used to be.  Market-rate housing in Rogers Park can be just as affordable as the CCLT and brand-new construction of CPAN.”

More information can be found on the Rogers Park CDC website at www.rogersparkcdc.org.
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Renters want affordable housing.  Many landlords want to maintain and improve their properties.  In the housing sector, these ideals don’t often gel.

To counteract the discord, Northside POWER, the Lakeside CDC, and the Rogers Park CDC are working together on a Rental Improvement Fund proposal for Rogers Park.

“The benefits are twofold,” said 49TH Ward Alderman Joe Moore.  “You help maintain affordable rental housing so that we can continue to maintain our economic diversity, and secondly, you help improve the housing stock and the quality of living conditions for people in the ward.”

The proposed RIF works like this: landlords will receive grants from a TIF fund in Rogers Park to make capital improvements to their properties.  These improvements could include bringing buildings up to code, roof repair, new windows and doors, porches, plumbing, and heating and electrical system upgrades.  In exchange for the money, the landlords must agree to keep rents affordable for 10 years.

Brian White, executive director of the Lakeside CDC, described the plight of many landlords in Rogers Park.

“Operating costs of the properties are making it more and more difficult,” he said.  “These are older buildings that need improvement, and in this tough economy especially, it’s hard sometimes to get financing, so you’re stuck.  You have the options of either not making improvements, raising rents, or potentially selling your building and getting out altogether.”

White and Alderman Moore led a landlord breakfast on the proposed RIF on Friday morning at the Good News Community Kitchen offices. Members from all corners of the housing sector attended—landlords, developers, non-profits, and real estate brokers bounced ideas and questions off Moore and White.

One Rogers Park landlord, Gus Domenech, commented on the squeeze many landlords feel.

“It’s crazy. You can’t go to banks to get the money, because they’ve closed the doors on us.  You can’t get an equity loan, because there’s no money anywhere.  And then you’re lowering rents to rent the apartments, you’re getting squeezed by the banks, and interest rates are going to be going up.”

As outlined by White, the RIF would relieve up-front costs landlords incur.  The amount of money they can receive would be based on the rent charged for the properties.  These properties would have to kept in the scale of affordability for a period of ten years.  The proposed RIF determines that rental price from a scale of Area Median Income, or AMI, as outlined by the Chicago Department of Community Development.  For a 2 bedroom rental at 60 percent AMI, the proposed rent would be $914.

The proposed RIF would be funded by a TIF district encompassing the entire 49th Ward.

“That’s our initial goal,” said Moore.  “A lot of it’s based on our discussions with the city and the mayor’s office to determine what they will support.  But ultimately, that’s what we’d like to do.”

According to figures presented by White, 2.75 percent of property tax revenues in the ward would go toward this TIF, but 100 percent of this TIF would go toward affordable housing, as opposed to other TIFs which only include a 20 percent provision for affordable housing.  The RIF would generate an estimated $54 million over its lifetime, and would assist more than 1,500 multifamily property owners.  It would not require any financing from the city’s general fund, and all tax dollars generated would be kept within Rogers Park.

When asked about how soon he’d like the program to be implemented, Moore said as soon as possible.

“A lot of it has to do with making sure the Daly administration understands what the issues are and is supportive of that, but we’d like to move ahead as quickly as possible,” he said.