\nIncome caps for that program: individuals making less than around $60,000 qualify; families of four qualify under $85,350.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The math behind the \u2018missing middle\u2019<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s argument is the one a lot of younger Fort Worth workers have been making at kitchen tables for years: you\u2019re not poor, but you\u2019re definitely not in shape to write checks on a $300,000 house \u2014 and you usually earn just enough to be locked out of assistance programs designed for lower incomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want our millennials to be able to become homeowners and to build assets, to build wealth and to really understand that they can make a difference in this world \u2014 that they can be happy, and they can be fulfilled, and they can love their life. But if we don\u2019t allow them those opportunities, how are they ever going to achieve?\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s pushing for expanded grants and subsidies aimed specifically at that earnings bracket.<\/p>\n
Habitat for Humanity isn\u2019t just for the lowest incomes<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve written off Habitat for Humanity as something that doesn\u2019t apply to you, look again. Greg Hart, director of loan origination at Trinity Habitat for Humanity \u2014 the branch serving Fort Worth \u2014 told Realtors association members his office was on pace to close more than 60 loans this year for working families.<\/p>\n
More than half of those borrowers are single mothers, Hart said, and many work in fields like teaching. Thanks to subsidies, he said he had helped one client get into a home with a $900-a-month mortgage. For renters watching their monthly payments climb past that figure, the math is hard to ignore.<\/p>\n
The first-ever housing bond \u2014 and what it could unlock<\/p>\n
The $10 million bond Fort Worth voters just approved is small relative to the need, but it\u2019s a turning point. Some of the money will go toward buying land and building affordable single-family homes. Part of the rest will fund grants and subsidized loans for qualified buyers.<\/p>\n
Jake Wegmann, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and an expert on affordable housing, previously told the Star-Telegram that relatively modest investment could pave the way for bigger investments once people see the difference the money can make. Wegmann said similar, much larger, affordable housing investments in Austin have stabilized housing prices after years of steep increases.<\/p>\n
For context: Fort Worth\u2019s 2023 Neighborhood Conservation Plan and Affordable Housing Strategy identified an estimated 100,000 households in the city that struggled to pay their monthly mortgage or rent. The plan said $100 million would be needed by 2027 for affordable housing. The bond covers a tenth of that \u2014 but it\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n
If you teach, patrol or fight fires here, there\u2019s a program with your name on it<\/p>\n
Realtors association President Shawn Buck previously told the Star-Telegram it\u2019s crucial that Fort Worth find a way to give essential workers \u2014 teachers, police officers, firefighters and others \u2014 a better path to owning a home in the city they serve.<\/p>\n
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation\u2019s Homes for Texas Heroes program offers down payment help for teachers, police officers, corrections officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Combined with the city\u2019s Homebuyer Assistance Program, which can stack up to $25,000 toward down payment and closing costs for eligible first-time buyers with moderate incomes, the gap between renting and owning shrinks.<\/p>\n
The bottom line for buyers in your bracket<\/p>\n
Without help, saving for a down payment on a $330,000 house can take years for an average Fort Worth earner. The system isn\u2019t built for the missing middle yet \u2014 Johnson and others are still pushing for that \u2014 but if you\u2019re willing to dig into Habitat\u2019s loan program, the city\u2019s assistance fund, the new bond-funded grants or the Texas Heroes program, the door isn\u2019t fully closed.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just narrower than it used to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re a millennial with a steady Fort Worth paycheck and a growing suspicion that homeownership is quietly…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":778502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[852,5229,318836,7371,7372,75189,23376,318837,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-778501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-affordable-housing","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-carol-johnson","11":"tag-fort-worth","12":"tag-fortworth","13":"tag-habitat-for-humanity","14":"tag-star-telegram","15":"tag-subsidized-loans","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116530647300511848","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}