Affordable Housing Communities

[John Raabe]

There are some very interesting experiments going on concerning small town and rural community development projects that stress permanently affordable housing for moderate income working families in the area. This allows teachers, restaurant workers, and others to afford to build a house they own while insuring that others like them in the future will also be able to afford their own house.

Affordable housing program on Lopez Island, WA: http://www.lopezclt.org/affordable_housing/main.html - there are some very nice cottage homes in this 3 phase development of now 22 small homes.

The Opal Community Land Trust on Orcas Island, WA (what is it about islands?): http://www.opalclt.org./ourhomes.html#Who - click the "how it works" button to see some of the ways the financing works. Most interesting! Also click the "Opal Book" for some personal stories of how the houses were built.

[Amanda_931]

I live in a very rural county, better than 8% unemployment (and that only counts those who are officially looking), and yes, affordable housing is a big deal.

We had a futurist come talk to groups in the county.  He came close to saying "if you build it--affordable housing--they--jobs--will come."  

But $650 a month--for the most recent Orca Island places) sounds like a lot for people here.

Per capita income under $15,000 a year.  16% below poverty level.

I've never been sure what the answer is.  There is a case to be made for substanard housing.
 

[glenn kangiser]

Mike Oehler had a plan in his $50 Underground House Book for underground communities - His concept sketch looked great -affordable- definately-  but a few hurdles such as , some people see underground houses as dark but they don't have to be if built per Mikes designs, they don't cost enough so some don't believe they work, they don't use conventional expensive manufactured materials extensively so may be harder to impossible to meet codes without variances.  You probably can't get a loan for one but then again you won't need one.

They don't have to be built only on hillsides - Mike has procedures for flatter areas too.

[Amanda_931]

Oh, yes.  It CAN be done.  Thinking small, home-built.  

Or if the job is good enough that you can hire it done in stages.  Some friends piddling along building their house slowly discovered last year that  they were working too hard at jobs to build--went through a lot of changes getting a mortage so someone else could finish it for them--having to double up on systems so that the mortage company could sell it easily if they foreclosed--I think they had to clear land and buy poles for mains electricity, for instance.

But one does have to avoid thinking that the long-term cheapest way to go is to put a single-wide on one's folk's land.  

Speaking of underground, there was a feature on Gernot Minke's house in an underground subdivision in Germany in one of last summer's Natural Building (I think) magazines.  Not, unfortunately, on-line.  I thought that some of it looked like he'd let his grad students go crazy, but....

Not cheap, probably not even inexpensive.  But wonderful.

[glenn kangiser]

The problem with these ideas of affordable housing is the rules we have allowed to be created to protect us from ourselves.

My basic cabin owner built is about $5000.  Affordable.

Enter the government extortion teams and associates----  A friend going the full route with all approvals has designed a smaller structure for underground-- turned into a concrete and steel bomb shelter by the authorities requirements with over a million dollar price tag.  She has been trying to build it for about 15 years and still cannot get approval or financing.

Here is some information regarding property rights.

http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/proprightsfrms.htmNew%20Page%204

Here is the 5th amendment:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/FindLaw:%20U.S.%20Constitution:%20Fifth%20Amendment

Constitutional Based no trespassing sign:

http://www.landrights.com/NoTrespassing.htm

Know your rights:
http://www.landrights.com/

Ken Kern wrote a book titled "The Owner Builder and The Code" giving some insight to past cases and consequences.  It is only available used -try Abebooks or Amazon.  Mike Oehler has information in the Underground house book.  

I think its okay for them to protect the public but leave me alone!!!

Next thing-- if you use this information I'm not responsible for consequences.  They are your rights- if you want to try to take them back it is your fight.  Sometimes when you know your rights they leave you alone- sometimes they don't.  One thing for sure is that if you are not educated on your rights they will take them from you.  If its not an issue to you don't worry about it.

[Amanda_931]

Well, yes.

Codes aren't (yet anyway) enforced in this county, just within city limits here.   Except for eletricity and (if you have that) septic tanks.  I already have one here.  Probably have to put a second one up the hill--it's a long ways up the hill and there have been a lot of problems with septic tanks in the silt on top of a hill (there IS a semi-permanent pond up there, and lets not forget the time I floated my truck in a huge puddle with tadpoles after a month of no rain).  I'm not looking forward to this.

By the way, Ken Kern's daughter is doing copies of his books.  www.dirtcheapbuilder.com has some, the rest you can get  from the daughter--including the masonry fireplace one.  Here's the note from dirtcheapbuilder on the subject.

"But anyone can get it direct by calling Barbara Kern's daughter Heidi Kern Huebner who is now running the reprint business. 559-323-8559 PST CLovis CA "