More Housing Rants

A few weeks ago, Regina printed this column in the Key West Citizen concerning affordable housing.
http://www.keysnews.com/313978296565846.bsp.htm
Today, a local woman unloaded on Regina in the Letters to the Editor:
http://www.keysnews.com/letterstoeditor.bsp.htm

Housing column was not based in reality
The "re-evaluation of affordable housing" provided in Ms. [Regina] Corcoran's column on March 4 absolutely made my blood boil.

Her reckless disregard for the plight of firefighters, law enforcement personnel and teachers in obtaining affordable housing is unpardonable. To blatantly state affordable housing actually serves as an endorsement and encouragement of irresponsible behavior, and categorizing those who "can't pay" as those who "won't pay," is unpardonable. Get real. A "Walt Disney" staff? That same newspaper listed 200-plus jobs — in the private sector alone. Who's going to do all the work?

Ms. Corcoran used a lot of numbers to come up with an average sales price of $377,500 for a home. She stated a buyer could qualify with a monthly income of $7,200 — then said she "heard" a single teacher "could" make $65,000. There were over 300 properties for sale in that same paper. I won't even try to calculate the average price, but the national average home loan to income ratio is 28 percent (FHA won't go over 29 percent). This includes all costs associated with the house (taxes and insurance). Ms. Corcoran's monthly payment of $2,885 (100 percent financing, no less — did this include mortgage insurance?) would necessitate a monthly income of at least $10,000.

She is basing her numbers on two-income families, and suggests taking in a boarder? This is the American dream? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one out of two children will live in a single-parent family before the age of 18. In 2002, a full 28 percent of homes in the U.S. were single-parent homes. This is the American reality. The median salary for a teacher in Monroe County (Florida Department of Education) in 2002-2003 was $38,972 with a bachelor's degree, and $42,648 with a master's. This is a local reality.

Finally, it would be really nice to be able to afford to spend $40 bucks a day on lunch. I'm assuming Ms. Corcoran didn't stiff her waitress when she left a $6 tip. Her calculations of this poor server's income — $8 per table times 10 tables equals $480 per week means she has her working six days a week. (Was this what you meant by saying potential buyers need stable employment and the maturity to "show up for work most of the time"?) Even at that — $480 times 52 is less than $25,000 a year (not $26,840). Add in a meager hourly wage? Team up with another person? That will get you qualified?

I think [her] comments are self-serving, self-centered and mean. I think [her] primary concern is to keep those real estate sales commissions rolling in, not to mention monies earned by giving poor advice to potential mortgagors.

Marcia Studley, Key West

Me, in a good mood ;)

I read both the original Corocan article and the letter rebutting it. I think it shows clearly the divide between the haves, and the don't have quite as muchs. The haves are in turn split into two groups I think. There are those like Ms Corocan who are simply oblivious to the realities of life and live in the bubble of the Key West fantasy. They insist that this is a paradise where you should be proud to spend $1 million plus on an 800 sq ft 'conch' home. The people who do not live in such splendor are here merely to do your bidding for minimum wage and are happy to serve you.

The other haves, are the ones responsible for building this fake paradise. The people who see no problems with turning people out of long owned homes, or removing small local owned hotels and turning then into the aforementioned 'palaces'. Each is totally convinced that they are doing nothing wrong, and that as business people in a free market they should be allowed to continue this destruction. Fortunately the bubble is indeed bursting and hopefully they will all end up in the pastel colored shoebox hell that they have spent so long trying to put everyone else in.