Category: House

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Rumour of war in affordable housing

Boston snow scene

Do you want to use a competitive advantage when going after affordable rental apartments and home resales? If you do, scroll down for our recommendation. 

The Battleground is set.
Tick. Tock. Iran Iraq.
The generals are at war.
“Wars matter” to the housing sector.
The cost of money rises  (bad for credit and mortgage underwriting). Prices for new homes fall (good for consumers & renters. ) Home values fall (good for property taxpayers ).  More BOMBS are sold. People lose jobs.  And there will be deaths (oh no!)

Well, there is some good news to report.

THERE ARE MORE AFFORDABLE HOME RESALE LISTINGS ON THE MARKET FOR BUYERS in Massachusetts who are eligible for the below market rate prices.  The quality of the houses on either side of the market is the same.  One is here.  Check them out! Another one is here. Ten are listed up on our longer list.  

Using your speakerphone – Call our (617) 996-7117 forms supply line from  your cellphone right now and “Press 1.” The affordable home and apartment rental listings will appear on your phone. You can use the info you receive to apply directly with the property managers. 

Good News

If you have a four-figure budget for rent the cash might cover the cost of the mortgage package.   Owning a home costs more than renting an apartment because the roof, the heating systems, the hot water heater and etc., is all yours. When they break, you pay.  But owning is a better use of cash flow than renting.  Our good friends at the Massachusetts Affordable Home Alliance can show you the benefit analysis of owning vs renting. 

You will receive price breaks and reduced mortgage costs when you complete a First Time Home Buyers course. See the list of locations for doable-in-an-afternoon classes in Massachusetts.

Text messaging is fast

Mandatory affordable apartment rental housing forms are required to get you into the units. You have to file it. You must apply to obtain Move-In approval then you have to wait and see if your application was picked.

Do you want to have a competitive advantage when seeking affordable housing?   

Here’s one.

[  Use the smallwall.net  SMS text service  to target 1st come 1st served offers and apply as soon as you see one come into your Text Message inbox. ]

That’s it!! 
Get the SmallWall SMS advantage.
You know how human nature is.
Procrastination can be our worst enemy.

And the documentation stack required to submit with affordable housing applications is a lot of work. This is why you should target 1st come 1st served opportunities that fit your budget criteria.

Move-in approvals every day

Every day of the week, somebody gets to move into an affordable apartment or home after applying for it. Here is what affordable apartment property managers who oversee thousands of rental units tell us. They say people move out every day. There are move-ins every day. There are a number of reasons for this traffic flow. People who receive move-in approval tend to stay there for years!

You can get move-in approval via the First Come, First Served deal offer. You can get move-in approval with the Lottery. You can do it with a Waitlist entry.  You can get lucky. Somebody always wins move-in approval.

You can get the text messaging service here from smallwall.net. We named it the Smallwall SMS app.  

 

 

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Housing lottery briefing on affordable vacant units.

Sonoma in Dor

NO DELAYS

Construction sites are busy raising buildings on a tight timeline. As one housing block is finished,  space is cleared somewhere else to build another one in the city. The large apartment buildings are less likely built in the surrounding suburbs.  A number of large multi-plex developments come online in the suburbs but at a slower pace than they are in the City of Boston.

TURNOVER

And there is a turnover. Thousands of income-restricted apartments will have tenants coming and going – moving laterally, or into units from Wait Lists and other social service placements.  The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Stock is a mix of new and old units. There were 3,733 new housing units built in Boston in 2018 as part of Mayor Walsh’s Housing plan to build 69,000 new housing units by 2030.  But 60,000 people are on affordable housing Wait Lists around the state, and most wage earners are eligible for the units.  

GOOD RENTS

Affordable rent rates are fixed by government policy.  Large households are charged more than singles can pay for the same unit. When you are examining the lottery opportunities, pay particular attention to the AMI Percentage tag.  The AMI number determines the unit rent rate.

Taking a shot

SMS list sample

Review 100s of open unit prices in our lottery SMS messages

Help Desk + SMS 

You can contact us with affordable housing questions and receive all the official housing lottery applications in SMS text messages – the fastest way to compete in the affordable housing lottery.  You’ll learn tactics such as how to get your paperwork digitized by the proper authorities and auto-matched to rental opening that fit your profile so that you don’t have to submit new paperwork every time. 

We supply information and the applications to help you get an affordable housing deal in Massachusetts.  

Massachusetts has 351 cities and towns. Most offer affordable housing options via a matrix of public, quasi-public, Federal, State, Non-profit and Commercial entities.  Opportunities are coming and going every day.

Use your cell phone camera on this QR CODE
The 30-day Help Desk + SMS Service is $4.99
QR CODE
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Cambridge affordable housing opportunities

City Hall Cambridge

City of Cambridge affordable housing is owned by non-profits,  Town Hall, and there are privately-owned affordable housing units. Low income applicants are charged 30% of their income for rent when selected into the program.  The Community Development Department (CDD) is accepting Preliminary Applications.  To be considered into the Inclusionary Housing Rental Program you must apply.  You can view the eligibility requirements here and download the application. 

Housing in the Middle-Income program is for households with an income between $60,000 to $100,000. The Maximum Income Program allows incomes between $90,000 and $150,000.

A number of departments and organizations are building and renting affordable housing in the City of Cambridge. Click here to view the list.

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Are you eligible for an Affordable Apartment. Yes, you probably are. Here’s why.

affordable rental living space forms

A household who earns from $22,650 to $200,000 a year can be eligible for below market rate rents and purchase prices. That household could be yours.

Here’s why.

Your Income Matters.  The Federal Housing and Urban Development Department established income guidelines for every region of the United States. These regulations are used to fix rental prices to what properties rent and sell for.  

The rules created an Income Eligibility Chart.

In most of Massachusetts and the Metro Boston area, a household with an income of at least $22,650 can rent a 30% AMI studio apartment for $470.  Each AMI level raises the amount of rent.

Where Section 8 can be used, you get a price break.

See Rents

See Income limits

View more charts here.

On the Market now 

SALE: deadline for app is May 8th, 2019
Address: 11 Iffley Road, Jamaica Plain MA 02130
3BR, home for sale – 65% AMI $192,000 apply here

Rental: deadline to apply is May 15, 2019
Keystone Apartments,  151 Hallet Street Dorchester
Rent is 30% of your adjusted Gross Income
1 BR – restricted to elderly.
income limit. $56,000-$64,000 – APPLY  
( 30% of $56,000/12 ) is the month rent

Affordable Housing Lottery
The Reserve at Burlington
20 Corporate Drive, Burlington, MA
Studios @ $1,293, 1BRs @ $1,470, 2BRs @ $1,632, 3BRs @ $1,792
Apply here before June 2019
*Rents subject to change.
Utilities not included.
Tenants will pay own Gas Heat, Gas Hot Water,
Electric Cooking, Electricity, Water and Sewer.



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A cool way to purchase a $500,000 house with a little help from Chan Zuckerberg.

bank cash

Let’s get right to it:

In high-priced housing markets, a home for $500,000 would require an ideal $100,000 down payment. Who has $100k laying around? Not too many people right. 

house with a huge porch in Newport RI

Well, if you are a teacher or eligible professional, here’s an option to consider:

  • If the house cost $500,000 in high priced market
  • Downpayment required is $50,000
  • You put $50,000 down
  • A Chan Zuckerberg co-funded LANDED initiative  pays $50,000
  • The balance is $400,000 ( ya need a mortgage )
  • The funder arranges the $400,000 mortgage
  • The mortgage is paid every month by ( Landed.com )
  • you live there MORTGAGE FREE, just pay utils, upkeep, overhead.
  • years pass by
  • House is sold for  for $550,000
  • Why not: teacher or busy professionals moves on
  • Profit is $50,000 ( $550,00 minus $500,000 original cost)
  • Landed.com keeps 75% of the sales profit
  • Teacher/Professional keeps 25% of the sales profit
  • That’s it!
  • # the end