Housing Issues

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There are a lot of folks in Maine who are paying a higher rent than they would be a mortgage on a similar unit.  The problem is there are barriers to entry in the forms of down payments, closing costs, and Mortgage Insurances.  Here are some of the things we can do to help middle-income families have a chance at all the opportunities that home ownership can bring to a family.

• Expand the silent second mortgage programs that help people with down payments.  This program already exists we just spend money on other programs now.  Definition:  a "silent second" loan, which is a deferred subordinate loan that requires no monthly payments until you sell, refinance, or pay off your primary mortgage.
• Rick Bennett, has a plan that would address the costs of PMI, which adds a significant burden that is a great companion to these plans.
• Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of direct payments, because often those schema just raise the price of things, and do not expand supply.

This also supplies demand right here in District 141 where home building and construction is the largest industry.

We have some of the oldest housing stock in the nation in Maine.  Targeted programs to rehabilitate and maintain what we already have has to be part of our plan to increase housing.

• Expand programs like House Accessibility and Repair Program (HARP) to invest in existing homes, and upgrade the places people are living.
• Helping non-profits rehabilitate multi-family homes to get them back to market is another great idea I would support.

These are also ways to keep economic development occuring in District 141 because the homes are already there.