Hurdles of home-buying

PULLMAN — Uncertainty around affordable housing is no issue unique to the Palouse.

Pullman City Councilor Megan Guido said pressures within the housing market have been felt throughout the nation, especially within a new generation of first-time homeowners.

“It all can seem very daunting,” she said. “Homeownership can be intimidating, and the biggest thing I think is a lot of people don’t know where to start.”

Beginning this year, the city endorsed the Pullman Housing Workgroup to develop a plan addressing affordable and attainable housing in town. A large part of that, Guido said, is education and outreach.

The group, along with local nonprofits and government organizations, put together Whitman County’s first Homeownership Resource Fair to answer the community’s most commonly asked questions around housing.

The event at the Gladish Community and Cultural Center on Saturday afternoon connected the public with local and state resources, as well as housing experts.

Nils Peterson, executive director of Moscow Affordable Housing Trust, said there may be a permanent solution to creeping housing costs by using what’s called the land trust model.

The trust separates two parts of buying a house. Peterson said rather than purchasing the land and the home together, people would only need to buy the house on land that the nonprofit owns. What connects the two, he said, is a $75 monthly lease agreement.

Peterson said the method cuts down the total cost because people would only be paying for the house. The home’s sale price is also capped using a resale formula, he said, allowing it to stay at an affordable cost for the next homeowner.

”You can’t buy a house with dirt anymore,” he said. “The problem we’re seeing now is an inflated housing market many can’t afford.… We want Moscow to remain affordable.”

Peterson said the Moscow-based organization recently voted to expand to Whitman County. The nonprofit will be working with local officials to establish a community land trust in Pullman.

“The community land trust is not a new idea,” he said. “It’s now an international movement that started 60 years ago.… Every county in western Washington has one, but there’s none on this side. We’re trying to bring that opportunity over here.”

Dietrich Schmitz, of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, spoke with residents on down payment assistance.

Schmitz works as a down payment assistance program administrator for the commission, and said the self-funded state agency helps to bridge the gap in homeownership.

He said the organization aids home-buyers to purchase primary residences. People making under $180,000 annually qualify for loans to help own homes.

Schmitz said there’s a large discrepancy in housing prices and wages. It can be challenging for average wage earners to afford a home on their own, discouraged by loans with high interest rates.

“We help with down payments,” he said. “Since that’s most often the missing component.”

Brianna Brown, a weatherization intake specialist at the Community Action Center of Whitman County, came to make homeowners aware of energy assistance and the organization’s weatherization program.

The nonprofit provides income-based federal programs to aid in energy costs and weatherizing homes.

The energy assistance program can help subsidize utility costs for qualifying low-income families. The weatherization program offers assessments, as well as help repairing and replacing items in the home to reduce energy consumption and improve health and safety.

The programs’ requirements vary per household and can be found on the organization’s website.

Other organizations were present at the event including the Washington Homeownership Resource Center, HomeSight, Palouse Habitat for Humanity, the Whitman County Realtors Association, the Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, the Department of Finance Institutions and Parkview Services.

Learn more about the Moscow Affordable Housing Trust by visiting moscowhousingtrust.org, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission at wshfc.org, and the Community Action Center at cacwhitman.org.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com