Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Inclusionary Zoning and Assessments

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 18 Jul 2012, at 12:43 PM, Elizabeth Magill wrote:

> So starting with the salary, the common mortgage rates in the area and other 
> details, we worked backward to set the home price. Condo fee was included in 
> that calculation, we had to make it so a person at 80% AMI wiht a good credit 
> rating could be approved for the mortgage.

Is this formula available? I know the formula for figuring out what is 
"affordable" varies from place to place but a common  misperception is that 
"affordable" means "low income". It only means 80% of average income in most 
places while low income is in people's perceptions much lower than that.

If the average home price in an area is $400,000 and a person with an average 
income for the area would be able to buy that house, someone making 80% of that 
would be able to buy a house costing 80% of $400,000 or $320,000. Still a chunk 
of change that many could not afford.

It helps to see the actual numbers.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org