Agenda - 10-08-2013 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

4 said the Home Review Committee has discussed this and Commissioner McKee represents the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on this committee; however she wanted to share it with the whole board. She noted that CHT is having significant difficulty in selling properties. Commissioner Dorosin asked if the HOME committee has a position on this issue. Tara Fikes said the committee was willing to waive these requirements and review in a year to see if it made a difference in sales. Commissioner Dorosin asked if AHAB looked at this issue and does it have a recommendation. Tara Fikes said no, the AHAB has not looked at it. Commissioner Rich asked if this had gone to Chapel Hill Town Council yet. Robert Dowling said it has gone to Chapel Hill, but they have not responded yet. Commissioner McKee said there was reluctance to do this because of the precedence it would create; however there was recognition of the decline in the housing market. He said the general sentiment was to move forward with implementing the 90 day waiver and look at it again in a year. He said these units need to be occupied and it would be great to have residents from Orange County, but this other route is best in the meantime. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there has been any effort to approach another local bank to see if there could be some help with the borrowing issues. Robert Dowling said yes. He said when he went to the Chapel Hill Council and made this request, he was told that he faced so many obstacles that he had no control over. He said a council member encouraged him to come forward with bigger plans and be very real with the Town Council. He has done this, but has not received a response yet. He said he has talked to many banks, but they don't seem to like the CHT model, because their collateral is the lease hold interest in the property and there is no knowledge of this worth. He said the banks want the property itself in the event of foreclosure, rather than the lease hold interest, in order to lend money. He said this is what CHT has to discuss as a committee because this would mean the properties would be lost in the event of foreclosure; however, this may be the way things have to be done in order to move forward. Commissioner Pelissier said she is fine with waiving the requirements, but she feels priority should be given to Orange County residents who might have just moved here. Commissioner Price asked if CHT has had people from outside of Orange County requesting housing. She also asked about prioritizing people who are born and raised in this county and want to come back. Robert Dowling said it will not make a big difference if they waive these requirements. He said they occasionally do come across someone who could purchase the home but is unable to because of the requirements. He said this will help with those occasional situations and clarified that there won't be any recruiting in other counties Commissioner Gordon said that she hears the information with concern. She said, having been around when this program was instituted, she knows that these rules were put in place for a reason. She said the goal was to help individuals in Orange County, who might not otherwise be able to live here. She said that if these rules are eroded, it raises the question of whether the goals of the program are being met. She said that this should be for people with some commitment to Orange County. Commissioner Dorosin said he feels these requirements should be jettisoned. He said that the program still targets low income residents and once the person has bought the property, they become an Orange County resident. He noted that these residents will then shop here and pay taxes here, and that these residents tend to stay. He asked if CHT has considered converting these properties to rentals.