vs
Help for housing
B-CS offers programs to aid low-income homehuyers
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1979
Page 3
By KAREN CORNELISON
| Special to The Battalion
iven-yeai|The ,roof leaks, the toilet doesn’t
i the R, lush, and the rats are getting more
^nationallumerous than the cockroaches,
is A&M'JThere may be help for the occu-
lants of this house, if they qualify.
Inflation, combined with a low
iterest rate ceiling in Texas, has
lade buying a house more difficult
, ( >r the middle-income homebuyer,
HlCll next to impossible for young
eople and lower-income people.
|] ^ t ] nt there are a variety of programs
i-Collei i n the Bryan-College Sta-
| ^ U( i on area designed to help low-
x [S ^ icome groups obtain safe and sanit-
'ohi) 1 m™ ^ as ^ urt t ^ ,e ^ ous i n g i n '
i|- ustry because of the increased
r ’ a rice of building materials and con-
a luctipn costs, causing the price of
ew homes and home improvement
i rise significantly.
Locally, the average price of a
ew home was $42,843 in the third
uarter of 1978 — an 8.9 percent
Hrase from a year ago.
ANOTHER FACTOR which
inders home buying is the diffi-
iflfh ^ * n obtaining loans due to the
b IW interest rate ceiling in Texas (10
ercent). Bills in various stages of
rill celf igislation propose to raise that rate
A buffet 112 percent, but none have been
Legion (proVed.
spouses (Savings and loan associations are
merican fiking fewer home loans locally
veterans W more loans in out-of-state mar-
to Phil Its, where they can charge a
igher interest rate and get a better
Hrafor their investors.
“The home loans that are made
re harder to get, especially for the
aung and the old,” one local real
statejagent said. Lenders will usu-
lly only approve a loan that is twice
le borrower’s annual gross income,
he said. When money was not so
ght, lenders would approve a loan
>rtwo-and-a-half times the income,
defense j We don’t like to lend more than
lentifieiliPlyour income,” agreed Elaine
shooting|°yak a loan officer at Bryan Build-
med the|g & jLoan. “However, we also look
dhavea|h° w long you’ve had your job,
ise ital §FP rev i° us j°bs, and how stable a
ct Judgepy°u have.”
e took it
ge. Bur-
Texas, is
d, Okie,
rom the
nd visit
the
Four Texas A&M University stu-
lents have been chosen to com-
nand major units in the Texas A&M
1979-80 Corps of Cadets.
Michael Snow from San Antonio
dll be commander of the Army
10TC brigade, Brian Hill from Aus-
inwill be commander of the Naval
10TC regiment, Robert Ingram
om: Elmendorf Air Force Base,
laska, will be commander of the
ir Force ROTC wing and Gregory
tew from Freeport will be com-
lander of the Texas Aggie Band.
As cadet colonels, the quartet will
e at the second level of the com-
land structure by which the Cadet
iorps operates. Next year’s corps
ammander, at the top of the com
ma chain, will be Bill Dugat of
Veslaco.
Each will be seniors next fall, as
re all cadet commissioned officers
i the Corps. Cadet non-
ammissioned officers come from
He junior class.
Snow, Hill, Ingram and Dew hold
he rank of sergeant major of the re-
iective units this year. They have
.1 or better grade point ratios on
exas A&M’s 4.0 system and are
members of the Ross Volunteers,
exas A&M’s honor guard.
al
There are some housing assis
tance programs in Bryan-College
Station for low-income people, al
though the College Station City
Council recently decided against
supporting a proposed low-income
housing complex in the city.
CITY ATTORNEY Neeley Lewis
recommended that College Station
not enter into a contract for this
housing development because of
proposed changes in Department of
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) regulations that would
greatly expand the role of the city in
such associations.
“We (the city) sponsor the is
suance of bonds right now,” he said,
“but we re really a third, incidental
party. It’s a contract between HUD
and the developers.” The new HUD
rule would make the city responsi
ble for making sure residents are el
igible and checking to see that buil
ders are doing everything right, he
said.
Callaway also mentioned a rental
assistance program, which allows
qualified people for government
rent subsidies, and a proposed
project for the elderly of a 50-unit
low-density housing project at a rea
sonable price.
But the most recent program to
be enacted is a housing rehabilita
tion program, headed by Callaway,
which began two weeks ago.
“The government will issue fed
eral funds allocated in maximum
grants of $5,000 to rehabilitate low-
income housing,” Callaway said.
The purpose of the program is to
correct health and safety violations
and to improve individual structures
in order to bring each one up to the
city’s housing code.
A TOTAL OF $50,000 has been al
located to operate the program. This
figures to roughly 8-10 houses, said
Jane Key, College Station housing
programs coordinator. If the pro
gram is successful, more money will
be allotted in June. The process of
qualifying and actually receiving the
benefits of this program is compli
cated.
Initial contact with homeowners
)se
atomic
ystems
jntialiy
an im-
i seven
!S . The
rt, Pa.;
Scriba,
i/ Arav
v for a
Islamic
Amin
uproot
nself a
iple of
tedby
iaid by
m said
id that
andan
Now you know
p United Press International
p rocket is not a modem inven-
ion; it was invented by the Chinese
s far back as A. D. 1200, a century
iefore the cannon.
Dew, a safety engineering major,
is an Air Force cadet on a pilot con
tract. Due to be commissioned in
the U.S. Army on graduation. Snow
majors in agricultural engineering.
Hill and Ingram, majoring in
building construction and manage
ment, are drills and ceremonies
cadets, which means they are not in
commissioning programs. They
chose corps membership for the
leadership and experience it
provides.
Hill is a junior yell leader.
Most fire deaths
in isolated blazes,
new study says
United Press International
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Cata
strophic fires that cause numerous
deaths get the biggest headlines,
but 65 percent of fire fatalities occur
by ones and twos in home fires, ac
cording to Ed Roach of Honeywell.
A university study has estimated
that 80 percent of these deaths
would have been prevented by
smoke detectors.
Phe Belgians, not the French, in-
I'ented french-fried potatoes.
owers I
)W tO' Imanas don’t grow on trees; they
up tO ?ow on a stalk that has no woody
trunk.
If you have
money to invest . . .
Optional Retirement Plan
Tax Sheltered Annuity
Deferred Compensation
Financial Planning
Call Hays Glover
GUGGENHEIM GLOVER,
ASSOCIATES
779-5555
,gress
..w
"■• Liz S
David^
ott Pef
.. .Ste' 1
bbie
.
Roger*
Petty,
Stone,
■vett,
>oug ^
LeschF
LynnJ
.Gary"
G 9 pm - 1 am
R Sat -
c 8 pm -12 pm
I
G
Mon.-Fri.
. ,
■
AGGIELAND INN
L
I
B
I
R
A
R
Y
L
0
U
N
G
JL
Was made through a newspaper ad
vertisement, letters distributed to
city councilmen and some people
who had shown some interest in
such a program.
Then came interviewing the ap
plicants, which was last week. To be
eligible for the program, a person
must fill out an application concern
ing the people living in the house,
the income of those people, and
their present housing and other ex
penses. From this, a committee de
termined whether the net income is
within the limits set by HUD. For
example, a four-member family
cannot be netting more than
$11,450 yearly to qualify.
The house must be located in an
area designated in College Station’s
approved Housing Assistance Plan,
and it must be in a condition that
could be brought up to the required
standards of the City Housing Code
within the $5,000 limit.
“There’s not a whole lot you can
do with $5,000,” Key added.
THE CITY HOUSING Code,
which is more strict than the HUD
guidelines, outlines acceptable con
ditions for sanitary housing
facilities, food preparation and re
fuse disposal, space and security,
and actual structure of the building.
For example, the code says that
“ceilings, walls, and floors shall not
have any serious defects such as se
vere bulging or leaning, large holes,
loose surface materials, severe buck
ling or noticeable movement under
walking stress...”
Once an applicant is determined
eligible, and the information on his
application is verified, an inspection
is made of the house and an estimate
of the cost of the needed repairs is
made. If the structure is determined
eligible, the grant is approved and
all proposed changes are explained
to the owner.
Bids will be taken on the con
struction work, contracts signed,
and the work begun. The work will
be monitored by the city. The com
pleted work will be inspected and
certified, and complaints about it
will be handled for one year.
“A direct grant program is easier
than working with savings and
loans,” Key said. “If this program is
successful, though, we may start a
loan program.”
A GRANT PROGRAM for housing
improvement, similar to the one in
College Station, has been in effect
in Bryan since October 1977.
“We have up to $4,000 (per house
rehabilitated) to make health and
safety repairs,” said Elisa Eubank,
Bryan Community Development
Planner. She outlined the eligibility
requirements, which are very much
like College Station’s. “We look at
the house and decide what’s
needed,” she said, “but it’s usually
not what they (the occupants) want.
We usually do plumbing, electric
ity, and paint the outside so it will
look like we did something.
“It’s gone fairly well,” she con
tinued. ‘We’ve done 40 or 50 houses
so far, but some people are dissatis
fied.”
The program was designed by
Eubank and Bob Wimbish, com
munity development coordinator, as
a result of the HUD Community
Development Act of 1974.
One drawback to housing re
habilitation programs is the time in
volved from application to actual re
pairs done.
“There is a long waiting list,”
Eubank said. “If we were caught up,
it would take one to three months,
depending on the contractors and
the weather. But with us behind, it
could take eight months.”
The grants in both cities are not
meant to be paid back.
Seminar to help
industries grow
Basic training in industrial development will begin here Sunday for
50 members of industrial development boards, chambers of com
merce, banks, utility companies and state and federal agencies.
The course is the 13th conducted at Texas A&M University and
will combine background theory and actual case studies of industrial
development techniques, said Harold Chilton, course director.
Robert B. Seal, a senior vice president of the Republic National
Bank of Dallas, will serve as dean of the course.
Among the 18 speakers are five from Brazos County. The men and
subjects are: Bookman Peters, chairman of the board. City National
Bank, Bryan, “The Economy and Its Effect on Industrial Develop
ment"; Chilton, Texas A&M’s Industrial Economics Research Divi
sion, “Selling Your Community"; and Dr. J.P. Abbott, professor
emeritus of English, “The Theory of Communication Spoken,
Written, Printed and Group.”
%
DELIVERY
FRI.-SAT.-SUNDAY
6 till closing
4&M Corps names |
it commanders
Lm
continues
Rock and Roll Month
Thurs. March 15 — With
the Lowdown
BOYS TOWN BLUES BAND
M2 S. Texas 693-0205
! PIZZA INN
PIZZA INN
iff
o
o
0
4!
U1
o
0
3
any medium or large pizza
any giant pizza with
f with this coupon
this coupon
) Valid thru 3-21-79
| Valid thru 3-21-79
846-8749
Minimum Order $ 3 00
AMERICA’S FAVORITE PIZZA
No other coupons valid with this delivery.
Before we interview you,
we’d like you to interview yourself.
Take a good look
at yourself. That
way you won’t
make a mistake.
Would you be happy working and
living in a small or medium-size com
munity, with a good starting salary and
the promise of steady advancement?
Are you ready to reach out to other
people because you know their every
day lives depend a great deal on total
communications as provided by
General Telephone?
Are you the kind of person who isn’t
afraid of individual responsibility?
We’ll be on campus March 27 and 28. If
you’re interested in an interview, see your
Placement Officer.
Or send resumes or call collect to:
Armando Anaya
Personnel Recruiter
P.O. Box 1001
San Angelo, Texas 76902
915 944-5143
Do you think you can jump right in
and help us in important areas — areas
like engineering, business ad
ministration, accounting, and a few
others?
If so, we’re anxious to meet you.
Better still, we’d like you to meet us.
Your grades are important. But what’s
more important is how you use your
head. Just be honest with yourself.
Would you want you working for
General Telephone?
Gin
GENERAL TELEPHONE COMPANY OF THE SOUTHWEST
A Part of the GTE System
An Equal Opportunity Employer