We have “cheap” houses, but you probably can’t buy one.
We get a lot of phone calls from people who are all excited because they just found a house or a condo that seems to be a really good buy, and they would like to see it and perhaps buy it. More often than not, they couldn’t buy it, even if they wanted to. The condo is a good value because it is deed restricted, and the restriction usually means that you must work in Summit County at least 30 hours a week in order to be able to own it. The county encourages developers to build workforce housing and then limit the price on it so that locals can afford to buy it. They keep the price at “affordable” levels in the future by putting those restrictions, and sometimes appreciation caps on the home. The appreciation cap limits annual price increases to perhaps as little as 3% per year. Some locals don’t like those caps as they want to be able to get the same appreciaton levels that a second home owner gets. However, they don’t have a lot of choice sometimes.
One of my clients recently got a letter from a developer stating that he would pay them to deed restrict a condo he already owns, at the rate of $20 a square foot. That means that my client would get a payment of $20,000 to restrict a 1000 sq ft condo. Not bad, but you could be devaluing it by more than $20,000. In his case, it would not be worthwhile. In an entry level condo, perhaps it might be a better deal, but it definitely restricts the saleability of it when the time comes as it limits your number of possible Buyers.
Developers want to build deed restricted housing because they often get density bonuses that allow them to build a market priced unit for each restricted unit and therefore can get more units than the zoning would otherwise allow. It is mostly a win-win situation. First Bank has some great loan programs for first time home buyers, so locals often can buy a nice place to live, rather than have to rent all the time. We have free reports online directed toward first time homebuyers if you or someone you know needs that kind of information. Let us know of your experiences buying property in Summit County!
June 6th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Even at deed-restricted prices, the houses are out of reach for most locals. We recently moved here from Minnesota and lived in a very popular neighborhood with young professionals and families. We sold our 2000 sq ft, 3-bedroom, 2.5 car garage with a nice yard for $250,000. The only thing we could afford when we moved here was a 1,000 sq ft, 2-bedroom duplex, 1 car garage with a tiny yard and it was more expensive then the house we sold in Minnesota.To get into a similar house in Summit County, at a deed restricted price, is around $400,000.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
[…] to find a place to live and have to turn it down. For those who can buy a home, there are deed restricted housing units designated specifically for people who work in the County 30 hours a week or more. They are […]
November 24th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I feel Breckenridge Resort Program for students all around the world, is missing something, its not right to sell a dream, to a place with no facilities to rent, The authorities of the county should do something, these are young people who will arrive to work and enjoy.Every place is just for very GOOD POCKETS, my sons are looking for a decent place to stay for 4 months and of course the rent is too high, so what they do now? they can’t drop the job, did you know that to have a working contract each student invests more than U$ 1,000 (besides ticket plane), the issue of the Visa at the Embassy is U$ 100, and of course money for the first 20 days to live, and eat, sure they just give you the job, kids traveling in this way are from well educated families, everyone is checked at the embassy for no police background, good average notes, and of course they all come from private universities, because other locals couldn’ t afford to invest so much money. What do authorities do ? The principal employees giving the job offer should advice from a start to a final accomodation for the one traveling, don’t you think, someone should be responsible.
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 am
Most of the ski resorts offer some type of employee housing at more affordable prices. They do fill up quickly leaving many new employees scrounging to find a place to live. The county realizes there are issues with affordable housing and feels it is their responsibility to create more affordable housing and not the employers. One way the county is working on this issue is, as mentioned in the blog, a developer can “…often get density bonuses that allow them to build a market priced unit for each restricted unit and therefore can get more units than the zoning would otherwise allow…” Unfortunately, the deed restricted housing is only a solution for the full time, Summit County resident. For locals needing rentals visit the Summit Housing Authority’s website http://www.summithousing.us/rentalinfo.html for some complexes that offer reduced rates based on income. As housing prices continue to rise I agree that this will become more and more of an issue.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
[…] more information on deed restricted homes, read this post about “cheap homes”. Wildernest is also a relatively inexpensive place to live. Read a post about affordable […]