Housing's Helping Hands

Charities Strive to Make Washington More Affordable

In a District neighborhood on the mend, in the shadow of Gallaudet University, Sandy Romero and her family found their oasis -- a renovated three-bedroom condo.

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"The boys, when they came in, they thought it was a hotel or a resort," Romero said. "They thought it was so beautiful."

Without a hand, Romero admits, buying a condo would have been impossible. Her husband wasn't working at the time. Her credit was shot. Her budgeting skills were limited.

She found the help she needed from Manna, a D.C. charitable organization. The nonprofit group, which renovated the condominium building, sold her family the unit this year at a below-market rate and provided financial advice along the way.

"They taught me how to save money, how to fix my credit," she said. "If I had gone to Bank of America on my own, there's no way I would have gotten a loan."

"With the condo fee, it's $1,100 a month," she said. "It's pretty doable."

Although housing prices have softened in parts of the region, it hasn't done much to increase the supply of places that people with lower incomes can afford. The median home price in the region remains almost double the national average. The mortgage crisis means foreclosures are on the rise and the pool of loans available has shrunk. So some charities are stepping up their efforts to help people keep a roof over their heads -- sometimes with short-term shelter, sometimes with the financial boost they need to rent or buy.

"It has been harder to find decent affordable housing," said Ken Ellison, senior housing adviser for So Others Might Eat in the District. "It has worsened as housing prices have gone up and with condo conversions." His group is in the midst of a campaign to add 1,000 rental units for "extremely low-income residents."

Although the jobless rate in the region is low and the economy vibrant compared with some other places, about 7 percent of the region's 5 million residents live below the poverty level, and most homes remain beyond the reach of low- and even moderate-income families, according to a recent report by the Urban Institute. The median price of resale homes in metro Washington is $438,000, compared with $220,800 nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"A lot of people are being left behind by that prosperity," said Peter Tatian, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute.

Some charities are offering counseling on finances, foreclosures and mortgages. Some are providing the financing for organizations to buy or build affordable real estate. Some are helping tenants buy the buildings where they rent. Some, such as Manna, not only provide financial counseling but also acquire homes to sell to low- and moderate-income people who qualify.

Some agencies have focused on specific neighborhoods. The Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, for instance, primarily targets Ward 7 in Northeast Washington, east of the Anacostia River.