Information Products Archives

Rural Voices: Aspiring Homeowners Receive Assistance

January 15, 1999/in Rural Voices

The features in the Winter 1998-99 issue of Rural Voices examine some important aspects of homeownership and some useful types of assistance.

Homeownership is a prominent goal in much of our nation’s current housing policy. For low- and moderate-income families, homeownership requires more than subsidized interest rates and means more than having a place to live. The features in the Winter 1998-99 issue of Rural Voices examine some important aspects of homeownership and some useful types of assistance.

The lead article demonstrates the role of subsidized rental housing, supportive services, and self-help construction in a farmworker family’s path from homelessness to homeownership. Counseling services are helpful- perhaps even essential – and another article describes the work of the new American Homeowner Education and Counseling Institute. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are also relatively new. Their potential for helping aspiring homebuyers to save for downpayments and other needs is described in a Q&A with an IDA activist.

Cost Based Appraisals on Native American Trust Lands

January 4, 1999/0 Comments/in

Cost Based Appraisals on Native American Trust Lands: A Longitudinal Analysis
Print copy: $4.00
Investigates issues contributing to difficulties in applying standard appraisal procedures on Indian reservations, and presents a longitudinal analysis of changes in value of homes built on trust lands.
1999, 23 pages, ISBN 1-58064-099-0

Rural Voices: 30 Years of Fair Housing in Rural America

August 15, 1998/in Rural Voices

The Summer 1998 issue of Rural Voices is dedicated to highlighting these fair housing and NIMBY issues.

First, an article by a national fair housing nonprofit organization provides an overview of the fair housing movement in this country and its impact. Other articles describe the approaches adopted by the state of California and a local nonprofit in Oregon to combat NIMBY opposition to affordable housing projects. An interview with Eva Plaza, assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the Depmtment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) , is also included.

Fair Housing, the Zoning Process, and Land Use Politics in Rural Areas

July 31, 1998/0 Comments/in

Fair Housing, the Zoning Process, and Land Use Politics in Rural Areas
Print copy: $5.50
Examines the role of land use and zoning politics in NIMBY situations, and how fair housing issues may be raised. Outlines common patterns and characteristics of NIMBY conflicts, using examples from four cases to illustrate creative responses.
1998, 35 pages, ISBN 1-58064-091-5

Border Colonias Region: Challenges and Innovative Approaches to Effective Community Development

July 31, 1998/0 Comments/in

Border Colonias Region: Challenges and Innovative Approaches to Effective Community Development
Print copy: $5.00
Detailed case studies highlight successful approaches to improving housing and infrastructure conditions in the colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border. Also outlines the key challenges faced by colonia residents, and some broad policy recommendations based on the experiences of local groups.
1998, 69 pages, ISBN 1-58064-084-2

The Spring 1998 Issue of Rural Voices - Cover

Rural Voices: States Help Produce Affordable Rural Housing

April 15, 1998/in Rural Voices

The Spring 1998 issue of Rural Voices examines some of the ways states have become involved. Any one of these methods could be duplicated in states that have not yet tried them.

State funds, and state agencies administering federal funds, are essential in developing affordable rural housing This issue of Rural Voices examines some of the ways states have become involved. Any one of these methods could be duplicated in states that have not yet tried them. First, an expert on housing trust funds explains how states have used those dedicated revenue sources to improve rural housing conditions. Other articles describe efforts in Iowa and Oklahoma to make state-administered .fimds more available in rural areas. Iowa has designed a collaborative application process, now being adopted by other states as well. Oklahoma analyzed housing needs in fast-growing rural parts of the state and targeted funds to help meet those needs.

Continuing Rural Voices’ coverage of welfare reform, this issue also includes an article describing welfare reform in Minnesota, starting with a pilot program initiated by the state before changes were adopted at the federal level. The magazine’s View from Washington department examines the possibility of enacting housing legislation during 1998 before Congress adjourns for elections in the fall. As always, the HAC Facts department summarizes some of the Housing Assistance Council’s recent activities.

Rural Voices: Housing and Economic Development

January 15, 1998/in Rural Voices

The Winter 1997-98 issue of Rural Voices highlights the intesection of Housing and Economic Development in rural areas.

Housing problems and economic problems go together in rural America. It often seems like a good idea to tackle both at once, but how? To what extent can housing development itself stimulate a local economy? What are the risks and rewards for a housing organization expanding into job creation, employment training, or business activities? This issue of Rural Voices includes two articles addressing these important questions.

First, the cover st01y examines the many positive economic impacts of housing development and suggests anumber of economic activities that fit well with housing endeavors. The second article explores factors a housing organization should consider in deciding whether to venture into economic development. Other timely subjects are included in this issue as well. A range of topics is covered in an interview with Nicolas P. Retsinas, until recently a top official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and now the director of the joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. An expanded View fi·om Washington examines the impact of the Clinton Administration’s proposed budget on the Rural Housing Service’s programs that serve the poorest rural residents by producing low-cost rental housing and assisting tenants with rent payments.

Leveraging Funds for Section 514/516 Farmworker Housing Development

January 1, 1998/0 Comments/in

Leveraging Funds for Section 514/516 Farmworker Housing Development
Cost for print copy: $5.50
Discusses the impact of changing how USDA’s Section 514/516 farmworker housing program funds are awarded, describes state programs, and includes case studies of innovative ways local developers have combined Section 514/516 and other financing sources to develop housing for farmworkers.
1998, 38 pages, ISBN 1-58064-088-5

Linking Rural Housing and Social Services: Case Studies

January 1, 1998/0 Comments/in

Linking Rural Housing and Social Services: Case Studies
Cost for print copy: $5.00
Information about successfully handling an important housing trend. Describes eight local rural programs that connect permanent housing with social services such as job training and placement, welfare and other income maintenance programs, and health care.
1998, 52 pages, ISBN 1-58064-082-6

The Fall 1997 Issue of Rural Voices - Cover

Rural Voices: Housing Nonprofits Working with State Housing Finance Agencies

October 15, 1997/in Rural Voices

Articles in this Fall 1997 issue feature two important topics: the role of states, and nonprofit management.

First, an experienced regional nonprofit developer presents suggestions for working with state housing finance agencies, which have become a major source of housing development funds. Another possible role for state agencies is explored in an article about New York state’s provision of administrative funds for nonprofit housing developers. Next, the head of a regional housing provider discusses some of the lessons nonprofit managers can learn from big-name management experts. The director of a consortium of nonprofits describes a new on-line job bank. Finally, out· View from Washington feature outlines the current status of housing funding and programs for federal fiscal year 1998, which began October 1.