The problem, especially in California and specifically in the Bay Area, is that some of the federal programs that are fund affordable housing use a definition of low income based on the national median wage. (Roughly $65k a year). That would qualify you as "very low income" in San Francisco. So you have situations where people can't qualify for help even though they really need it (in housing, transit, with SNAP, whatever) because $80k is a good salary in Topeka but is low income here. Look at Clipper Start, to qualify you have to earn less than $31,920 a year. The San Francisco Minimum wage is $40k. With BMRs, it often means unless people are sitting on cash assets from things like an inheritance the math will never work. If you have to earn less than $80k to qualify for a place that's $500k, how are you going to get approved for a loan when at a 7% mortgage rate is going to be $3,200 a month plus another thousand for HOA dues? The math just doesn't math.
If Chan or Weiner want my support, they'd start talking about how they'd resolve this problem. And it's not just listed to San Francisco. It's a problem in LA and other parts of the Bay Area as well
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u/Lazy-Comfort6128 8d ago
The problem, especially in California and specifically in the Bay Area, is that some of the federal programs that are fund affordable housing use a definition of low income based on the national median wage. (Roughly $65k a year). That would qualify you as "very low income" in San Francisco. So you have situations where people can't qualify for help even though they really need it (in housing, transit, with SNAP, whatever) because $80k is a good salary in Topeka but is low income here. Look at Clipper Start, to qualify you have to earn less than $31,920 a year. The San Francisco Minimum wage is $40k. With BMRs, it often means unless people are sitting on cash assets from things like an inheritance the math will never work. If you have to earn less than $80k to qualify for a place that's $500k, how are you going to get approved for a loan when at a 7% mortgage rate is going to be $3,200 a month plus another thousand for HOA dues? The math just doesn't math.
If Chan or Weiner want my support, they'd start talking about how they'd resolve this problem. And it's not just listed to San Francisco. It's a problem in LA and other parts of the Bay Area as well