President's plan could turn dreams into reality

Take a look at the Valley Homes section of Sunday's Vindicator and you'll find dozens of affordable homes for sale in Youngstown. But despite the extremely low prices, the houses are still out of reach for many inner-city families who have the desire but not the means -- or knowledge -- to own a home of their own.
Thus President Bush's plan to close the "homeownership gap" should be welcome news to those who are tired of renting, tired of the impermanence implicit in living in a place owned by someone else.
Speaking in Atlanta Monday, the president identified as the "homeownership gap" that disparity between the three-quarters of white Americans who own their homes and the black and Hispanic families, of whom less than half are homeowners.
To bridge the gap, Bush announced his plan for 5.5 million more families to own a home by 2010, asking Congress to fully fund an American Dream downpayment fund which will help a qualified low- or moderate-income family to buy a home. Although the amount available -- about $5,000 each for 40,000 families -- is not much, it would certainly be adequate for many Youngstown homes on the market at $29,000 or $39,000. And obviously, there are far more than 40,000 families a year who need assistance. But it's a start.
Tax credits
The administration is also proposing a tax credit for developers of new or rehabilitated, affordable single-family housing in distressed neighborhoods.
Further, Bush has directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to simplify the closing documents and all the documents that have to deal with homeownership. Eliminating the gobbledygook should be welcome by all homebuyers.
The housing program is rounded out by the recommendation for a tripling of funding for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program, which helps community-based social service providers, like Habitat for Humanity, turn low-income families into homeowners by relying on & quot;sweat equity & quot; in return for assistance along with funding for housing counseling services to help low- to moderate-income renters improve their ability to budget for needed home expenses and regular rent payments, enhance their housing conditions and avoid rental delinquency.
Those who can take pride in owning their own homes also want to be proud of their neighborhood and the city in which they live. Instead of the downward cycle of rental deterioration, increased homeownership can turn a community around.
We would urge Youngstown Mayor George Mc Kelvey and the mayors of other Mahoning Valley cities with available -- or potentially available -- low-income housing to pay close attention to the president's plan as it moves through Congress.