I have to admit that I was excited to hear about this and looked forward to the press conference this morning. Since that time I have reviewed the website.
The biggest part of the initiative is that many employers in the City of Worcester, mainly non-profits, will help their employees buy houses in the City of Worcester similar to how Clark U does in the area surrounding their college.
Ironically this was a recommendation of the task force that I was on that resulted in the creation of the Univercity Partnership, where Armand Carriere did nothing and was eventually shut down. This is a great idea.
As far as I can tell, however, the rest is merely a compilation of many of the scattered programs that are available currently in one cohesive website. Don't get me wrong this is a good thing and has the potential of being effective, which is a good thing but what is new here?
I was actually hoping to see something like property taxes waived for one, or even, two years to BUY WORCESTER!! Lastly me is it just me or does it seem unfair for the City to, more or less, endorse one law firm , Fletcher, Tilton and Whipple, over another firm?
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
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This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
16 comments:
I disagree with this program and others like it.
Who says it's a buyers market now. Prices are still in a free fall and will prob. continue that way for at least the immediate future....of course this is just MY opinion.
The city should not be getting involved in anything like this....anymore than they s/b building low income housing or subsidizing The Hand It Over Theare. Let the RE brokers do the selling & marketing. Keep the city of Worc out of it.
They are touting No down payment............thats THE PRIMARY reason wer'e in teh mess that we are in now w/the housing market.
Employer assistance??? Let me guess....the only employer providing assistance is the City which is me the taxpayer. If so, WTH do I have to subsidize a city employees house buying?
No monthly mortg insurance payments.........if one has to make monthly mortg insurance payments they should not be buying a house. Additionally when they waive the mortg. insurance all they do is increase the interest rate on the mortg...so thats alot of smoke & mirrors.
6 months mortgage payment subsidy if you lose your job..........agains are my tax dollars paying for this???.......... read this one carefully.........it's only the mortgage principal portion of the payment......not the interest portion payment....and pricipal portion of the payment is very very small part of the totalmonthly payment until the mortgage had been paid down for 20+ years of a 30 yr mortgage.
Fletcher, Whipple, Tilton will save borrowers more than $1,000 in closing costs........gee I thought the typical home buyer only paid about $700 to $800 dollars to a lawyer for a typical house closing?.................so how do these folks save the buyer $1,000??......or is my $800 figure too low? Give me a detailed lis tof those costs to be saved. Thanks!
Pre purchase counsleing????? if you need counseiling , you should not be buying a house.....that's why we're in the mess we have now.
Grants for lead paint removal........ you mean they're going to have a lead paint program that doesnt involve going over to Elm Park (in the name of lead paint education) and having a big shindig complete with lead paint frisbees, a band, and free hot dogs ...........gee thats fantastic! And to think I thrived on window sills as a child!
Cost saving solar system. Jahn is from Missouri on this one. Solar still is not cost effective...besides what does a bureaucrat know about cost effectiveness.
I'll take the free tix to cultural events. Cant wait for 2009's burnouts next July 4th....just kidding.........I think the car show is actually a good thing.
Guys you can call me negative and/or cynical.......but I like to see things from a realistic perpective and this is just another load of bovine fecal matter that will help some councillors brother in law land a job on the City
Time to board up thiS program and place 2 Huge RED X's on it. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
Jahn:
I agree with alot of what you say except the employer assistance. It is not for city employees, but for employees of most of the larger non-profits like the colleges and hospitals This program encourages them to help their employees buy houses in the City of Worcester, that is a good thing.
The rest of it is nothing special.
Bill
Well then........maybe Holy Cross can help Billy Breault buy his own house in Worcester..it is HC he works at .....or is it Clark?......Afterall, the guy isnt even a Worc Homeowner....................just a Worc resident.
I tend to doubt the professional staff at these colleges needs any help buyinbg in Worc .......if that is their desire........frankly I see many of them opting for suburbia......
As to the remaing college staff........if they wanted to buy a house all they could afford would be to buy in worcester anyway.............so why do we neeed a program aimed at them..............when their typical buying power will limit them to Worc's housing market in the 1st place??
We have real estate brokers on every street corner in Worc............let them do their job
We need a Fly Worc program before we need something like this........but what comes 1st teh planes or the passengers??
"Who says it's a buyers market now. Prices are still in a free fall and will prob. continue that way for at least the immediate future...."
That is pretty much the classic definition of a buyers market...
"but what comes 1st teh planes or the passengers??"
Neither, obviously (according to the master plan) we need to build a new maintenance facility at the airport first.
A classic buyers market would be to wait out the bottom and once it turns UPWARD then you get in. Trying to buy at the bottom if anything is too speculative and very, very few are lucky enough to be able to call the exact bottom (except those nudie sunbathers up in P-Town)
So the City says its a buyers market so BUY WORCESTER...then 18 months later when the BUY WORCESTER afficiando is underwater b/c he bought with no/little downpayment.....he walks away from his BUY WORCESTER NOW house.............and/or he sues the city for advising him now is the time to buy.
Please keep in mind this is
a. the same city that told us the Worc Center Mall and parking garage would be razed in winter 06-07 ans that city Sq would now being rising in it place
b. also the same city that drank the Union Station Koolaid whilst the taxpayers all wore their Purple Nikes...........
c. The same city that drank the airport terminal Lemonade
d. the same city that sells a historic church with protective covenants on it ...only to realize a real est. speculator sells it out from under them for what A 500%(?) PROFIT and the protectivr covenants meanwhile are gathering dust in someones desk drawer ratehr then being recorded at the Reg. Of Deeds. A head should have rolled on that one.
The city should keep their hands out of anything to do with real estate, except what real est they need for day to day muunicipal operations...this includes but is not limited to:
1. The Hand It Over Theatre.
2. The Airport.
3. Low income housing constr.
4. Green hill park operatiosn.
5. Skating rinks
6. Canals
Just an IMO..........teh last real est. free fall started in 1988 but few realized it was even happening until 1989.............it was late 1997 before we saw the daylight in the real est. market again...
Thats an 8-9 years run...prices topped in 2005 this time around....so we're now 3 years into the current slide & anyone who thinks this is going to end in 6 or 12 or 18 months is Smoking those Left Handed Luckies again.
Again IMO.
BTW hows that Blackstone valley visitors centre coming along.....another city real estate debacle.....I say we rrename it the Redstone Valley Visitors centre.......b/c that place will see more red ink than my banks stocks have seen of late
Jahn
That is exactly right. We bought a 700 sf condo on Lincoln St. for 80k in 1988. 2-3 years later every unit was selling for 35-40k. We lived there for 11 years & sold for 78K in 2003
This is a very nice website put together by the town of Worcester. Since I don't see any other city neighborhoods listed in the neighborhood search besides Downtown and Lincoln Square I guess the city must be working on a similar website for those of us that want to buy in the city.
Or maybe they think that no one in their right mind would want to live in the city.
Guess what. People do. And the people that do are the people who are going to make or break this CITY.
John, I think I know the exact building you're referring to........6 or 8 units.......nicely restored front facade...maybe light gray color.......
Sorry, but I see this as a self serving PILOT program..
Program In Lieu Of Taxes.
Jahn:
I am concerned that this program is merely being set up to help the CDC's sell the owner oocupied units that they are sitting on.
Bill
more "bovine fecal matter" like Senor Jahn stated...city spending to much time on more "bovine fecal matter" like Senor Jahn stated..like Senor Jahn I like to repeat myself...
Clean up the city...get this problem property issue under control..quit inviting every hoochee mama who wears her pajamas outside all day long and good folks will move here & buy the good ole fashion way:>) (this means Congressmen McGovern has to start thinking about the middle class a wee bit more than he does right now)..maybe some of the bright minds educated here will stay..more dike plugging from a lot of folks who have never made a "real buck" outside the public sector!
In Philly right now-Van Morrison show was great last night...I understand one can't compare the two..but my first comment to Carol while walking around Philly was..how again I was in another American city that had a defined urban core of weatlth..prosperity...places that folks want to be at...and Worcester Urban has a hidden "Crown Hill"....I can't buy a fucking book in Woostah without traveling 4-5 miles....you gotta start moving out the non-productive and in mnasse..Woostah can no longer support the amount our leadahs have welcomed here
welcome back Paulie..................did you say you were going to hit the CC melody tent or is that trip later this summer
you know i was just sitting here thinking............many locales set up these kind of outdoor music venues in the summer.........
framingham years ago used to have the Carousel (Theatre?)...in north Framingham...gone now I think???..........
Boston has (had ?) the Bank Amer. tent ( f.k.a. Fleet/ Bank Boston Tent)....................
Cape Cod has melody tent...
South Shore Music Circus (I think is an outside type venue?)
Do you think Worc could ever make somethign like that fly...............maybe something run In Green hill park by private interests......e.g. The Duddie Pavilion........or the Fallon Tent
I know we have (or had) some music over in Institute park...but I am talking about bringing in some big name players to a larger gathering site..........
Boston city hall plaza for 20 yrs now runs oldies concerts on saturday night in the summer.
Paulie.....you're a promoter.......although I guess of somewhat diff. type event....................but what do you think.........should a city of our size try to promote such gathering funded by non city interests.........maybe even the colleges could step up to the plate or provide the site......as part of the ever sought after, yet elusive, PILOT programs....(not to be miscontrued that I support PILOT programs)
just got back in from Philly yesterday afternoon...was very easy flying in and out of TF Green..nice easy access down Rt146..parked across from the Southeast Airlines terminal...Woostah has no need for an immediate commercial airport with this gem so close and easy to get in and out of...maybe in 20-30 years when the region and the city demands such (unless of course our leadahs have not totaly turned it into a city of self induced poverty!! Let's face it mates..the poverty we see and are repeatedly told is real is for most cases self induced...lazy folks unwilling to make a bettah life for themselves....it always amazes me how much energy my poverty stricken neighbors can corral for the weekend parties that start on Wed but can't on Monday mornings when most of us get up and go to work?? Again I say..and then my rant for this gorgous Sunday will end.."if the Albanian gals across the street from me at Dunkin Donuts can work like they do with no prior knowledge of English and come to this country penniless with la familia..why are so many around me with dis and dat from the taxpayer unable to eventually on their own"???
Anyway, great time...Van was fabulous and he must read my blog since he sang two chestnuts from Astral Weeks (album cover on my blog:>)...something he rarely does!
"Ballerina" & "Madame George"
Went to Picasso's in Barre again last night...aftah many pints of Guinness at the Hibo on Temple Street aka Fiddler's Green:>)...Terry is starting to pour a damn good pint down there!
On way to pick up The Buddy in Watertown and then head to the Cape Senor Jahn..there until Thursday afternoon..am hosting a clambake on the Charles Rivah Thursday night..all welcome:>) Do any of you cats evah leave Woostah????
Will post my excellent Philly trip on the blog later tonight...also caught a Phillies/Diamondbacks game Friday...went in to the 12th inning
Senor Jahn bellows:
"Paulie.....you're a promoter.......although I guess of somewhat diff. type event....................but what do you think.........should a city of our size try to promote such gathering funded by non city interests.........maybe even the colleges could step up to the plate or provide the site......as part of the ever sought after, yet elusive, PILOT programs....(not to be miscontrued that I support PILOT programs)"
I'd love to see something like this at Foley Stadium...dual use for the field! But it aint gonna happen:>)
The Plan E government hurts us in that we do not create a powerful leader like Mayor White, Mayor Menino..Mayor Flynn, Mayor Curley, Mayor Cianci who have/had visions and then move forward on them with the muscle they have...to many uncharismatic, visionless folks have to much power in this city...so many "throw it up at the wall-let's see if they stick" ideas in the city..any further word on the rubbah sidewalks???
I commend the CC'lor for the idea..but are any of these ideas thought out and then the amount of time needed to see them thru evah put in?? Med City - a dud, Mall - a dud, Arts District - a dud..shall I go on???
Back to your thought Senor Jahn...look how long it is taking this city to get a move on the golf course....losing the city thousands..maybe millions ovah years...why the delay on such an important issue- a strong Mayor would have had this resolved years ago......a strong Mayor would have gotten those arborists or whatever they are and told em' "you fuck with this alcohol issue and I will make sure any funding you evah think you may get will be tied up in committee for years":>)
The Latino Festival - done right should be a gem for the city (well it is but it could be bettah)...a strong Mayor would tell the Latino comunity..you continue to create the havoc that is still happening after you leave festival...say good bye to it...why should Main South have to be essentialy closed down to protect the community..a strong Mayor would solve this issue and very easily..a strong Mayor would also ensure a liquor license and tell them right up front it's yours until you screw up..so don't screw up and that would be the end of it..every year all we hear is bad PR about the liquor license not about the upcoming great festival hitting the streets of Worcester..look at my event last year..the biggest news media story was my hassle with the Worcester PD..not about the event:>)
Ahhh...soon to be coming up for air Senor Jahn.....with all the new restaurants, pubs, Hanovah Theatres..we are going to have to start producing a demographic that can support it all....eventualy the shit may hit the fan....a huge chunk of this population is indigent....Konnie Lukes made comment of this sometime ago at a CC meeting.."we are not going to be happy with the upcoming census report"..
The Burbs around us are growing like the Burbs around Boston have -meaning less reason to have to travel into the city for ones jollies...Barre, MA now has two upscale foodies..I was at one last night...Worcester is going to have to start supporting itself..
"Ahhh...soon to be coming up for air Senor Jahn.....with all the new restaurants, pubs, Hanovah Theatres..we are going to have to start producing a demographic that can support it all....eventualy the shit may hit the fan....a huge chunk of this population is indigent....Konnie Lukes made comment of this sometime ago at a CC meeting.."we are not going to be happy with the upcoming census report".."
>>>I made mention of the census before it came out.what is the surprise here mates???
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