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She said the survey is taken at the beginning of the process, and she agreed the issue is complex. <br />They worked hard to provide as much information to residents as possible, but the fear of change <br />and fixed incomes are involved, but they tried to put in as much protection as possible. Some <br />residents want to continue to rent forever. When looking at housing affordability, one must factor in <br />the cost of homes in the Park some of which are selling for $200,000 and up. Therefore, added up, <br />it's not as affordable as one may think. For lower income residents, if they want to take advantage <br />of the loan program, their costs could be reduced lower than they are now. <br />Ms. Forbath said that another thing that will not change is the oversight of the Park by the State. <br />The Mobile Home Residency law would also be in place as well as additional protections, for those <br />who purchase the lots, under the Davis Sterling Act. Regarding the Tenant Impact Report (TIR) and <br />information provided to residents, the owner and the firm did their best to provide all information in a <br />user friendly manner to residents. The TIR is not very user friendly but they put the same <br />information in the form of a question and answer flyer, in addition to meeting several times with <br />residents and answering questions. <br />Regarding the homeowners association and renter's involvement, Ms. Forbath said ultimately, the <br />homeowner association is formed by those who choose to buy lots; however, she has seen parks <br />where they have a renter liaison. Regarding the urgency of the park owner converting now, she said <br />the owner is close to 80 years old, and would rather see the residents have the opportunity to own <br />it. <br />Vice Mayor Cook Kallio requested an explanation of how homeownership might reduce people's <br />monthly payments. <br />Ms. Forbath said for residents who are lower income and who can obtain State loans, the loans are <br />3% interest over 30 years, they adjust the monthly payment based upon the person's income level, <br />so based upon what their income is, they could end up paying less monthly than they do now. <br />Vice Mayor Cook Kallio questioned how it would affect those who are not low income? <br />Ms. Forbath said typically in most senior parks, 82% of residents are lower income; however, this is <br />not known for this particular park. If people have a loan on their mobile home which may range from <br />10% to 14% interest over a 10 -20 year period, if they decide to purchase they can roll the old loan <br />into a regular real estate loan and get a 30 year, 6% loan, which can sometimes reduce what they <br />are paying for their current loan and rent. <br />Councilmember McGovern questioned if everybody who applies gets these State provided loans? <br />Ms. Forbath said this year; the State will allocate $2 million per park. Everybody who is low income <br />has the right to apply and the State will decide who gets the loan in the first application period. <br />However, if there are still additional people who did not get loans, they can re -apply in the second <br />year. She said for the last park she worked on, it took 3 years to get everybody funded that wanted <br />funds, and in the meantime, they continued paying rent. <br />Mayor Hosterman questioned whether the purchase price was based on the year in which loan <br />documents were submitted, rather than the year the loan was approved. <br />Ms. Forbath confirmed it was based on when the loan documents were first submitted if there were <br />not adequate funds. <br />City Council Minutes <br />Page 7 of 17 May 5, 2009 <br />