April 2024 N/NE Neighborhood Housing Strategy Newsletter (2024)

Do you have experience living, working or playing in North/Northeast Portland? Are you passionate about restorative justice and housing equity? Are you interested in influencing housing policies, strategies, and resources?

The Portland Housing Bureau is now accepting applications for theNorth/Northeast Oversight Committee.The committee oversees implementation of theNorth/Northeast Neighborhood Housing Strategyand reports annually to City Council. Members commit to meeting every other month for renewable terms of two years. No experience is needed; we will provide training.

Apply now

Applications are due by June 18, 2024.

Sign up for our email list to receive notifications about these sessions.

Once the preference points are verified, the NHP team will collaborate with the applicants and the Portland Housing Center (PHC) to invite applicants to attend a homebuying information session, hosted by PHC. Applicants can then sign up for an assessment appointment where they can get an idea of how close they are to being mortgage ready (able to get a mortgage and start the home search and buying process), initiate a plan to become mortgage ready, and come up with next steps on their path to homeownership. First-time homebuyers will benefit from homebuyer counseling to develop a personalized budget and action plan - and once participants are mortgage ready, PHC will provide referrals to mortgage lenders and real estate agents to aid in their home search.

The NHP team estimates that we will be able to provide 70-80 new homeownership opportunities within the next 5 years through this program. We look forward to working closely with our applicants to achieve their homeownership goals.

New Buildings in Development for Rental

In our continued efforts to keep applicants informed, the Portland Housing Bureau wants to emphasize the importance of responding to notices. We encourage all applicants to respond promptly to any notices sent by PHB and housing providers to avoid being removed from the waitlist.

Visit our website and read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for answers to the most commonly asked questions.

We’ve seen it far too often: a longtime neighbor passes away, leaving their loved ones little choice but to sell the family home and move out of the neighborhood. Yet, with the right planning, families can remain in their beloved community, while preserving their cherished family home for the next generation.

In November 2019, the Portland Housing Bureau launched the Homeowner Asset Preservation Pilot to respond to community needs and advocacy by the N/NE Oversight Committee for legal estate planning services to stem the displacement of longtime homeowners and the loss of generational wealth in the N/NE Community.

The pilot program is continuing to provide free legal estate planning services to N/NE Portland homeowners as a tool to protect homeownership and transfer wealth between generations. The program prioritizes services to homeowners of color, longtime homeowners, and seniors and people with disabilities.

Through the program, the African American Alliance for Homeownership (AAAH) in partnership with the Commons Law Center, are able to provide funding to help community members develop estate plans and/or provide other legal services to help families preserve and protect their assets.

For information, and to find out if you qualify for free legal estate planning services, contact AAAH at503-595-3517or visitaaah.org

Brothers Gaelan and Kashta Andrade Booker knew they wanted to become homeowners from a young age, in fact, it was immediately after their parents' home was foreclosed back in 2008.

As shared by Kashta, "That was during the recession, I was really young, so I didn't really understand too much of what was going on, but I remember us moving into an apartment. It was rough, living in a home and then going to a two-bedroom apartment with six of us sharing one bathroom."

Finances were also difficult back then. "We were pinching to get by, just surviving," said Gaelan. "The moving process and switching schools - it was hard on us, but it also helped motivate us."

The brothers both expressed that those early years of challenges and change helped them on a personal level. They developed a "can do" mindset, and although the idea of homeownership still seemed like a very distant notion, "like a fog," they knew it could happen one day.

Years went by and one day "our grandma, Grandma Katie, shout-out to Grandma Katie, sent me an email or a flyer or a newsletter, I'm not even sure, but she just passed along this opportunity about the Preference Policy. And that was back in 2018, it was like two years before we even got the process started. We had forgotten about it completely and then got an email and then things started picking up," said Kashta.

Working with thePortland Housing Centerthe brothers received financial counseling and down payment assistance and after a few years they were finally mortgage ready! The next step, with the help of their team, was to find a home in the Interstate Corridor. When the right house presented itself, they knew right away. Today, the brothers are not only happy with the home they chose, they also share it with their family, including their parents!

What's the best thing about homeownership? "The freedom for us personally. The freedom to work on our house and do what we want with it to improve it, to customize it, whatever. We can put a hole in the wall ... and be happy," said Gaelan, who works in construction.

What advice would they have for others? Never forget your dreams. It may be rough but stay the course. The brothers, intensely focused on generational wealth building, are now in the process of purchasing an investment property! They are awaiting loan approval, and excited to put to good use the skills they learned in both purchasing and repairing their home. They also want to be an inspiration to others. "We have family members, cousins who we grew up with and did everything with - like our cousin Dylan. He was very inspired, and now he has a property out in Texas. That is motivating. That is wealth.”