Low Income Housing

Did you know the government will pay low income housing investors as much as 90% of the cost of building or renovating residential property that is rented to tenants whose income is below the average for the area where they live.

We’re not talking about poor people. We are talking about retired people and students whose income is below the average in their community. We could be talking about someone who lives in an affluent suburb but whose income is below the average in that area - even if it might be above average on a national scale.

Despite the fact that “low income housing” is not actually housing for the poor, the government has had a hard time getting investors to get past the mental stigma of section eight housing and visions of slums in the inner city. In order to induce more people to put money into this kind of housing, they have increased the “ante” to make it more attractive. Now, the tax benefits are so great, it’s almost as if investors are given a choice of sending a check for up to $10,000 a year to the IRS or investing it in low income housing.

Seniors and retired persons who are able to live independently can often qualify for the reduced rentals on local apartments where a portion of the apartments are assigned to lower income residents. The following links provide more details and links to information about available housing.

AARP - Low Income Housing Tax Credit

National Low Income Housing Coalition

Low Income Housing Resource Center

Effects of Low Income Housing on Surrounding Property Values