Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
David Kucera, a real estate broker in Palo Alto, stands in front of a triplex property in Mountain View that he co-owns with a shared equity partner. Kucera says most people who can't afford to buy a home on their own don't realize they have the option of buying a property in shared equity. Kucera adds that, if a potential buyer doesn't already have a partner to purchase a property with, he could help locate one for the client.
Housing costs too steep for teachers
By Jean Newton
Achieving the American dream of owning your own home is a bit more difficult than it used to be. During the past year the sizzling real estate market drove home prices to an all-time high, leaving many potential homebuyers out in the cold. In December 2000, the housing affordability factor rose slightly with 32 percent of the households in the state able to afford the median-priced home at $249,367. In Santa Clara County, however, affordability is much lower with only 18 percent of households able to buy a median-priced home. For Matt Weber, who teaches fourth-grade at Argonaut School in Saratoga, those are discouraging statistics.
"My dream is to have a family and own a home someday, but if I want to stay in teaching, I can't afford to live in this area," said Weber. "I don't presume to think that I'm entitled to live in Saratoga, but I would like to be able to live nearby and not have such a long commute. The way things are now, I would need to rent for my whole life or change jobs."
Options for teachers are slim. Weber, who rents an apartment in Saratoga with three roommates, said some teachers still live with their families to make ends meet, while others drive up to three hours to get to work.
"The real issue is retaining teachers for the long term. Teachers who are young tend to move away, then more young teachers are hired so the continuity is broken," said Weber.
Weber grew up in Palo Alto where his family still lives. At age 26, he has been teaching for three years. As a member of a recently formed task force on affordable housing for teachers, Weber is working with committee members to explore options and creative ideas to address the problem.
One area of interest to Weber is equity sharing, or shared appreciation mortgages, that can give teachers opportunities to buy homes. The task force is working with a specialist in the field, said David Kucera, a real estate broker who owns Santa Clara Properties in Palo Alto. With more than 20 years' experience in the industry, Kucera joined the group because he believes teachers are important assets to the community.
"Equity sharing or shared appreciation mortgages are options for teachers. I have been matching investors with people who can't afford to buy homes since 1978," said Kucera. "It can be an ideal situation for parents who want to help out their kids by owning a home with them or for people who would like to invest by loaning money. We are currently developing a pilot program and want to get the word out to people who might be interested in participating."
There are some caveats, however, since there are accounting, tax and legal issues. Kucera recommends consulting with a Realtor, attorney and financial advisor to get specific information for each particular situation when considering equity sharing, or shared appreciation mortgages. An agreement is an essential component in making this approach work.
The task force committee that both Weber and Kucera are working on was formed after a special meeting to address the teacher-housing issue. Co-chaired by Saratoga parents Ching Li Cheng and Jan Birenbaum, the group initially conducted a survey to find out how many new teachers there were; how far teachers had to commute; and how many teachers felt housing was an issue.
"We found out that 90 out of the 124 teachers who returned the survey had worked here six years or less. Many of them are leaving because of the housing issue. We were already aware that teachers, in general, are tending to leave the area, or leave teaching at an alarming rate," said Birenbaum.
That was enough for both Birenbaum and Cheng to move forward to put together a teacher housing initiative. One of the task force's initial projects is to set up a website for teachers, as a resource for more information on alternative housing and available grants, as well as to help them find rentals in the area.
"We would like to encourage people with rentals available to list them with us first, so teachers have access first," said Cheng. "It would be even better if owners would offer teachers housing at a good rate or even below market value."
Local school districts are also involved in finding solutions for affordable housing for teachers and staff. Due to the excellent reputation of the schools in the area, Los Gatos and Saratoga are considered highly desirable places for teaching.
"We have a commitment to recruit, train, and monitor, as well as pay the highest salaries we can afford to provide the community with the best possible teaching staff we can," said Cynthia Ranii, superintendent of the Los Gatos Saratoga Joint Union High School District. "We will be actively involved to try to solve the problem through collaboration with other groups in the community."
The high school district is currently working with the Los Gatos Rotary Club and the Saratoga task force on housing issues, and has offered to provide a district housing link to list rentals for teachers. In addition, the districts are working together to explore various alternatives.
"We have joined with the high school and are working with the task force, as well as on a program to identify affordable rental housing and strategies for low interest loans," said Mary Gardner of the Saratoga Union School District.
In Los Gatos, Superintendent Mary Ann Park finds the issue of housing for teachers and staff a great concern. The district is also involved in working with others in the community to support teachers.
"Even our parents talk about making a sacrifice and paying high prices to live here so their kids can go to school here," said Park. "This is a great place for teachers to work. Although we have done a lot of work to address the issue, it is still hard to afford a $1 million home on a teacher's salary."
If you have property available for rental and would like to list it for teacher access, please contact task force members Kathleen Chong at 861-8871, Cindy Tolliver at 867-7920, or Charlotte Sparacino at 741-0318 for more information.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
