President Obama’s UDSA is doing interesting things on the affordable housing front and thanks go to my Albany State University classmate Quinton Robinson for convincing me that working people can have new houses. We argued 30 years ago with our majormates about public policy but today Robinson and I still have healthy battles concerning the common good.
As state director of Rural Development in Georgia, Quinton executes directives on improving rural life from Ag Secretary Thomas Vilsack’s headquarters. Because I am old school, I feel that low to moderate income people should move into homeownership by first buying an older house, paying it off and then getting a new house.
The housing team at USDA Georgia is supporting innovative energy research in net zero housing with UGA Tifton. Yes, a family can rent or buy an older house but they must then consider the cost of utilities and those expenses can rival a mortgage payment.
Robinson and I have had heated debates recently with the concept of a low income family buying a $120,000 house. While that seems like a big number, the terms and conditions under the USDA housing programs actually make good long term sense. The public really needs to know about these opportunities because families owning homes is like a tree putting down roots.
To learn more about USDA’s homeownership programs contact their south Georgia office at:
Area 5 | Southwest Georgia | Fred Council, Area Director
- Tifton Area Office | 229-382-0273 | FAX: 855-803-3870 | 2406 North Tift Avenue, Suite 103 | Tifton, GA 31794
- Camilla Sub-Area Office | 229-336-0371 | FAX: 855-514-3344 | 30 West Broad Street, Room 101 | Camilla, GA 31730
Also, a non-profit organization called Total Free Inc. is working with USDA Rural Development to prepare families for the application process. Hopefully, a group of co-workers and friends in an area will contact Millicent Hartwell-Cross and her team will come over and do a presentation for them. What if this blog post leads to a new subdivision of first time homeowners.
Millicent Hartwell-Cross http://totallyfreeinc.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Totally-Free-Inc-156538314387368/info/?tab=overview
Project Logic Ga 
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