George,

Rey Barry entirely misses the point in his letter to Dave Norris about the housing situation in our city.

Perhaps Mr. Barry doesn't understand that a full-time worker at $6.50 an hour (there are plenty of these in Charlottesville) will only bring in $13, 520 each year, before taxes. That leaves them $4, 056 each year to put toward housing without putting undue stress on their family budget. That means they can afford a mortgage on a house that costs . . . $338 a month! That is if they scratch up a downpayment, if their credit is good, and if they have no repairs to pay for on their new house. Where would they find such a home? Not in this city.

How much income would someone need each year in order to pay $100,000 for a house? Or $150,000?

A general banking principle estimates $100 in mortgage for every $10,000 of the loan. So the mortgage for the first house would be about $1,000 a month. Our worker making $6.50 gets to stay in their new home for perhaps 5 months out of a year before it is repossessed and they become renters again. They only get about 3 months at the more expensive house built with support from my tax dollars.

I don't care whether you call it upper, middle, or low-income housing, but I don't want my taxes subsidizing someone who can afford $1500 a month in mortgage. On the other hand, I'd love to see my neighbor making $6.50 an hour get a place they can call their own. And I'd be happy to chip in via my fine representatives in city government.

Ben Thacker-Gwaltney (electronic mail, February 6, 2002)