A new service targeted at seniors buys homes, but lets the previous owner stay.
If you're over 65 and having trouble paying your mortgage and property taxes, a new startup has an interesting proposition for you. A new company called Irene will take the house off your hands and handle your taxes, too. The service targets a group that has increasingly small savings and is most likely to own homes. The situation of being asset rich and money poor is increasingly common among seniors. Irene will also pay for some maintenance. "The trade-off: a sale price far below market value," Henry Grabar reports for Slate.
The company is new, but the problem is not. Homes can be sold with lifetime rent clauses and equity in a home can be leveraged against retirement costs. "In sum, it’s probably a good idea for some seniors—though one that can hardly measure up to the scope of the problem," Grabar writes.
FULL STORY: Live Free and Die
Missing Out on Low Interest Rates
Wall Street Journal piece says loan regulations hurt home buyers with imperfect credit.
Explaining the Importance of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
A term you need to know.
Fair Housing and Community Development: Better Together!
Conversations about fair housing and place-based work too often lead to a perceived need to defend turf. Reece and Kriesberg got together instead to talk about common ground, using Rooflines as a hub for debate!
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service