Winning the Housing Lottery
The lucky winner of one of the city’s middle-income housing subsidy lotteries gets a write-up in Daily News today. The details are pretty envy-inducing: A guy who makes $85,000 a year as a technician at a high-definition video editing company entered a raffle sponsored by the Pratt Area Community Council (after reading about it on…
The lucky winner of one of the city’s middle-income housing subsidy lotteries gets a write-up in Daily News today. The details are pretty envy-inducing: A guy who makes $85,000 a year as a technician at a high-definition video editing company entered a raffle sponsored by the Pratt Area Community Council (after reading about it on this website!) and won the right to purchase a Clinton Hill rowhouse for $455,000. The monthly mortgage payments total $3,048. He’s now living there with his brother, who’s renting out the lower floors. However one feels about the “fairness” of these lottery systems, it’s hard not to be impressed by what PACC’s doing with these projects (like the earlier PACC restoration of 282 St. James Place pictured above); in addition to the obvious boon winning is to the lucky buyer, the restoration of these run-down houses has a very positive impact on the neighborhood. Are any readers among the other eight lottery winners for this batch of houses?
Brothers Find Sharing House is a Home Run [NY Daily News]
Steal This House! PACC Home Raffle Open Now [Brownstoner]
Lottery Lunacy? Allocating Middle-Income Subsidies [Brownstoner]
Photos from PACC.
I’m pretty sure you can’t just turn around and sell these housing lottery homes. I believe you sign a contract requiring that you live there for a minimum of 5 years (at least that is what I remember from one that I entered). And to those who are harping on the fact that the city just handed someone 2mil in the form of a beautiful new home- Its called a Lottery, just like the State Gaming provides, except this one ensures money funneled back into the community/borough. If I won a Powerball Jackpot I’d move to Hawaii. Congrats to the new owner.
I just don’t understand why they couldn’t buy something themselves. The article says they had $1M budget 5 years ago. % years ago you could definitely find a house for that much.
I’m pretty sure you can’t just turn around and sell these housing lottery homes. I believe you sign a contract requiring that you live there for a minimum of 5 years (at least that is what I remember from one that I entered). And to those who are harping on the fact that the city just handed someone 2mil in the form of a beautiful new home- Its called a Lottery, just like the State Gaming provides, except this one ensures money funneled back into the community/borough. If I won a Powerball Jackpot I’d move to Hawaii. Congrats.
how many properties are handled through lotteries such as this? this is unfortunately a drop in the bucket. there is no way to strike economic balance by giving a couple of lucky folks houses in a neighborhood like this. it’s a token gesture at best. don’t get me wrong, i’m way jealous. but unless they start working on a larger scale, it’s kind of useless.
Hey and let’s not forget the 20 year tax abatement thta comes along with these properties. Not only do we make them rich from the beginning – why make them contribute back into the system!
If you look under the title, “Winning the Housing Lottery”, there are two addresses (282 and 288 St. James); those pictures are of the two different buildings, I’m guessing. The mistake that *was* made was labelling them ‘before’ and ‘after’, implying it was the same building.
I think that programs like this are great!
There are restrictions in the sales contracts of such properties. They include things like having affordable rental apartments, limits on the time before resale, etc.
This is a great, albeit small way, of helping middle and moderate income folks stay in NYC, so that this doesn’t become a place for the very rich and the poor who provide services for them.
Mazel tov to the new owners!
those are not the photos.
you can take money out of a roth as it is after tax money you put in