Marin County lower income housing? (Not section 8) (Oakland, Santa Rosa: apartments, rentals)

[uRabbit]

Looking to relocate to Marin County, near Mill Valley. Seattle has what's called MFTE, a tax exemption program for apartment communities. They provide 20% of their units for lower income families (tier-based income levels) and they get a tax exemption on those units. Portland has a similar program as well.

Does Marin County or Oakland or somewhere have something? Need to be in an elementary school with at least three stars on school digger, and hopefully within an hour of Mill Valley via bicycle (electric) or transit.

I know... Far fetch!

[Chuck5000]

Probably very far fetched. Personally, I would not want to be firmly stuck in the lowest 10% of a very wealthy town; your kids will feel left out as other wealthy kids and families endlessly do all kinds of super fun rich kid stuff that you can't. Does not compensate for whatever better schooling they may get. Better choice is to find a school system that is good where they'll be somewhere near the median.

Maybe look at Petaluma? Use greatschools.org. Maybe East Bay, like Albany or even Berkeley? Not cheap at all, but better than Mill Valley. Maybe San Rafael, but rentals may or may not be in your range. At least in San Rafael you can find sometimes find some habitable homes for 1m.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by uRabbit

Looking to relocate to Marin County, near Mill Valley. Seattle has what's called MFTE, a tax exemption program for apartment communities. They provide 20% of their units for lower income families (tier-based income levels) and they get a tax exemption on those units. Portland has a similar program as well.

Does Marin County or Oakland or somewhere have something? Need to be in an elementary school with at least three stars on school digger, and hopefully within an hour of Mill Valley via bicycle (electric) or transit.

I know... Far fetch!

Most cities/counties in the Bay Area have what's called below market rate (BMR) housing (on both the rental and buying sides). This is, I believe, similar to the programs you're talking about that were offered in Seattle and Portland.

It varies by region on whether a city manages their own BMR program or if it's run by the county. From a quick cursory Google search, it seems that Marin handles below market rate housing at the county level.

I tried the links that lead to Marin's BMR program, but the links appear to be dead for me (?):
Marin Housing Authority - BMR
BMR Upcoming Lottery Drawings

I did find a housing page for Mill Valley that has a link to a pdf talking about BMR buying program: City of Mill Valley : Housing Resources

It might be worth it to e-mail/call them directly: Housing Authority - County of Marin

Keep in mind, it's VERY competitive to get in to these, and the programs usually have very strict income guidelines (usually below median income for the area). The waiting lists can run years, as well...if you're moving here, I'd look at cheaper areas of the region since the likelihood you can land a BMR place will be low.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by uRabbit

Looking to relocate to Marin County, near Mill Valley. Seattle has what's called MFTE, a tax exemption program for apartment communities. They provide 20% of their units for lower income families (tier-based income levels) and they get a tax exemption on those units. Portland has a similar program as well.

Does Marin County or Oakland or somewhere have something? Need to be in an elementary school with at least three stars on school digger, and hopefully within an hour of Mill Valley via bicycle (electric) or transit.

I know... Far fetch!

Yes this exists in the Bay Area, and there are few units and lots of demand. For example, a new project in San Leandro is opening with 115 units. 18000 people applied. They ended up having a lottery, but you should not think of moving here hoping to get in on that lottery. Your odds are only slightly better than the Powerball. This is how it is for every project, go ahead and scan the article. The waiting lists for this type of housing is 5-10 years.

In San Leandro, 115 Affordable Units and 18,000 Lined Up to Get In | Boomtown | News Fix | KQED News

Stay up north.

[uRabbit]

Thanks for the info!

By the way, rent should be around $2,000 with one bedroom. We should be making just around $55,000/yr.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by uRabbit

Thanks for the info!

By the way, rent should be around $2,000 with one bedroom. We should be making just around $55,000/yr.

I don't know when you're planning to move here, but the SMART train in Sonoma/Marin counties is opening up later this year:

Smart Train North Bay Sonoma Marin | SMART – Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit | Passenger train and multi-use pathway project
http://main.sonomamarintrain.org/wp-...16-English.pdf

It'll run from Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael (and eventually to the Larkspur Ferry terminal) - not quite to Mill Valley, but close.

I'm sure at least foldable bikes will be allowed, which you could ride from the train to your work. Or maybe you could try to keep a car at the station during the week (a lot of people do this at BART stations).

If so, riding that could be an option, and it'd open up housing options in cheaper parts of the North Bay.


Also, that's a lot of rent for that income...

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by uRabbit

Thanks for the info!

By the way, rent should be around $2,000 with one bedroom. We should be making just around $55,000/yr.

I'm not clear on what you're asking, between your first post and this one.

Mill Valley isn't as bad as you think, because it's isolated from the big tech development on the SF peninsula. There are 1-br. places for between $1750 to $2000. Have you taken a look at the listings? And take a look in Strawberry, as well.

[Chuck5000]

I think it is crazy to relocate a family here making less than at least 150k. 55k? Makes no sense at all unless you can get a job here that you cannot get anywhere else that has prospects for more than doubling the pay, or have an elderly or other close helpful relatives here.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

I think it is crazy to relocate a family here making less than at least 150k. 55k? Makes no sense at all unless you can get a job here that you cannot get anywhere else that has prospects for more than doubling the pay, or have an elderly or other close helpful relatives here.

Yeah, 2k will be 50% of your take home pay. Sadly not unusual in bay area. Do you HAVE to move to Marin?

[uRabbit]

To address the concerns of income: We don't have a car, or the expenses that go with it. We do well without one in Seattle. Here in Seattle, the median home value is $510,000 last I checked. We currently make $41,000. It's not ideal, of course.

To address why we are moving: My wife is receiving an offer of employment and I may be as well, in the same field we are in now, with much better benefits and much better growth potential.

That train would definitely help us out if we live in San Rafael or further north and work in Mill Valley.

I've been browsing craigslist, apartments.com, trulia, and padmapper. Got any others? I know some areas get more use out of certain web sites than others.