Grate Idea #45:   Why don't we give all public employees tax breaks, free social security, lifetime employment, medical insurance, and now, below market home loans and (here's the good part) let the working people (including those who don't have all these) pay for it! ~~~~~~~~ Low-interest loans help teachers buy new homes By Clarke Morrison POSTED: Dec. 12, 2002 10:44 p.m. SWANNANOA - The daughter of a military man, Debra Threlkeld lived in more than 25 homes over the years. But it was only recently through a pilot program designed for teachers that she was finally able to buy one of her own. Threlkeld said she probably wouldn't have been able to afford the 1,285-square-foot house on Patton Cove Road in Swannanoa if not for the Teacher Mortgage Program that offered her an interest rate of 4.99 percent on a 30-year mortgage and help with the down payment. It's nice that I'm actually able to put down roots, said Threlkeld, who teaches academically gifted students at Black Mountain Elementary, Black Mountain Primary and Williams Elementary schools. And because I'm in the community where I work, I think it affords me insight into my children. I love this area so much, but housing is difficult here. I decided that if I was going to stay, this was the time to get a home. State Treasurer Richard Moore and other state and local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Threlkeld's new house Thursday to celebrate the first low-interest loan in Buncombe County made under the program designed to help North Carolina attract and retain the best teachers. Ms. Threlkeld has been with us a number of years, but now we know we're going to keep her, said Cliff Dodson, superintendent of Buncombe County Schools. The pilot program was initiated earlier this year in four counties: Buncombe, Nash, Guilford and Gaston. So far it has provided about 80 loans to qualified teachers in those counties who are buying their first homes. Education affects every citizen in North Carolina, Moore said. Attracting the best possible teachers and keeping them in the classroom is essential for providing quality education for our young people. An interest rate of 4.99 percent is well below current market rates. The monthly payment on a $100,000 loan at that rate would be $536.21, compared to $632.07 with an interest rate of 6.5 percent. Teachers who qualify can also receive a $5,000 loan with no interest to apply to a down payment and closing costs. Participants must have family incomes and net assets that meet certain limits set by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency. In addition, the home must be located within the school district where the teacher works. But Moore said the pilot program is only able to serve about 200 people, and with the state budget crisis it appears unlikely in the near term that the program can be expanded or extended to other counties. We've got to figure out how to do this on a larger scale, he said. We don't see a clear way to do that right now. When the state does get back on its feet, we can prove it's a viable program. The program was spearheaded locally by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems. http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/25091.html I remain respectful and a little bit hongry,     X Guv Bob http://www.geocities.com/guvbob2002 Represented in all slander, paternity and bad check writing cases by Holstein, Iceberg and Goldbrick