Speakers to discuss caregiver stress
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1 Points Mentioned
1 Points Mentioned
The Thousand Oaks Council on Aging will host guest speakers to discuss caregiver stress and options to alleviate such stress at 1 p.m. Wed., May 7 at the boardroom, third fountain level,Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. T.O. Blvd.
The presentation will also touch on fiduciary abuse.
The four speakers, Nancy Ma, CPA; Amy Guss; and Tami Podell and Kelila Heller, Assisted Living Connections, have experience in senior services fields.
Residents are invited to attend the meeting and share concerns or suggestions.
The meeting will be broadcast live on TOTV and archived for viewing at www.toaks.org.
For details, call staff liaison Francine Sprigel at (805) 381- 7362 or email Councilonaging@toaks.org.
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Young families being priced out of the Conejo Valley, experts say
Where's the story?6 Points Mentioned
The Conejo Valley real estate market may be improving, but it’s becoming increasingly diffi cult for middle-class families to own or even rent in the area, according to experts at a housing forum last week.
The April 24 forum at Thousand Oaks City Hall addressed the state of the housing market for lower-, middle- and upperincome renters and homebuyers.
It’s no secret that living in Thousand Oaks is expensive. In fact, California has the thirdhighest housing cost in the nation, and Ventura County is the 10thmost expensive place to live in the country, according to Rick Schroeder, president of Many Mansions, a nonprofit builder of affordable housing.
The panelists were in agreement regarding the reasons for the high cost of housing.
“Thousand Oaks is a fairly built-out community,” said John Prescott, community development director for the city.
In fact, he said, in terms of residential capacity, the city is nearly 97 percent built out, meaning there’s little land left that is zoned for housing.
While there are some things the city has done to help in terms of capacity, there’s not much it can do about the other reason for high housing costs.
“The prices have gone up because we live in paradise. It’s that basic. . . . It’s just the nature of where we live,” said panelist Connie Reed, past president of the Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors.
Reed said she’s often had to suggest that a buyer look outside the area due to prohibitive costs.
“Sometimes you need to be honest with someone and say, ‘Based on your income, the Conejo Valley isn’t going to work.’”
Meanwhile, inventory is starting to creep up.
Reed said there was a 26 percent increase in the number of houses for sale in the Conejo Valley in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2013. And there were 81 condos for sale this year versus 33 last year in the first quarter.
While there are more units on the market, the number of sales are down, Reed said.
Perhaps most telling, she said, was the median sale price for a home in the Conejo Valley last year was $800,000. Thus far this year, it is $616,000. While prices are down, they’re not far enough down for many first-time or lower-income buyers.
Reed said she wouldn’t be surprised to see prices go down in the next quarter as well.
“The fact is that 2013 was fueled by investors. Investors were coming along with all cash and were buying up properties that were for sale. That segment of the marketplace dominated,” she said. “Now what we’re trending toward is a more balanced market, and that’s a good thing.”
But housing isn’t expensive for homebuyers only.
According to Schroeder, whose Many Mansions provides affordable apartment housing for very-low-income residents, renters in Ventura County need to make $22.44 per hour to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
Doug Tapking, executive director of the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County, said a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment renting in the neighborhood of $1,600 to $1,800 per month is not uncommon in the Conejo.
“Many in the millennial generation are still unemployed and falling back on Mom and Dad and waiting to find something, and they may not be able to find it in the Conejo Valley anymore,” he said.
While some relief may come from allowances for some mixeduse and stand-alone residential units in the city’sThousand Oaks Boulevard Specific Plan, there are tight parameters regarding the maximum number of dwellings permitted, Prescott said, due to Thousand Oaks’ voter-approved Measure E.
Measure E established a maximum number of housing units and commercial acres permitted in the city.
“We’re talking maybe hundreds of units over a number of years, so unfortunately, it probably won’t make a significant difference in addressing this problem,” he said.
There are two residential projects that have been permitted on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, one with four units and one with 36, according to Prescott.
A 50-unit project is in the prefi ling stage, he said.
Though rent is high and homeownership may seem unattainable, help is available.
Steve Alender, a private mortgage banker, advised meeting with real estate agents and lenders who are knowledgeable about various loans for would-be buyers. For example, special programs are available for first-time buyers and veterans, he said.
In addition, the Area Housing
Authority offers a free homebuyers’ workshop covering programs that help with down payments, closing costs and lower-interest loans. It also discusses tax benefi ts, credit scores and loan options.
A class is being offered from 6 to 7 p.m. tonight, May 1, at the Camarillo Library, 4101 E. Las Posas Road.
To reserve a seat, call (805) 480-9991, ext. 235, or email steve@thehomebuyingschool.com or lfthelton@ahacv.org.
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