Down-payment assistance program is going to end

A down-payment assistance program that's widely used by national builders is about to disappear.

As federal lawmakers sorted through the housing industry's problems while drafting July's massive relief bill, seller-funded down payment assistance programs caught their eye. Homeowners who used the down payments, which were granted on Federal Housing Administration-backed loans through nonprofit organizations, had an alarmingly high rate of foreclosure.

The agency found that those borrowers go to foreclosure at nearly three times the rate of borrowers who put their own money down. So part of the relief bill eliminated those types of programs, effective Oct. 1.

Needless to say, the decision wasn't a popular one with the housing industry.

Frank Finlaw, the local division president of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes, said the local foreclosure rate among homeowners who relied on the program isn't that high. "It's not just people who bought through down payment assistance programs (that are in foreclosure), it's everybody," he said.

Beazer stopped offering down payments through the program several weeks ago, while other national builders attempted to market their way through the stigma.

Finlaw, like many other housing industry players, predicts that the absence of the program will further slow the real estate market. "It's going to take some people out of the market that have good credit. They just don't have the money for a down payment," he said.

Losing vote

Rumors circulated around the Internet last week about the voter eligibility of homeowners who are facing foreclosure, warranting extra clarification on the issue.

Homeowners who are in any stage of the lengthy foreclosure process are entitled to vote. "Foreclosures have absolutely nothing to do with a person's eligibility to vote," said Berkeley County Registration and Elections director Wanda Farley in an e-mail.

Of course, the homeowner has to be registered to vote. The deadline for that is Oct. 4.

Voters who have moved after being foreclosed on will have to call their local election office and change their address. Though address changes can happen up until Election Day, it would be wise to make those changes before Oct. 17, Farley said.

The false rumors last week are somewhat believable, given that residents used to have to own property to vote — back in the 19th century. These days, one of the only issues that would challenge voter eligibility is a criminal record.

This issue was raised in Michigan, where an online publication wrote that Republican officials were planning to challenge homeowners on foreclosure lists to keep them from voting. Republican officials denied the claim and disputed that they had printed off lists of addresses of foreclosure properties.

No dogs allowed

City of Charleston planners are trying to tweak some outdated rules that have made it tougher for veterinarians to open up shop within city limits.

City officials have drafted an ordinance that would remove extra permitting steps that those businesses have had to take, such as having to present plans to the city's Board of Zoning Appeals, said city zoning administrator Lee Batchelder. The new rules would put the city on par with other local municipalities and counties, he said.

Historically, veterinary businesses faced more rigorous restrictions because of the disruption that they could cause to nearby neighborhoods and businesses. They once were allowed to practice only in industrial areas, alongside tattoo parlors and strip clubs.

But modern-day practices — which have led most offices to be cleaner and less-intrusive to their surroundings — make those rules outdated, Batchelder explained. "It's really not the messy, smelly, noisy use that it might have been years ago," he said.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.