BANGOR, Maine — USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel announced Thursday that Community Concepts Inc. has been awarded a grant of slightly more than $1 million to help families in southern and western Maine build their own homes.
The $1,010,000 will be made available through the newly created Self-Help Housing Technical Assistance Grant program.
“This innovative USDA Rural Development Program supports local families in their dreams of homeownership,” Manuel said in announcing the grant program.
“While spending months working to build their own homes through hard work, determination and teamwork, they are literally building a stronger foundation for their family’s future through homeownership,” she said.
The new grant program will provide assistance for about 40 new homes for eligible families in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec and Oxford counties.
Upon completion of the current building season, an estimated 255 families will have been assisted in homeownership to build their own homes with technical assistance provided by USDA Rural Development and Community Concepts since 1991.
Community Concepts recruits, trains and supervises small groups of families as they build single-family homes in a “homebuilders association.”
Together, they provide a minimum of 65 percent of the total labor needed to build the homes. That can can save families as much as $20,000.
Community Concepts CEO Michael Burke said that this is one of the reasons the concept works.
“This program succeeds through sweat equity,” he said. “Participants from all walks of life — from couples to single parents, from ages 18 to 80 — those who have the dedication and commitment necessary can work to build their own home through this valuable program.”
For more information, contact Sandy Albert, Community Concepts’ associate director of housing and energy, at 739-6560.
Our country needs the following or something similar to better protect citizens and their property rights:
“Whoever, with intent to obtain property knowingly participates in changing, without lawful authority, a contract attached to Real Property of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony or fraud under any applicable State or Local Law, shall face fines or imprisonment for … “
Similar to Identity Theft property owners should be afforded the same legal avenues to pursue when a contract is taken behind their back, without knowledge, without consent, depriving them of the use and benefit affecting the marketability of millions of dollars in property. Sorry We the People are supposed to have guaranteed the Constitutional Right to Protect Property and our government or any of its program grantees have zero right implementing any program to violate the People.
Currently citizens such as possibly legally disabled ones if the perpetrator does not just do the legally, morally or ethically right thing then must choose between paying lawsuit legal fees vs. medical needs. Having a potential law would then give them the same rights in protecting property whereby they can file theft charges. Sorry it does not seem right that you can steal a cheap car and face charges, but if you deprive an owner and negatively affect property by potentially $100,000+ there are not similar consequences.
You are potentially asking why …
You can consider this past news article as an example of potential property right violations:
http://thebusinesstimes.com/public-funding-private-housing-homeowner-raise-concerns-over-land-purchases-for-affordable-housing-2/
Per this article the owner put $384,000 into their house and after their Property Rights were violated sold instead of staying for the planned 10 years. Per the County Records “Sales and Conveyance Information” on 12/06/2010 they sold their home for $245,000 dollars (bottom of this page: http://www.imap.mesacounty.us/assessor_lookup/Assessor_Parcel_Report.aspx?Account=R025388).
Now while the market may have fallen slightly in 2010 do you really think it affected the value by a difference of $139,000 for a home at that time? That was a huge possible financial LOSS most likely due to the actions of an entity who violated governing documents and state laws backed by our various federal, state, city, etc. tax dollars! The “marketability” of their home was affected because an entity purchased with the intent to take from consumers who themselves had prior VESTED property rights and also Consumer Protection rights.
Problem is in fighting the battle the question becomes who has deeper pockets … an entity violating rights to implement a Federal USDA Mutual Self Help Program or a Citizen of the United States of America who just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new home for their family.
That is not the only subdivision where similar rights have been violated. Those with vacant lots in their subdivisions watch your back and try to make sure your rights are protected!!! As far as this poster is concerned potentially the USDA has no business being in the housing industry especially if violating citizen’s property rights in order to implement Mutual Self Help Housing Program. Essentially any government entity who themselves or via any “grantee” implementing a government program who violates any Citizens rights should potentially be Defunded. After all as noted in our US Constitution citizens are supposed to have the right to Protect Property.