How We Build Homes & The Right To Buy

Addressing Severe Need:

  • The report also projects that by 2033, there will be a need to address:

  • 4,450 severely cost-burdened renter households (up to 50% AMI).

  • 2,800 severely cost-burdened owner households (up to 50% AMI).

This totals 7,250 households projected to be severely cost-burdened (spending >50% of income on housing) within these lower-income groups.

To fix a problem you first must understand it:

Baseline for Growth:

The city states Largo needs to add 210 new housing units per year simply to accommodate projected population growth and replace demolished units through 2033. Building only this amount is projected to worsen the affordability situation.

Annual Addition for Severe Need:

If the aim were to address this specific group of 7,250 severely cost-burdened households over the 10-year projection period (from 2023 to 2033, as used in the report), that would imply needing solutions for an additional 725 households per year (7,250 households / 10 years).

Combining for a Estimated Figure:

Adding the baseline for growth (210 units) to this illustrative figure for addressing the projected severe need in lower-income groups (725 units) would suggest a hypothetical need closer to 935 units per year.

*Final Housing Market & Needs Report

What does Legalize Housing Even Mean?

It means more than just land use changes and government rule changes. Any bold housing strategy will require investment from the private and public sector. My plan will call for the city to invest in building 10,000 dense affordable & workforce housing along major roadways like East Bay Dr (SR 686) and Ulmerton (SR 688) and transit options to help that development and adding the right to buy city owned housing stock for residential uses in the city charter over the next decade.

To avoid tax increases, this will require the city to take out some higher than average debt levels to provide the capital necessary to build some projects. However, our city has tremendously low debt levels and these would be assets in which the investment more than offsets any liability to the city. Any property, townhomes, apartments, etc. built by the city would be held in an trust with the residents.

Tenants who are able to show they can pay their rent after 24 months would be given the right to buy their unit at the cost associated with building the unit plus inflation associated with the bond on the project and not the current market rate. This give the tenant instantly 2 years of equity, in their starter home, that a normal first time buyer would never have if they want to grow their family into a larger home over the future years.

Once the building is completely owned by the market, full responsibility for the building and all future maintenance and upgrades would be the responsibility of an HOA. This way the city recoups all money and builds a continuous generation living the American dream of property ownership.

When the government cares about home building, our economy grows and working people can live the American Dream of homeownership.