![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/squires-exterior-2003.jpg\" "\\"squires")
<\/a>4570 Squires Circle, 2003. Click to view more “before” photos<\/p><\/div>\n
First, a little background:\u00a0 we purchased a permanently affordable home at 4570 Squires Circle in December of 2003.\u00a0 It was a foreclosure, then owned by the City of Boulder.\u00a0 It was in rough shape \u2013 see the \u201cbefore\u201d video here<\/a>.\u00a0 There were no kitchen appliances, a window was broken, there were no railings around a high back patio, radon levels in the basement were above EPA standards, the roof was sagging, the driveway looked like it had been in an earthquake\u2026 the list goes on.\u00a0 We borrowed about $25,000 from the city for \u201crehab\u201d work to make it habitable, and repaid the loan several years before it was due.\u00a0 We also made several major improvements to the home over the seven years we lived there, including installing a new, high-efficiency furnace, remodeling the kitchen, installing new windows and much more.\u00a0 See the \u201cafter\u201d video here<\/a>.\u00a0 We were proud homeowners, and it shows.<\/p>\n 4570 Squires Circle, 2012. Click to view more “after” photos.<\/p><\/div>\n The trouble started when we tried to sell the home.\u00a0 We believe affordable housing officials blocked the sale of our home to the only qualified buyer who put an offer on it, by requiring us to either pay more than $20,000 in so-called \u201cexcessive damage\u201d charges, or reduce the cost of our home by that same amount.\u00a0 Either way, we were going to be out a whole lot of money if we wanted that sale to go through.<\/p>\n These \u201cdamages\u201d were \u201cidentified\u201d by the city after<\/em> it had determined the sales price of our home<\/a>. This violates the contract signed by all parties when we bought the home.\u00a0 The covenant<\/a>\u00a0 specifically states that before<\/em> setting the sales price the city has the right to inspect the home and lower the price by the cost of repairs to any damages they determine.\u00a0 (Affordable housing officials, who paid us two separate visits when we notified them of our intent to sell, did not<\/em> inspect or identify any<\/em> \u201cexcessive damage\u201d before determining the sales price).\u00a0 According to Homeownership Manager Bonnie Logan\u2019s affidavit in our case, this was common \u2013 the city\u2019s practice of not<\/em> inspecting homes for damage, before setting the price, helped reduce the affordable home program\u2019s expenditures.\u00a0 In other words, skipping the required inspection saves them money.\u00a0 It sure does, especially when they insist low-income homeowners shoulder the financial burden of improving the city\u2019s stock of affordable homes, before a sale can take place.\u00a0 We believe we maintained the home in good, safe and habitable condition, as required by the covenant.\u00a0 The City of Boulder disagrees.<\/p>\n So, we find ourselves heading to court in mid-October.\u00a0 And we think anyone considering purchasing a home through the City of Boulder\u2019s Affordable Housing Program should take notice.\u00a0 This trial is our chance to say \u201cBuyer Beware.\u201d<\/p>\n Our warning not only encompasses our current legal battle, but goes back to misrepresentations by affordable housing officials, even before we purchased the home.\u00a0 City officials advertised a 4 bedroom home<\/a> for $205,000.\u00a0 We jumped at the chance to own it, along with many others.\u00a0 There was so much interest in the house in the first 30 days, city officials held a lottery to determine who would have a chance to buy it.\u00a0 We won!\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until we were ready to sell our home that we learned the city would only allow us to market it as a 2 bedroom<\/em>.\u00a0 It seems city housing officials had not bothered to confirm that all 4 bedrooms they advertised actually met city building codes.\u00a0 Two bedrooms do not.\u00a0 Thus, we were now the proud owners of the most expensive<\/a> \u201ctwo bedroom\u201d home in the entire affordable housing program.\u00a0 As you can imagine, interest in buying our home was low.\u00a0 We had one offer.<\/p>\n Since our legal action began, at least one city official in charge of the affordable housing program is no longer working there.\u00a0 Yet city officials won\u2019t back down.\u00a0 Neither will we.\u00a0 We want the public to understand how the City of Boulder\u2019s Affordable Housing Program operates.<\/p>\n Now, we look forward to a jury of our peers rendering a verdict in this case.\u00a0 We anticipate that the jury\u2019s verdict will confirm what we believe this community values \u2013 honesty and integrity.\u00a0 We are not asking for money.\u00a0 We are asking that the City of Boulder buy back the home it misrepresented to us.\u00a0 The same home it blocked us from selling, by insisting we either fix the \u201cdamage\u201d or lower the cost \u2013 both options that force us to pay over $20,000.<\/p>\n Since we refused to do that, we\u2019ve been locked in a legal battle for more than a year.\u00a0 During that time, the mission of the affordable home program sits idle.\u00a0 Our hope was that another family in need of some financial assistance could live in the home.\u00a0 That hasn\u2019t happened.\u00a0 We want out<\/em> of the City of Boulder\u2019s Affordable Housing program.\u00a0 And, we want to warn others\u2026 when you enter into the program, remember:\u00a0 Buyer Beware.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t believe we are the only affordable homeowners forced the shoulder the financial burden of improving the City of Boulder\u2019s affordable housing stock.\u00a0 In our case, city officials have demanded we repair costly items that existed<\/em> when we bought the home, like drainage issues related to the grade of the land around the home.\u00a0 We refused.\u00a0 We will not be bullied.\u00a0 We will abide by our covenant, which requires us to maintain the home in good, safe and habitable condition.\u00a0 What we won\u2019t do is pay to erase every problem the house ever had.\u00a0 We have already improved the home at a personal cost of nearly $40,000.\u00a0 It is up to the next buyer to improve it further.\u00a0 We have lived up to our end of the bargain.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/squires-2012.jpg\" "\\"squires")
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