San Jose Giving Low-Income Home Loans to Top City Officials. If you are a big-shot working for the city of San Jose, you may be eligible for a low-interest home loan. Currently, the city has seven low-interest loans outstanding, worth a total of $1.75 million.
In August, the City Council had to forgive an "underwater" mortgage when former police auditor Barbara Attard left city employment and had to repay the loan. She had a $250,000 city loan, granted in 2004 when property values were higher, with 2.86 percent interest. The city doesn't believe any other loans are "underwater."
City Councilman Pete Constant urged the council not to make anymore loans, and along with Councilwoman Nora Campos, he voted "no" on a settlement with Ms. Attard. They were outvoted, however, and the city forgave the loan, took over the property and agreed to pay $94,000 on the property's mortgage.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, redevelopment director Harry Mavrogenes, an existing loan-holder, "already lived in San Jose and had been working for the city for nearly a decade when he used a city loan in 2006 to buy a $1.5 million spread near the Almaden Golf and Country Club." (Source: San Jose Mercury News, September 20.)
Cal-Taxletter, September 25, 2009
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