$1.1M Los Gatos Home Hits Market For $274K As Part Of Housing Program
LOS GATOS (CBS SF) -- A $1.1 million home in Los Gatos is raising some eyebrows after it hit the market for $274,000, and it's not a tear down.
It's a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 1,100 square foot townhouse at 178 Terreno De Flores Circle in good condition.
The reason it's listed for a fraction of its value is because it's part of the Los Gatos Below Market Price (BMP) Housing Program, which is aimed at keeping a supply of affordable single family homes in the area.
The program was adopted by the town in 1979 and it requires developers to offer a minimum percentage of housing units so they are affordable to lower and median income households.
The home's price remains below market forever as part of the program. Los Gatos has 117 other units like the one on Terreno De Flores Circle, but they are rarely put up for sale because the owners stay in them for years.
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But there is a catch: whoever applies to purchase the home must earn a "modest" income of less than $132,000 per year for a family of four, the area's median income. The buyer will also need a 10% down payment at the time of purchase.
If there are multiple applicants, there will be a lottery.
Joan Tabb, the current owner of the townhouse, just retired from a long career with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
"I'm leaving. It pains me. But I'm leaving," Tabb said. She remembers the day she was picked to purchase the house in 2003.
"And they literally had my name and her name in a box, shook it up, and the town clerk reached in, pulled it out. And I'm breathing, panting, and I won. And I was, like, in tears," she recalled.
Tabb said that since no landlord is involved, there's no rent and no rent increases, which gave her peace of mind and the pride of ownership. "This is my home," she said.
She is hopeful that whoever moves into the home next will have their lives changed, too.
"I wish them the very best. I hope that they find the enjoyment that I found here. I hope they find that peace and that comfort knowing that they have something. That they got their American Dream," Tabb said.
The deadline to apply for the house is Dec. 26 and people can do so on HelloHousing.org.