Friendly and peaceful Bay Area neighborhood where homes cost less than $200k...but there's a big downside

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

The Bay Area has become one of the most expensive areas to buy a home in recent years.
But there is still one neighborhood where it is possible to secure a bargain.
Located across the bay from San Francisco, Atchison Village has some of the cheapest homes on the market.
The average property in the picturesque locale will set you back around $211,000, less than the cost of a down payment for a home just over the water where a typical residence comes in at a whopping $1.2 million.
But there is a catch when it comes to buying in Atchison. You'll almost certainly have to front the entire sum in cash.
As one of California 's first housing cooperatives, most banks and lenders won't provide a loan for a home in the Richmond neighborhood first built up during World War II for shipbuilders and their families.
Buyers can take a personal loan from the neighborhood credit union, but will have to grapple with a 12 percent interest rate.
So for most people, a home in the area is only attainable if they already have equity in a property that they're willing to sell.
Still the monthly fees Atchison residents have to pay - which cover insurance, property taxes and some utilities - are usually much lower than the average mortgage payment.
However, the 30-acre village isn't without its issues or a cure-all to the housing affordability crisis.
Residents report issues with maintenance delays and a rapidly-drying up rainy day fund.
This all comes as fewer and fewer people can buy a home in Atchison, exacerbating the growing financial shortfall for the housing co-op.
Beyond pricing out would-be buyers, actual residents many of whom are retired and live on fixed incomes are facing rising costs as well.
The estimated median household income in the area is just $31,000, according to the US Census Bureau.
Atchison, like other neighborhoods in the Bay Area, is also facing skyrocketing insurance rates partly thanks to how wildfire-prone California is.
And since one of Atchison's fourplexes burned down in May, many are concerned that premiums will spike even more.
The rising values of homes themselves is also causing longtime residents to be hit with increasingly unaffordable property tax bills.
Renae Garabedian told the San Francisco Chronicle that she bought a home in 1990 for $30,000. The price for a similar home now is nearly nine times more, meaning she and many others have to pay much more in property tax through their dues.
Casey Bastiaans, a Atchison board member, told the Chronicle that her monthly dues have gone from around $400 to $700, while others say they pay around $900.
'Many people have moved out because of that, or are in the process of moving out,' Garabedian said.
The village has experienced quite the journey since residents purchased it from the federal government in 1956 for $1.5 million, equivalent to nearly $19 million today.
When the US government owned Atchison, homes were only available for white workers. Now, Hispanic residents make up the majority of the community.
Despite a change in demographic, Atchison has largely remained the same over the decades because of the strict rules imposed by the co-op.
Many of the homes have their original wood flooring and exterior paneling from when they were built in the 1940s.
Most of Atchison's 450 homes, usually 500 to 1,000 square feet, share courtyards with neighboring houses, allowing residents to host barbecues or easily have quick chats with one another.
Residents say the neighborhood is generally welcoming, pointing to the group that looks out for a neighbor who has dementia.
However, not everyone gets along. Tara Ayres, one of the Village's 11 elected board members, said she and her fellow leaders have to balance the budget while also acting as 'camp counselors' when disputes arise.
Months ago, several residents petitioned the board to lessen a proposed dues increase, while other neighbors thought it was necessary.
The increase was proposed because of a flooded bathtub that caused damage and led to accusations of negligence in a lawsuit between the co-op and a member.
The board voted earlier this year to temporarily increase dues by $24 a month to recoup money lost from a jump in insurance costs last year.
Bastiaans said the board is considering doing a number of things to simultaneously address the co-ops financial problems and rising dues for members.
Options on the table include asking members how much money they have to spare, buying a less expensive fire insurance plan and spreading out dues more evenly between residents.
Bastiaans feels Atchison will get past this, but worries that the character of the neighborhood could change as working class families find it harder to afford to live there.
'I think the Village will be here,' she said. 'It'll just be different.'