THOUSAND OAKS : City to Consider Home-Resale Deal

To encourage owners to replace renters in the Las Casitas neighborhood, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday will consider buying a home on Calle Diamonte and reselling it to a first-time buyer.

By acting as a real estate broker, the city will be able to screen potential buyers and ensure that the rental property becomes owner-occupied, Councilman Frank Schillo said.

If approved, Thousand Oaks would buy the home from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for $65,700, which city staff said was about 10% below the market value. The city would then refurbish and resell it, perhaps offering buyers down-payment assistance or low-interest loans.

The transaction would end up being a wash for the city financially, Housing Services Manager Olav Hassel wrote in a memo to the council.

“We don’t want to get in competition with real estate people, but without this (proposal), there’s no guarantee that the home would be owner-occupied,” Schillo said. “The viability of Las Casitas depends on increasing owner-occupancy.”

More than 60% of the homes in Las Casitas are rental, and the city has been working with residents for several months to cut that figure.

Also Tuesday, the council will consider establishing a parking permit program in Las Casitas, as requested by more than three-quarters of the residents.

Under the proposal, residents would pay $5 a year for a parking permit allowing them to keep a car on the street at night. The homeowner’s association would issue temporary guest permits. People without permits would not be allowed to park on Las Casitas streets between 2 and 6 a.m.