U.S. Program to Help LAPD Officers Buy Homes

For Los Angeles police officers, the American dream can now be had for half price and $100 down.

Under a federal program aimed at encouraging officers to buy homes in the city they protect and serve, officials Tuesday announced that hundreds of homes will be offered to LAPD officers at significantly discounted prices.

“Having our own home is something my 6-year-old son and I have prayed for,” said LAPD Officer DeWana Hubbard, a single mother who will soon move out of her one-bedroom apartment and into a three-bedroom house in South Los Angeles, paying half of the home’s $97,033 appraised value. “I had just about given up hope.”

Dubbed the “Officer Next Door” program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering police officers across the nation the chance to buy foreclosed properties in areas that are considered economically distressed but have the potential to be revitalized.

In exchange for the reduced prices and low-interest loans, officers have to agree to live in the homes for at least three years.

According to police officials, about 80% of LAPD officers live outside the city. Many complain that home prices in Los Angeles are too expensive. So far, about 100 LAPD officers have expressed interest in the program, officials said.

LAPD brass and city officials have long tried to encourage officers to live in the communities where they work, believing that any police presence adds to the safety and stability of a neighborhood. Moreover, officers who are homeowners in the city probably will have shorter commutes and a vested interest in keeping the city as safe as possible, officials said.

“This is a win-win situation for everyone,” said LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Gil, who spoke at a news conference held at a stucco, salmon-colored, HUD-owned home in the Crenshaw district that is being offered to LAPD officers. “Everyone wants a good neighbor.”

While having cops live in neighborhoods might make it safer for nearby residents, many officers like to maintain low profiles, and some even avoid disclosing their occupations to neighbors.

“For an officer’s safety, we’re told to be careful and not tell everybody we’re cops,” said one officer.

Even some of the officers who are in the process of buying homes under the program were reluctant Tuesday to specify exactly where they will live.

The one-year pilot program, which President Clinton unveiled in June, is designed to help at least 1,000 police officers nationwide become homeowners.

“If we can give police officers and their families 50% discounts to move back into the inner cities, it will be some of the best money the federal government ever spent,” Clinton said when he proposed the program.

Federal officials, with the help of the Los Angeles Housing Department, said Tuesday they have just completed a transaction with the first LAPD officer and expect escrow to close on four other LAPD deals next week.

“This is a country of homeowners,” said Nicholas P. Retsinas, assistant secretary of HUD. “That is still the American way.”

Retsinas said the program can act as “a catalyst” for neighborhood revitalization.

Currently, about 150 to 200 homes in various areas of the city are available to LAPD officers. The federal housing agency acquires the homes when owners of government-backed mortgages default. If no officer expresses interest in a home, it is offered to nonprofit organizations under a different program. If there is still no interest in the house, it is put up for auction.

LAPD Officer Roy Talavera, a 27-year-old with two years on the force, had a lot of interest in the program.

“It would have taken me five to seven years to buy a home without this program,” Talavera said as he stood next to his wife and two young daughters. “This is great.”

Talavera, who works in a San Fernando Valley traffic division, said he was able to buy a three-bedroom, one-bath home with a swimming pool in the area for half the listed price of $104,000.

“We just got our first water bill and we were very excited,” Talavera said.