Non-profit finds trouble selling Jamaica homes

Almost two dozen homes built by non-profit group the Housing Partnership Development Corp. in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens are sitting empty six months after construction was completed. The partnership, which works with city, state and private groups to construct affordable housing, is finding it nearly impossible to sell the group of homes it constructed in Jamaica. Sheila Martin, vice president of the Housing Partnership, said that new, more restrictive mortgage approval standards have made it increasingly difficult for even qualified affordable housing buyers to get financing. “The underwriting criteria has gotten so restrictive,” Martin said. “The buyer is now required to put down not 5 percent, but 10 percent. In some cases, that’s around $30,000.”

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