Housing prices test teachers

Elementary schoolteacher Cassie Nederhouser's commute isn't as severe, but she and her husband did have to look six towns away to find an affordable house. She teaches art in Hinsdale, Ill., where it's not unusual to pay $450,000 for a three-bedroom, one-bath ranch house.

She and her husband moved to Bolingbrook, where they bought a house for under $300,000. With traffic, it's about a 45-minute drive.

"We knew that Hinsdale was an unaffordable starting point, so we just started looking around the perimeter. And we ended up further out than we originally thought," says Ms. Nederhouser.

But some worry that living so far from the districts in which they teach denies teachers the chance for a tighter bond to parents and communities.

Jamilia McIntyre values the close proximity to her school, Edgar Allen Poe Elementary in Suitland, Md. Through HUD's Teacher Next Door Program, Ms. McIntyre, with her husband, was able to buy a three-bedroom townhouse three years ago and received a 50 percent discount off their $124,000 home. Since its inception in November 1999, the HUD program has sold 3,025 homes to teachers.

McIntyre says it's a bonus that some of her students live in her neighborhood.

"It's amazing what you can do when you're living in a community with the students who attend your school, as far as helping parents with things that may arise, with school or homework," says McIntyre.

Many teachers throughout the country most cope without any housing assistance programs.

Cara Worobec, who teaches in Carol Stream, Ill., says no such programs exist in her area. There is a credit union, she says, that assists teachers with a lower interest rate. But, says Ms. Worobec, "we're pretty much on our own. I would not be living in my house if it weren't for my husband."

"A new teacher can't afford to live in an expensive school district unless her husband makes money," says teacher Jill Krisiak.

One of the reasons she moved out of her hometown of Saugus, Mass., was the high cost of living. She and her husband moved further north, to Groveland, Mass., so they could afford a house under $300,000. "My husband is in the computer industry, but if you're two teachers, there's no way."

The problem is especially acute for "destination areas" like Cape Cod.

"During the summer, even the rental market has become difficult for teachers to come down and rent like they used to," says real-estate agent Dale James. Teachers can rent winter rentals (October to May) for about $600 to $900 a month. But during the summer, most rentals are about $1,500 a week.

"You can certainly rent during the winter for reasonable rates, but then you have to vacate for the summer," says Ms. James. "There are actually people that I have heard of that move into the camp grounds. The housing issue is difficult - and these are gainfully employed people."

Jermaine Brown lives in Tampa, Fla., and dreams of owning a house someday. He's working toward his goal by renting in an Equity Residential complex.

The company has a program called Hometown Heroes, geared to help teachers and policemen.

A percentage of Mr. Brown's monthly rent is put toward equity in a home. With this program, several rental fees, such as a security deposit, are waived for teachers.

The pay was so low, he says, that soon after he started, "I felt like leaving." He adds, though, "If all teachers left because of the pay, we'd all be in trouble. If it were only for the money, I could have left a long time ago."

Of course, if teachers are really in a bind, they can always phone home. "We do have a buyer-assistance program," says teacher Lyn Hough of Orange County, Calif.. "It's called Mom and Dad."

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