| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 社會政策與社會工作學系 === 99 === High owner-occupation rate is a special phenomenon in Taiwan. This residential preference and mode of homeownership is reflected in policy implementation on the part of government, culture value of the society, and trends in the real estate market. However, a different mode of housing designed for the needs of low-income families has been observed. In the past, there is a dual intervention in the residential service for low-income families: the housing policies and the social assistance policies. On the one hand, the housing policies emphasize “homeownership” of the occupants. On the other hand, social assistance policies provide low-income families with public housing. Nevertheless, due to the poor implementation of housing-subsidy policies, scant amount of social housing, and stigmatized housing offering, the disadvantaged families still either suffer from bad house-renting quality or are not able to afford housing. What exactly should be done to satisfy the residential needs of low-income families? Is it a feasible policy or direction for execution to help low-income families possess self-owned houses?
This research aims to discuss the homeownership experiences of low-income families in urban areas. A social exclusion perspective will be adopted to analyze the possible influences on the homeownership experiences of low-income families from different aspects, including social policies, work and economics, and interpersonal relationship. The impact on low-income individuals’ feelings and social relationship will also be discussed.
As for the research design, the researcher adopts a qualitative research method. Through standard sampling parameters, eight house buyers of low-income families were selected and an in-depth interview was conducted for each case. The interview results are analyzed and the findings are as follows:
1. The inner motivation for the house buying of low-income families mainly comes from previous unstable living experience and the discrimination caused by houseless identification. However, the key events which promote house buying are government policy and great changes in living situation.
2. Early policy intervention in the process of owning a home may affect homeownership experience and reduce the economic burden, including reducing the limitation on total house price, preparation for down payment, increasing the level of the residential renovation, and most importantly, enhancing the confidence of the buyer.
3. The process of purchasing a house is strongly and consistently influenced by job and income maintenance. Families with stable income are able to sacrifice living quality for the homeownership . However, families with unstable income may suffer from extreme mental stress.
4. Because of the fixed property of the residence, the home owners can use the space in the self-owned house to receive their relatives and friends. However, it still depends on the quality of house, and this also shows the core social value of owning houses.
5. After becoming a home owner, first acquaintance, old friends, relatives reveal an attitude different from when the current home owner was houseless, which shows the social values imposed on those who own their houses and those who do not. Nevertheless, even though the low-income families have become home owners, they are still in poverty in terms of their living conditions and situation because they need to pay their mortgages.
6. For low-income families, one of the values of owning a home is to prepare for the retired life in the future. They expect that owning a house will decrease the burden on the children, or even be a help to them. Hence, it is also possible that owning houses can be one of the methods to save the family from poverty by stabilizing the parental generation, assisting the filial generation, and possibly terminating generations of poverty.
Finally, based on the discovery and discussion in this study, the researcher provides suggestions on the overall housing policy and substantive programs, and points out the limitations in this field of study and possible improvements in research methodology.
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