Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Court approves program for low-income home renovation

Low income families can now get help improving their homes.

The Nevada County Quorum Court, at its regular meeting Monday, May, 10, passed a resolution allowing Homeowners Rehabilitation Program of McGehee to work in Nevada County.

This company will obtain funds through the ADFA for those who are income eligible. For rehabilitating a house, the maximum amount a family could get would be $25,000, while $65,000 is available for reconstruction. But, for those who have their homes reconstructed, $25,000 will be a forgivable loan, while the remaining $40,000 will be a direct payment loan to the applicant. Of course the interest on the loan will be 1 percent.

Ken Gober, with HRP, said the interest rate was set to make sure the loans would be affordable to those in need.

HRP, he said, will do all the work, but needs an entity to work through. The court will actually have nothing to do with the program, other than acting as a conduit for the funds. When the grants are approved by ADFA, they will be sent to the county and then be transferred to HRP.

To qualify for the program, property must be located within the county, the applicant must own and reside in the property for a minimum of five years prior to the rehabilitation. A copy of the deed, most recent real estate tax receipt and verification of current household income must be submitted with the application, otherwise it won't be accepted.

The income limit for one person living in a house is $22,400; for two, $25,600; for three, $28,800; for four, $32,000; for five, $34,550; for six, $37,100; and for seven, $39,700.

Applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis.

Gober said HRP has been doing this since the early 1990s, starting in McGehee and spreading across South Arkansas.

To help get the word out, he said, public meetings will be held in the incorporated towns in Nevada County. This would let people know about the program and money available to make their homes more habitable. The idea of having the meetings all over the county, he added, is so everyone doesn't have to come to Prescott, as there are some who wouldn't have transportation.

The renovation work includes wiring, plumbing, roofing, flooring, heating and air conditioning and windows. There is a catch to the program, though. Once the work is done, the owner must live there until the debt is forgiven (10 years for $25,000) or repay the loan if the house is sold. Upon the start of the 11th year, the debt is forgiven. For those homes requiring $15,000 or less in renovations, the time period is five years.

The improvements, Gober said, increase the value of the home renovated, as well as bringing up neighboring property values. In addition, it increases the equity in the house and creates more tax money for the county.

Gober said the company typically struggles to get a minimum of five homeowners to apply the first time in a new location. This, however, wasn't the case in Nevada County as Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, received more than a dozen calls once word about the program got out.

Gober said there are two ways to get the renovation work done. One would be to bid the project out and go with the most responsible bidder, not necessarily the lowest. The other way would be to let the homeowner pick who they want to do the work. Normally, he said, local contractors get the jobs. Whichever way a contractor is hired, the company must be licensed and bonded.

HRP will be acting as the program administrator and get the fee from the state for this. Gober said this is how the program was initially established, and HRP has been doing it longer than any other company in the state.

He pointed out those who apply and are accepted shouldn't get in a hurry to see work start. "The state is slow in processing the applications," he said. It takes 90 days to get the application approved, then another 90 days before the money can be spent.

Chadwell said the way the program is set up, the city and county could be involved simultaneously with no problem. The city, though, would have to approve a similar resolution naming HRP as program administrator. In fact, this could be done in every incorporated city in the county.

The maximum amount available at one time, Chadwell said, is $350,000, with the consultant fee being 10 percent, or $35,000. "There's a lot of paperwork involved. They have the experience and know the shortcuts. It would be easier for them to do it than for me to try.

"When we found out the city and county could do it at the same time, we figured we'd get more bang for the buck with the court doing houses in the county, and the (Prescott City Council) doing them in the city."

The court also entered into an interlocal agreement with the city for the walking/jogging track by the Nevada County Health Unit. The city will obtain the grant and be responsible for all maintenance and upkeep of the facility.

The county, however, will retain ownership of the land, and could use a portion of it for other purposes, as long as it doesn't interfere with the track. The agreement is for 25 years.

The court also approved appropriating grant money already in place to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office toward the purchase of bullet proof vests. The grant was in the amount of $1,757.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said the state labor board came down in April to look at the NCSO's records.

The county was informed comp time must be paid at 1 = time instead of straight time and was told the criminal investigator position is not administrative as the office in charge is not over three or more other employees.

The county was required to pay the half-time amount in cash to the employees in question.