Huge grant for affordable housing coming to Haywood
Haywood County Commissioners got some great news Oct. 16 that will help the community ameliorate the effects of a red-hot real estate market on local housing affordability and availability.
“The original agreement that we executed with Haywood County provided for $7 million of programmable funds,” said Tracy Colores, community development director with the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. “The same day that you authorized the county to execute that agreement with us, HUD announced they were giving us more money specifically for Tropical Storm Fred recovery.”
The $7 million came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Now, there’s additional $4.6 million that must be spent by Sept. 30, 2028.
Haywood County had already been experiencing an affordable housing crisis even before devastating flooding that came from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021 caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damages.
Colores went on to describe two programs that will incentivize development and put home ownership within reach for those who might not think it is right now. The first program, funded at $10.5 million, is called the affordable housing program, but Colores said that many instead refer to it as the “workforce” housing program.
Either way, the program is open to homeownership and rental development projects promising long-term affordability. Both single-family and multifamily developments are eligible for consideration. A wide range of public and private organizations will be able to apply for funding, including community agencies, nonprofits, property management groups, developers or combinations and partnerships of multiple organizations.
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A competitive application process will take place through spring, with a local evaluation panel scoring the applications and then making recommendations to commissioners, who will vote on them — hopefully in July.
The second program is a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers, funded at $1 million. The program makes $20,000 available for buyers, plus 5% towards closing costs. First-time homebuyers who were displaced by Tropical Storm Fred would be eligible for $30,000 plus 5%. First-generation homebuyers, first responders and local government staff are also eligible at the $30,000 level.
In any case, pre-purchase homebuyer education is required, the property must be in Haywood County and the down payment assistance is forgiven after five years so long as recipients utilize the home as their primary residence during that time.
The $1 million will be split into two pots, with 70% of it going to households making at or below 80% of area median income (AMI), which is about $60,000 for a family of four, according to Colores. The other $300,000 is earmarked for households earning more than that, up to 120% of AMI.
“We desperately need housing for our workforce,” said Kevin Ensley, chairman of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners. “Actually, it’s getting worse.”
Ensley’s prophetic words came just after a presentation by Tax Assessor Judy Hickman, who provided an update on the county’s property revaluation efforts. New values will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
A sampling of home sales data, compared to the assessed tax value of those homes, shows some selling for between 27% and 136% over assessed value.
