Section 7 HOME Investment Partnership Program And American Dream Downpayment Act
HOME Investment Partnership Program Because every community has a need for adequate, affordable housing, the Federal Government created the HOME Investment Partnership Program to help States and local governments respond to that need. But because the nature of each community s needs and resources is different, HOME was designed to ensure that each community is able to use the assistance in ways that respond best to its unique circumstances. HOME funds a broad range of activities, including new construction, rehabilitation, acquisition of standard housing, assistance to new homebuyers, and tenant-based rental assistance. Also, all jurisdictions must have written standards to guide HOME-assisted rehabilitation activities. Although the City of Syracuse Department of Community Development has utilized many of the HOME funds received in the past for some of the activities listed above, at this time the Department is planning on expanding their uses for HOME funds. The HOME funded activities that the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development wishes to utilize may include one of more of the following activities: 1. The Department of Community Development will consider meeting development costs incurred within the City of Syracuse eligible neighborhoods that may include: a. acquisition of property b. construction of new housing for rent or ownership c. moderate or substantial rehabilitation of rental or owner-occupied units d. site improvements for HOME-assisted projects e. demolition of dilapidated housing to make way for a HOME-assisted development f. payment of relocation expenses g. other reasonable and necessary expenses related to the development of nonluxury housing 2. The Department of Community Development will provide home purchase or rehabilitation financing assistance to low-income homeowners and new homebuyers that may include one of the following: a. direct loans b. help with down payments or closing costs c. loan guarantees or other forms of credit enhancement The following guidelines are to be followed in accordance with HUD regulations by the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development: 1. Property occupancy must be verified at the time of developer s purchase offer 2. Project is subject to guidelines of the Uniform Relocation Act of 1970 (URA) as amended 3. Sales price of the home is subject to HUD s Single Family Mortgage limits under 203(b) 4. Mortgage write-down recipients must be low-income (80 percent of median by household size)
5. Income eligible applicants must have Certificate of Completion from Home Headquarters Homebuyer Programs (and can receive down payment and closing cost assistance through Home Headquarters) 6. Subsidy cannot exceed 40 percent of the after rehabilitation value (subsidized purchase price) or exceed $30,000 7. Applicant must sign HOME Restrictive Covenant 8. Tax escrow is required on the private mortgage obtained by applicant 9. Interest rate on private mortgage cannot exceed two percentage points from the prime rate at the time of commitment The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development s guidelines for homebuyers participating in Home Headquarter s Home Ownership Program HOME funds are used for homebuyers through Home Headquarter s Home Ownership Program which provides up to $3,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance for income qualified first-time homebuyers. The guidelines for resale and recapture are incorporated into the promissory note that each successful applicant must sign. Resale: Should the housing not remain the principle residence of the undersigned for the duration of the period of affordability, the housing must be made available for subsequent purchase only to a buyer whose family qualifies as low-income family and will use the property as its principle residence. Failure to abide by the above resale provision will require the Lender to recapture the full amount of the HOME investment from the undersigned. The term of a typical note is five years. The stipulations of which is required throughout that period is also included as part of the note. There are three general categories that due to regulations the Department of Community Development will not and can not spend their HOME funds on. They are: 1. Public and assisted housing modernization, operation, and preservation activities for which HUD already provides other dedicated funding 2. Activities that support the ongoing operation of rental housing a. operating subsidies for rental housing b. reserve accounts that accumulate capital, either to fund major improvement or replacement of building systems and structures or to fund unanticipated increases in operating costs c. tenant subsidies for certain special mandated purposes under Section 8 3. matching funds for other Federal Programs
The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development may assist low-income renters through tenant-based rental assistance or payment of security deposits under certain conditions which are stated below: Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Although the HOME Program is primarily a bricksand-mortar program that funds the development of affordable housing as a lasting community resource, it is recognized that in many areas the stock of decent rental housing supply may be adequate, but has rents beyond the financial reach of low-income families. For this reason the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development may utilize program funds for tenant-based rental assistance and ensures that this decision will be thoughtfully and appropriately used. The Department will adhere to the following actions: 1. Before undertaking tenant-based rental assistance, the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development will document and certify that such assistance is included in its Consolidated Plan and will specify the market conditions that justify its use. If necessary, an amendment to the Consolidated Plan will be in order if this action has not already been included in the current Plan. In addition to this, the Department will develop written tenant selection policies and criteria stating income-targeting requirements that will be clearly stated in the Consolidated Plan upon the Department undertaking tenant-based rental assistance. Also, if an amendment is necessary the Department will follow their Citizen Participation Plan s guidelines for amending a Consolidated Plan. Rental Housing If the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development plans on investing in rental housing or rental assistance, the Department will ensure that at least 90 percent of families benefiting from HOME assistance have incomes that are no more than 60 percent of the median family income for the area and that the remaining families have incomes less than 80 percent of the area median. In addition, each rental project must meet these affordability tests: 1. Rents fall at or below the local Fair Market Rent or 30 percent of the income of a family earning 65 percent of the area median, whichever is less. 2. Projects will remain affordable for a period of time based on the average HOME subsidy per unit based on the information seen below.
Activity Home Subsidy Unit Must Remain Affordable For at Least: Rehabilitation Less than $15,000 $15,000-$40,000 Greater than $40,000 5 years 10 years 15 years Rehabilitation with Any Amount 15 years Refinancing New Construction Any Amount 20 years 3. In assisted projects with five or more units, at least 20 percent of the units either must be rented to very low-income families at affordable rents (equal to no more than 30 percent of their monthly gross adjusted income) or must be rented at rates that would not exceed 30 percent of the annual income of a family earning 50 percent of the area median. 4. When HOME funds are combined with Federal or State project-based assistance, the Department of Community Development will make sure that there will only be charges up to the maximum rent allowable under that assistance program, provided that the rents are affordable and the assisted families have incomes below 50 percent of the area median. Lease-purchase The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development will adhere to the following guidelines if HOME funds are used to assist homebuyers through lease-purchase program. a. The housing must be purchased by a homebuyer within 36 months of signing the lease-purchase agreement. b. The homebuyer must qualify as a low-income family at the time the lease-purchase agreement is signed and at the time the housing is transferred, if more than six months have elapsed since the Department determined that the family was income eligible. c. If HOME funds are used to acquire housing that will be resold to a homebuyer through a lease-purchase program, the HOME affordability requirements for rental housing in Sec. 92.252 shall apply if the housing is not transferred to a homebuyer within fortytwo months after project completion. The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development may undertake rehabilitation not involving acquisition. The following guidelines will be followed for rehabilitation assistance to a structure that is currently owned by a family whom qualifies under the following criteria: a. The estimated value of the property, after rehabilitation, does not exceed 95 percent of the median purchase price for the area b. The housing is the principal residence of an owner whose family qualifies as a low-income family at the time HOME funds are committed to the housing. c. Ownership interest in the housing assisted under this section must meet the definition of "homeownership" in Sec. 92.2.
The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development establishes the following refinancing guidelines when using HOME funds to refinance existing debt: 1. Show that rehabilitation is the primary eligible activity and ensure that this requirement is met by establishing a minimum level of rehabilitation per unit or a required ratio between rehabilitation and refinancing; 2. Require a review of management practices to demonstrate that disinvestments in the property has not occurred, that the long term needs of the project can be met and that the feasibility of serving the targeted population over an extended affordability period can be proven; 3. State whether the new investment is being made to maintain current affordable units, create additional affordable units, or both; 4. Indicate the required period of affordability, whether it is the minimum 15 years or longer; and 5. The investment of HOME funds will be only available in revitalization areas. 6. HOME funds cannot be used to refinance multifamily loans made or insured by any Federal program including Community Development Block Grant funds. The Department of Community Development will expend HOME funds for eligible relocation costs. The cost of relocation payments and other relocation assistance to persons displaced by a HOME funded project are eligible costs. In addition, the following activities may be funded with HOME funds for: a. Relocation payments include replacement housing payments, payments for moving expenses, and payments for reasonable out-of- pocket costs incurred in the temporary relocation of persons. b. Other relocation assistance means staff and overhead costs directly related to providing advisory and other relocation services to persons displaced by the project, including timely written notices to occupants, referrals to comparable and suitable replacement property, property inspections, counseling, and other assistance necessary to minimize hardship. c. Also, all HOME regulations will be adhered to regarding relocation payments and will be considered on a case-by-case in consultation with the Syracuse Housing Authority s Relocation Office (partially funded by the City of Syracuse CDBG funds) and who is also under contract with the City for relocation assistance. Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO) Through HOME, the Federal Government invests in the future of local non-profit housing groups, requiring that at least 15 percent of its total allocation to fund housing that will be owned, developed, or sponsored by entities designated as community housing development organizations.
Not every private, non-profit organization qualifies as a CHDO; this term is reserved for those that: 1. provides decent housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income persons (although they may perform other functions as well) 2. have effectively carried out activities financed by HOME funds 3. have a history of serving the community where the HOME-funded housing will be located 4. are organized under State or local laws and exempt from taxes under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code 5. meet standards of financial accountability Also, to guarantee that such organizations remain accountable to those in whose interest they work, at least one-third of a CHDO s governing board must be low-income community residents or elected representatives of those residents. CHDOs must also maintain a formal process that allows low-income residents and other program beneficiaries to provide input on relevant decisions. In addition to project funding that will increase a CHDOs experience and capacity in developing affordable housing, the Department may commit up to 5 percent of their total allocation to help CHDOs pay their operating expenses and up to 10 percent of the CHDO set-aside can be used to provide project-specific technical assistance and loans for site-control activities including project feasibility studies. The City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development indicates in the Consolidated Plan those CHDOs that will be funded for that particular Plan year using the above guidelines. These named CHDOs may be found in the Action Plan of each Fiscal Year s Consolidated Plan since they vary each year. Other Forms of Investment - The primary source for the leveraging of HOME funds for area not-for profits is the New York State Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Housing Visions Unlimited has been quite successful in obtaining tax credits in the past. Other non-profits such as Syracuse Model Neighborhood and Eastside Neighbors in Partnership rely more heavily on HOME funds for individual rehabilitation projects, using private funds as leverage to the extent possible. The HOME Annual Performance Report lists by individual project the amount of funds leveraged and recorded as a match. The Investor-Owner portion of the HOME program sets up strict guidelines on the percentage of private funds necessary for receiving HOME grant money. In conclusion, the City of Syracuse, Department of Community Development will amend their Consolidated Plan utilizing our approved Citizen Participation Plan guidelines and process whenever warranted by the actions as stated in this Home Investment Partnership Section whenever a particular action is undertaken by the Department.
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