Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Local officials recently approved several changes to the local housing advisory plan (LHAP), a document that must be updated every three years per the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program, of which Jefferson County is a participant.
As Assistant County Attorney Kirsten Mood explained it to county officials, the recommended changes to LHAP came from the Government Services Group (GSG), which administers the county’s SHIP program. The recommended changes, she said, stemmed from some of the difficulties that GSG had experienced with the program.
Among the proposed changes, she said, were to increase the maximum award available for demolition and reconstruction of houses and lowering the down payment purchase assistance awards, because, in her words, “historically this has not been where Jefferson County has seen the most applications.”
Others of the approved changes for the 2021-2024 Fiscal Year LHAP include the following.
For owner-occupied house rehabilitations, proof of homestead exemption will be required for a rehabilitation. The new language states: “Property must be owner-occupied with clear title to ownership. Life estates are not sufficient to establish ownership without the consent of other fee simple owners.”
The language pertaining to contractual work also is amended to read: “All work will be performed by contractors awarded through a formal competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation to Bid (ITB) procurement process. Bids that exceed the maximum award amount will be presented before the Board of County Commissioners for approval.”
Part of the revisions also includes language that allows for recurring SHIP assistance to individuals in the event of a natural disaster, as the assistance is normally limited to one time only. The revised language reads “Applicants are limited to one-time assistance under the SHIP program with the exception of those applying for disaster assistance.”
In terms of the down-payment purchase assistance, the following changes apply.
The amounts are lowered to $15,000 for very low-income families and to $10,000 for moderate-income families to allow more set-asides for repairs and construction.
The loan term also is lowered to five years and the forgiveness rate increased to 20 percent annually.
Relative to demolition and reconstruction, the maximum award has been increased to $150,000. It also requires that applicants with existing mortgages or liens against their property obtain consent and a joinder from any existing lien or mortgage holders for rebuild or rehabilitation project that affect the real property.
In an earlier amendment in July, the board approved amending the FY 2021-2024 LHAP to increase the maximum award for owner-occupied rehabilitation strategy from $40,000 to $70,000, with an increase of the loan term to 10 years, and the prorated annual forgiveness was set at 10 percent.
The board also increased the purchase price limit for a new or existing home to $481,176, as established by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for FY 2023-2024 funding.