Committed to providing safe and affordable housing for persons of limited income living in Henderson County.

Housing Assistance is... A developer o 156 single family homes o 286 multi-family apartments A service provider o Averages 250 home repairs a year o Financial and housing counseling services o Volunteer opportunities An economic contributor o Taxes paid Single Family (2011 only) $111,600 Multifamily ( ) $97,055 o Single Family Production ( ) Construction & Land Acquisition:$5,032,000 o Multifamily Production ( ) Land Acquisition $740,000 Site & Building Construction $4,872,000 A private, non-profit organization A grassroots organization, serving Henderson County for 27 years

Single Family Housing Programs Guaranteed Loan Program: Assists approved lenders in providing low- and moderate-income households the opportunity to own a home as their primary residence in eligible rural areas. Eligible applicants may build, rehabilitate, improve or relocate a dwelling in an eligible rural area. The program provides a 90% loan note guarantee to approved lenders in order to reduce the risk of extending 100% loans to eligible rural homebuyers. Section 502 Direct Loan Program: Assists low and very-low-income applicants obtain decent, safe and sanitary housing in eligible rural areas by providing payment assistance to increase an applicant’s repayment ability. Payment assistance is a type of subsidy that reduces the mortgage payment for a short time. The amount of assistance is determined by the adjusted family income. Section 504 Home Repair Program: provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes or grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards Mutual Self-Help Housing Technical Assistance Grants: Provides grants to qualified organizations to help them carry out local self-help housing construction projects. Grant recipients supervise groups of very-low- and low-income individuals and families as they construct their own homes in rural areas. The group members provide most of the construction labor on each other’s homes, with technical assistance from the organization overseeing the project

Housing Development with Direct 502 Loans Self-Help Housing Combines: Section 502 Direct Loan Mutual S-H TA Grant SHOP funding (Housing Assistance Council) Eligible households use a Direct 502 loan to finance construction of their home. A non-profit uses the Mutual S-H TA Grant to provide technical assistance to the families who are contributing “sweat equity” labor. “New Homes” Housing Combines: Section 502 Direct Loan Community Partners Loan Pool (CPLP) Eligible households use a Section 502 Direct Loan to either purchase or build a new home using CPLP funding. No sweat-equity contribution is required. The non-profit is the contractor.

Benefits to the Homeowner Affordable financing 33-year repayment period. No down payment. Closing costs are included in the loan amount. Subsidized loan with monthly mortgage payments based on income and family size. Sweat Equity Construction and Maintenance Skills Energy-efficient home design Community Building Professional assistance and guidance in working through the program Housing Counseling

Self-Help Housing Benefits Allows an organization to build a portfolio of homes and subdivisions over a period of years. Housing Assistance has completed 137 homes in 10 developments to date. Relatively reliable funding source. HAC continued to build during the recession and other periods of volatility. The continuity of a funding source allows organizations to run grant cycles (2 years) back to back. Opportunity for development of affordable housing in rural areas where infrastructure and limited resources create significant barriers to multi-family housing development. Contributes to the economic development of a community. May be used to develop different types of neighborhoods. New Homes is a great opportunity to build on in-fill lots or to close out subdivisions.

Be Forewarned…. You will never experience Self-Help Zen unless you can get right with the regulations. New grantees always over-estimate the ease of client recruitment. Counseling work is almost always required. Yes, your Construction Manager is important but you better get a good Recruiter too. Construction Supervisors must also have the ability to teach, lead unskilled crews, and practice deep breathing. Self-Help Housing is not paternalistic. Watch out for the affordability creep – land, material, and energy efficiency cost increases and upgrades will slowly increase price. Improvements and affordability must be carefully balanced.

Be forewarned.... Labor contributions and construction schedules may be difficult for groups to meet. The program maybe challenging to market because of lack of name recognition. Construction schedule is difficult on families who are typically working full time, often have children, and may have limited support. Land … it never, ever gets any cheaper. Wonky appraisals can affect sweat equity positions. During each calendar year, Direct 502 loans become unavailable as loan funds are pooled at the state level.

Three Seeds 10 Self-Help, 5 New Homes

Three Seeds

Hillcrest Subdivision 25 Self-Help, 4 New Homes

Hillcrest Subdivision

Oklawaha Village 66 multifamily apartments 18 single-family 12 Self-Help 6 New Homes The planned community is within walking distance to downtown Hendersonville and is connected to Jackson and Patton Parks along the Oklawaha Greenway. The development is also with close proximity to supermarkets, schools, medical facilities, and employment centers.

Oklawaha Village

Starting Point Affordable Self-Help Housing in America

phone: ex Kanuga Road Hendersonville, NC Noelle McKay Executive Director, Housing Assistance Corporation