The city is preparing to begin accepting applications next year from lower income homeowners looking for loans to finance property repairs.
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners are expected to announce Wednesday that they are seeking a third partner to administer the forthcoming HomeFix program.
The final collaborator — which will also be a nonprofit — will be offering technical and financial assistance to homeowners, helping them with loan paperwork, processing the applications and identifying general contractors to perform the repairs, according to HPD.
HomeFix, which was announced last November, is designed to help owners of one- to four-family homes, who may struggle to acquire financing from the private market. Under the program, HPD will issue and service loans to about 150 New Yorkers annually, who earn no more than 165 percent of the metro area’s median income.
"HomeFix will directly meet the individual needs of low- to middle-income homeowners, empowering them to make the necessary repairs and investments to remain in their homes and protect their value for future generations,” HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said in a statement.
Although details of the HomeFix program are still being finalized, HPD anticipates the loans offered will range from a few thousand dollars to more than $100,000. The final terms and loan amounts will be published in early 2019, when the program is slated to begin receiving applications from homeowners.
HPD plans to run HomeFix for at least three years, with city money and funding allocated by Enterprise Community Partners from the state attorney general office’s settlements with banks that contributed to the collapse of the housing market.
When asked about the overall budget for HomeFix, HPD said it would base funding on demand.
