Oakland County homeowners will have another avenue to keep their houses in good shape.
Shane Bies is helping build the county’s new senior assistance program. He’s an administrator with what used to be the county’s community home improvement office, now called the Community & Home Improvement Division.
The county commission allocated $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money for this plan. The county’s $244 million in ARPA money must be assigned by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026, or revert back to the federal government.
This is a grant-based program expected to launch later this year, he said, with up to an estimated $20,000 for households that qualify.
“If you do the math, that can go pretty quickly,” he said. Not all households will need the full amount. Some may need a porch and handrail replaced, for example.
While this new program will help older homeowners, the county has a number of existing home-repair programs, many for low-income homeowners..
Bies said the county is using U.S. Census Bureau data showing low-income tracts – areas where more people live in poverty.
For example, some money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is used to help low-income homeowners deal with emergencies, such as a furnace replacement.
One of the county’s oldest programs has operated since the 1970s using HUD funding, for low-interest loans of up to $20,000 for home stabilization or repairs. Funding each year varies, Bies said but the county consistently receives between $2 to $2.5 million annually.
“The way our funding is structured, it allows us to make the loan for the repair, and when it gets repaid, we use that money to help someone else,” Bies said. “It’s kind of amazing. We have loans made 20, 25, 30 years ago now coming back to support other families.”
It’s not a perfect program, he said. During the great recession, when many homes went into foreclosure or sold for well under the mortgage, “we didn’t get our money back in every case. That’s the risk of doing business. It happens. We’re not in this to make money,” he said. “The people we’re serving are at or beow 80 percent of the median income which is about $60k for a household of four.”
Key factors in evaluating home-repair loan and grant applications include home equity and whether there are delinquent taxes. The state has an ARPA-funded plan to help people behind on their mortgages or property taxes.
County officials can help homeowners connect with other supportive programs, he said.
The best way to find out if you qualify for a home loan or grant, he said, is calling the county’s general housing advisor hotline, (248) 858-0493 or the dedicated home-improvement hotline, 248-858-540, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Technicians can advise anyone and help them set goals, from someone considering a first-home purchase to an older resident considering a reverse home mortgage.
People can get general housing information and other resources online at oakgov.com/chi.
