Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training

Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training

Check this site out for help with your movement.

MOUSE PARTICIPATES IN FUNDRAISER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES

I am sorry that I have not posted much this month.  I have been busy building a cardboard house.  I started my house long before Oct 14, as I sit on two national phone calls of different subsidized tenant groups who have been working to change the way HUD does business.

Personally I am not sure how much good we are doing with HUD, as I hear there is still some portions of HUD that are still under the impression that the Elderly, poor, and disabled are locked into their apartments, don't know how to read and really don't care about the policies, procedures, or laws surrounding low income housing.

I can say though, some of the language that appears in some of the housing bills, and laws that our voted collective voice (Politicians) have been discussing, voting on and trying to protect from the current scourge  of ever challenging budget cuts has been constructed by and with some of the people from the Resident Engagement Group, National Alliance of HUD Tenants, and good people like Catherine Bishop, from the National Housing Law Project , and Barbra Sard, from the Center of Budget, Policy, and Procedure, and former HUD appointed Senior Adviser for Rental Assistance. 

I may be a mouse in the weeds, but at least I am willing to put my (experience) two cents in, regardless of the outcome.

I wish more Montana Low-Income, Senior, Disabled Residential Rental Tenants would come and learn with me.

HELP MONTANA HOME OWNERS

Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Housing Repair & Rehabilitation Grant Type of Assistance: Grant Maximum Assistance Amount: $7,500 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: These loans are available to very low-income rural residents who own and occupy a dwelling in need of repairs. Funds are available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, or to remove health and safety hazards. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: 1) 62 years old or older. 2) Homeowner-occupants must be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere and must have very low incomes, defined as below 50 percent of the area median income. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Loans for Condominiums Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Contact agency for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: HUD insures loans to buy to buy or refinance a principal residence in a condominium development. Down payments can be as low as 3 percent, and closing costs can be wrapped into the mortgage. General Property Requirements: Contact agency for amount. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Energy Efficient Loans Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $8,000 Purpose: Purchase / Refinancing / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: If you are buying or refinancing a home and you'd like to roll the cost of improvements to make the home more energy efficient into your mortgage, HUD's Energy Efficient Mortgage Insurance Program may be for you. General Property Requirements: Contact agency for amount. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: HUD-Insured Loans for Rehabs Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $25,000 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: HUD insures loans to rehab and make improvements that have been completed for at least one year. You may be eligible if you are an owner. There is no upfront mortgage insurance premium. General Property Requirements: One- to four- unit properties. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: To get a HUD-insured loan, you need to apply to a HUD-approved bank, mortgage company, or savings and loan association for your mortgage. You may also visit http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llplcrit.html to search for local lenders in your area. Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Housing Repair & Rehabilitation Loan Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: $20,000 Purpose: Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: These loans are available to very low-income rural residents who own and occupy a dwelling in need of repairs. Funds are available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, or to remove health and safety hazards. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Homeowner-occupants must be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere and must have very low incomes, defined as below 50 percent of the area median income. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Rural Housing Service Program Name: Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Contact agency for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: Used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. Funds can be used to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including providing water and sewage facilities. General Property Requirements: Property must be in rural area. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Meet income limits. To qualify or for more information, contact: Deborah Chorlton, Program Director Telephone: (406) 585-2551 Email: Deborah.Chorlton@mt.usda.gov Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program Name: FHA HUD 203(k) Home Rehabilitation Loan Program Type of Assistance: Loan Maximum Assistance Amount: Please visit https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm for amount. Purpose: Purchase / Rehabilitation Brief Program Description: Whereas HUD desires to see current housing stock rehabilitated, this program provides owner occupants of existing homes, or intended owner occupants who are looking to purchase a home, readily available mortgage money to refinance/rehabilitate or purchase/rehabilitate their homes, respectively. General Property Requirements: 1) Property must be from 1 to 4 units at completion (e.g.-may bring a 5 unit down to a 3 unit, or expand a 2 unit to a 4 unit). 2) Property must need at least $5,000 worth of basic repairs according to HUD guidelines and the planned use of the owner-occupant. Additions, remodeling, updating, energy improvements, etc. all OK. Area Served: State of Montana General Applicant Requirements: Applicant must meet standard FHA qualification guidelines of good or reparable credit (or alternative credit in cases where no credit history exists) & work history. To qualify or for more information, contact: Locate an Approved FHA HUD 203(k) Home Onwer Consultants at web site: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/f17cnsltdata.cfm Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Bozeman Program Name: N/A Type of Assistance: N/A Maximum Assistance Amount: N/A Purpose: N/A Brief Program Description: N/A General Property Requirements: N/A Area Served: Bozeman General Applicant Requirements: N/A To qualify or for more information, contact: N/A Telephone: N/A Email: N/A Apply for Financing Now Administered by: Gallatin County Program Name: None found. Contact agency for any available housing programs. Type of Assistance: N/A Maximum Assistance Amount: N/A Purpose: N/A Brief Program Description: N/A General Property Requirements: N/A Area Served: Gallatin County General Applicant Requirements: N/A To qualify or for more information, contact: N/A Telephone: (406) 582-3000 Email: N/A

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities Created, Suggestions Sought for Grant Program

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities Created, Suggestions Sought for Grant Program

Why do they get money for nothin' when the rest of us have ta cough it up?

MAJOR REVISION TO CBDG/HOME 0NE-FOR-ONE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT HANDBOOK

If this part doesn't scare you, "In short, if CDBG or HOME demolish or convert lower income housing to some other use, then housing units lost must be replaced one-for-one, and lower income people displaced must get adequate compensation that is generally better than Uniform Relocation Act (URA) compensation.", try thinking about being displaced in Montana in just 10 degree Celsius weather, in a town with no church, no homeless shelter and no transportation 25 miles down the road.  I bet compensation falls short of covering any medical needs that may become interrupted until transportation and housing can be found in some areas of Montana.

Major Revision to CDBG/HOME One-for-One Anti-Displacement Handbook Chapter


HUD revised, for the first time since 1990, handbook guidance regarding displacement caused by the use of CDBG or HOME funds. The Housing and Community Development Act was amended in 1987 in an attempt to minimize displacement by the addition of Section 104(d), also known as “the Barney Frank amendment” after the provision’s sponsor and champion, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA). The statute creating the HOME program later gained the same provisions.
In short, if CDBG or HOME demolish or convert lower income housing to some other use, then housing units lost must be replaced one-for-one, and lower income people displaced must get adequate compensation that is generally better than Uniform Relocation Act (URA) compensation.
Chapter 7 of HUD Handbook 1378, Tenant Assistance, Relocation and Real Property Acquisition, is completely revised. The previous edition was, primarily, a repackaging of the regulations, which are at 24 CFR Part 42, Subpart C. The September 2011 revision is a streamlined presentation emphasizing guidance.
A casualty of the streamlining is the loss of any reference to the provision offering displaced tenants rental assistance for five years to ensure that they do not pay more than 30% of their income for shelter. This is the primary tenant compensation feature of Section 104(d) that makes it superior to URA’s compensation.
Also, at several places in the revised guidance the term “tenant” replaces “persons.” The statute and the regulations use the terms “persons” or “families” throughout. Chapter 7 could have the effect of implying that lower income homeowners are not entitled to Section 104(d) compensation (although URA might be more beneficial for homeowners).
Chapter 7 is improved by including several examples attempting to draw distinctions between “indirect” and “direct” displacement, focusing on when the use of CDBG for infrastructure activities or code enforcement, which past policy generally exempted, might trigger the Section 104(d) requirements. Any CDBG-funded activity that has a sufficient, physical impact on a property directly causing displacement is subject to the law, while an activity that indirectly leads to displacement is exempt. Notably, if CDBG-assisted code enforcement is part of a single undertaking that plans to demolish or convert affordable homes, even if privately funded, HUD might determine that the code enforcement is being conducted “in connection with” the project, engaging the Section 104(d) obligations.
The revised Handbook clarifies that a manufactured home may be subject to the Section 104(d) provisions if it is considered “real property” under state law and it is on a foundation, without wheels, and connected to utilities.
Governments are reminded that their notices of displacement and relocation assistance must address the needs of people who might require reasonable accommodation due to disabilities or limited English proficiency. Also, notices to tenants inform them that if they are not legally present in the U.S. they are not entitled to relocation compensation, unless it would “result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship on a qualifying spouse, parent, or child.”
A separate Exhibit 7-2 contains seven important sample situations illustrating crucial meaning of the term “development project.” This is important to ensure that Section 104(d) is activated even if only one component of a project is assisted in part by CDBG or HOME. Three of the samples are enhanced versions that were in the old Chapter 7; the other four samples are new. One sample explains that if a public housing agency gets approval from HUD to demolish a 20-unit public housing project, and receives CDBG from the local government to assist in the demolition and HOME to construct lower income housing on the site, the local government is responsible for one-for-one replacement and tenant relocation assistance (assuming the tenant chooses not to accept alternative public housing or a voucher).
Revised Chapter 7, Exhibit 7-2, and the Transmittal Notice announcing the revision, Change 11, are available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/handbooks/cpdh/1378.0/index.cfm.

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Characteristics of LIHTC Properties

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Characteristics of LIHTC Properties

More Montana properties to under-go plastic surgery?

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Major Revision to CDBG/HOME One-for-One Anti-Displacement Handbook Chapter

NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Major Revision to CDBG/HOME One-for-One Anti-Displacement Handbook Chapter

Quite a few Montana Units fall under these programs. What will happen to our units?

LOW-INCOME TENANTS WORRY ABOUT BECOMING HOMELESS

Click on the link below to find out what Susan and other ordinary people are doing to help the government change one of it's most challenging so-called entitlement programs.

http://www.nhlp.org/ResidentEngagement

Lend your voice to make our legacy to our children stronger than what we found for ourselves.