Home Renewal Program Cycle 2 Opens April 17

A contractor for the Los Alamos Home Renewal Program applies the final color coat on a stucco project in White Rock. Courtesy/LAC

A stucco crew for the Los Alamos Home Renewal Program applies the final color coat on a stucco project in White Rock. Courtesy/LAC

COUNTY News:

Stucco workers apply a final color coat to a house funded during the first cycle of the Home Renewal Program. Work is wrapping up this Spring on 10 out of 11 projects that were funded. The next cycle for applications opens April 17 and closes May 31. Visit www.losalamoshousingpartnership.org or call 505.662.8918 for details.

Los Alamos County’s Community Development Department and the Los Alamos Housing Partnership (LAHP) announced that Cycle 2 of the Home Renewal Program will open for applications Monday, April 17.

Residents who meet low-income qualifications and require financial assistance to make repairs or improvements to their homes are encouraged to apply for this subsidized loan program, which was approved and funded by the County Council in 2015.

The program enables owners to improve their homes to increase comfort, safety and livability. One of the benefits of the new program is that homeowners are not required to make payments until the home is sold or vacated. Examples of projects that may qualify for funding from the Home Renewal Program include window and door replacement, unsafe deck and porch repair or replacement, exterior siding and stucco repair/replacement, lead-based paint, asbestos and mold remediation, boiler replacement, and roof repair or replacement. 

Interested applicants should visit the LAHP website at www.losalamoshousingpartnership.org to download an informational brochure, an application, and other information about the program, including Policies and Procedures, and Housing Rehabilitation Standards. Hard copies of these documents may be picked up at LAHP or the County’s Community Development Department in Suite 150 of the Municipal Building at 1000 Central Ave.

The application can be completed and submitted when the cycle opens April 17. LAHP staff will begin reviewing applications and contacting applicants to discuss whether or not they qualify based on income, property and project eligibility criteria, and loan underwriting standards. If eligibility is determined, LAHP staff will work with the homeowner on a project funding plan and scope of work, and will solicit bids from a pool of qualified contractors. 

The closing date for the cycle is Wednesday, May 31. LAHP will package all eligible applications received by the deadline to submit to a Loan Review Committee.

The Council funded the program for approximately $200,000 this year and the FY18 budget has proposed adding another $200,000 to support the program.

Applications will be prioritized according to the criteria in the Policies and Procedures manual. If funding requests exceed the amount of funding available, projects will be selected based on these established and documented priorities.

The Home Renewal Program was created as part of meeting the community’s goals for improving the existing housing stock within our community, especially for those individuals who may be in need of financial assistance in order to repair or improve their property for a variety of safety reasons or quality of life.

For Cycle 1, the Program’s Loan Review Committee and County Manager Harry Burgess approved funds totaling $208,400 in much-needed home improvements for ten applicants. The Los Alamos Housing Partnership agreed to fund one additional application that had not met the County’s income-based qualification criteria, bringing the total number of applications funded to 11 out of the 13 who applied.

Construction began this winter and ten of the 11 projects are wrapping up this Spring. The program has received positive feedback from participants. 

For more information, contact LAHP at 505.662.8918 or visit www.losalamoshousingpartnership.org.

A contractor for the Los Alamos Home Renewal Program applies the finishing touches on a stucco project in White Rock. Courtesy/LAC

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