County commissioners learn about Essential Single-family Rehabilitation Loan Pool Disaster Recovery Program
The Bladen County Commissioners heard a presentation from the Lumber River Council of Government’s Jan Hester Maynor on Monday night regarding the Essential Single-family Rehabilitation Loan Pool-Disaster Recovery Fund. Maynor told the board the county is receiving these funds because it is one of the 50 counties to receive a federal disaster declaration following Hurricane Matthew.
She told the board this program is different from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation program. The guidelines for the ESFRLP-DR program are also different from the guidelines for the Hazard Mitigation program.
The fund for ESFRLP-DR come from the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund. Bladen County has been allocated $150,000 towards the rehabilitation of three homes, said Maynor.
There are six major requirements to be eligible for the ESFLRP-DR.
1) The housing unit to be rehabilitated with ESFRLP-DR funds must be located in Bladen County, and must be owner-occupied;
2) The gross annual household income must not exceed 100% of the Area Median Income for the County;
3) The home must have received at least $5,000 of damage from either Hurricane Matthew;
4) The cost of rehabilitation charged to the ESFRLP-DR Program cannot exceed the limit of $40,000;
5) The homeowner cannot have been approved to receive a loan from the Small Business Administration to repair damages to their home due to Hurricane Matthew; and,
6) The homeowner must work with Bladen County to properly document any FEMA assistance received for home repair due to Hurricane Matthew.
Hester told the board this program can rehabilitate mobile homes that have been damaged by Hurricane Matthew which the Hazard Mitigation program cannot do.
She said LRCOG staff are unsure of how many applications they will receive. Maynor did say additional funds beyond the original $150,000 can be requested but they must do so, three houses at a time.
Maynor said the funds used to repair the homes are forgivable loans if the homeowner stays in the home for a specified period of time once repairs are complete. Maynor explained the loan is forgiven in increments of $5,000 per year until it is completely paid off. She cautioned, if the home owner does choose to sell the home for a profit before the specified period of time is up, they have to repay what is left owning on the loan at that time.
She told the board the homeowner will have to have all taxes and insurance paid on the home. If the home owner chooses to participate in the program, they will have to carry flood insurance once repairs are completed.
To apply, contact Kimberly Talbert with Bladen County Emergency Management by calling 910-862-6760.
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