Additional grants now available
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Jasper County Judge Mark Allen announced last week that the county will accept additional applications for the housing grants available from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).

Two grants totaling $900,000 will allow the county to reconstruct or replace approximately 17 homes for low and moderate income families.

"The highest priority will be given to very low income elderly persons who have lost their homes as a result of the hurricane and who do not have insurance and did not receive enough assistance from FEMA to rebuild their homes," according to Allen.

Michael Hunter, grant consultant for the county, will be taking applications Friday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) building at 210 Premier Drive (behind Lowe's).

Applicants need to bring evidence of their annual income such as recent paystubs, bank statements or benefits letters from Social Security, current paid tax receipts, and a copy of the deed to their property if available.

After a screening process, the following priorities will be used to place them on the waiting list for a new home: 1. very low income elderly, 2. very low income non-elderly, 3. low income elderly, and 4. low income non-elderly.

Very low income is a defined as gross annual income less than 30 percent of the area median, and low income is 30 to 50 percent of the area median income.

Those same classifications will be used determine which grant plan the applicant receives.

"Assistance will be made in the form of a fiveyear forgivable loan," Hunter explained. "If they agree to live in the home as their primary place of residence for the full five years, the loan will be forgiven and a lien placed against their property will be removed.

"For any individuals assisted who have incomes between 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, the assistance will be made in the form of a zero percent interest load to be paid back to TDHCA over a thirty year period."

The county has accepted a bid from McDonald's to replace damaged homes with manufactured housing. The two grants, which have different deadlines, total enough for approximately 17 homes.

The deadline for completion of the first grant for $300,000 has been extended to September of this year. The county still has 11 conditionally approved people from the first round of applications, but several of the original applicants have dropped on the list for various reasons.

"Families already on the waiting list from the first round of applications will not have to reapply," Hunter said in a press release. For more information, contact Hunter at 800 277-8590