On Monday, June 18, the Whitesboro City Council unanimously voted in favor of City Administrator Julie Arrington to issue requests for proposals for administrative services and a request for qualification for engineering services to bring the HOME program to Whitesboro.
The HOME program is federal assistance that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development developed to enable states to create decent and affordable housing. If a home is dilapidated, instead of completely shutting the structure down due to building code violations and much needed repairs, the HOME program helps homeowners rebuild the structure.
Arrington said she was requesting to enter into an agreement with GrantWorks, a grant administration company, to bring this opportunity to Whitesboro homeowners. With this grant, the City of Whitesboro could connect homeowners with GrantWorks, who would then administer the application process.
In order to qualify for this program, taxes must be paid and the title of the house cleared. Once approved, the house would be completely demolished and built from the ground up at no cost to the homeowner, as long as they reside in the home for five years.
If the homeowner decides to move before then, they would have to pay a prorated amount of years they lived in the home. After the five years, the building would be the homeowner’s home, title free.
GrantWorks would not only guide homeowners throughout the whole process – from application to program closeout – but would also provide a team of experts to support any specific projects throughout the grant life cycle.