Funding helps residents meet home ownership goals

Posted Sunday, July 2, 2017 6:06 pm

BRATTLEBORO — As other groups are fretting about losing funds due to proposed federal budgeting in Washington, D.C., Windham & Windsor Housing Trust saw a small increase for a program that helps area residents buy houses.

"This program gets people into the home-ownership market who couldn't do it any other way," said Bruce Whitney, lending and shared equity manager at WWHT. "Even with other programs, like low-interest loans from the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] Rural Development, they just can't afford a home in the prevailing market. So this assistance makes it possible."

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board has approved a $91,000 grant for the WWHT to run its Shared Equity Program, which provides Vermonters in the southeastern part of the state with a grant covering up to 25 percent of the price of a home or $44,000. Last year, the housing trust received $83,000 for its annual allocation from the state.

Whitney said his group is reviewing three applications and he expects the funding to be "used up" by September or October.

"The other really exciting part about it is that we keep these homes in our portfolio," he said. "When they sell, the homeowners agree to share the equity so they stay affordable going into the future."

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The housing trust now oversees 135 homes through the program in Windham County and Windsor County, according to Whitney.

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Depending where the residence is located, a family of four earning as high as $78,408 can be eligible. Applicants must make up to 120 percent of the median income of the area, take a home-buyer education class, be pre-approved by a lender and have $1,200 of savings to put towards the purchase. The housing trust will ensure homes have "certain quality standards and are structurally sound" before the purchase, according to a press release.

"With housing prices still out of reach for many young families and those with modest incomes, these funds can bridge the gap," Elizabeth Bridgewater, director of home ownership at WWHT, said in the press release. "In many cases, it's the only pathway to home ownership."

The program started in the late 1990s. Funding from a $35 million bond in the state's fiscal 2017 budget will likely help the SEP and another program offered through the WWHT for developing apartment buildings.

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"I've always thought of the Shared Equity Program as a 'third path,' between buying conventionally and renting," WWHT Executive Director Connie Snow said in the press release. "It is a great way to set down roots in a community, and earn some equity in your housing — while at the same time knowing that the home will be affordable to the next owner and the next generation."

It's not all bad news on the federal front. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced last week that Vermont will receive $3 million from the National Housing Trust Fund to "build, preserve and rehabilitate affordable rental housing."

Brattleboro was one of six communities named as beneficiaries in the press release. This is the second year the funding was made available.

Reach staff writer Chris Mays at 802-254-2311, ext. 273, or @CMaysBR.