(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and State Senator Kel Seliger today announced a $522,000 award to the City of Seminole that will help finance home repairs for low income homeowners, allowing residents to retain homeownership while revitalizing neighborhoods and the local economy.

Officials with Seminole anticipate the funds will help repair or replace six deteriorating homes owned and lived in by income eligible households.

“For a long time, the HOME program has assisted in providing livable housing,” said Senator Seliger who joined the Department in announcing the award. “This award will be not only good for the citizens of Seminole, but it will also drive a great deal of value into the community as a whole.”

“Rebuilding dilapidated housing not only helps low income families retain their homes and enjoy a safer, healthier environment, it also helps maintain the vitality of smaller Texas communities,” noted Tim Irvine, TDHCA Executive Director. “Plus, the entire community benefits through the influx of construction payroll salaries and local purchases that help fuel the local economy.”  

TDHCA awards home repair funds to qualifying applicants through the Department’s HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program, which helps repair or replace homes owned and lived in by low income homeowners. If a home has deteriorated to the point it no longer is cost effective to repair, it may be demolished and replaced with either a traditional “site built” home or a manufactured home.

Qualifying applicants include rural cities and counties, public housing authorities, Community Housing Development Organizations and other nonprofit housing groups, and certain for-profit organizations which then work with eligible households at the local level.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the funding source for the HOME Program. The program serves households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median family income, which for a family for four in Seminole equals an annual income of $40,950. However, it may be another six to eight weeks before local officials are prepared to accept applications for assistance; area homeowners should await further information before contacting the city.