What is the El Paso Affordable Housing/Tierra Del Sol NSPII Homeownership Program?
Overview
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act”), Public Law 111-005 created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program II. The key objective of NSP II is to mitigate the impact of foreclosures through the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed and vacant properties in order to create more affordable housing and renew neighborhoods devastated by the economic crisis. El Paso Affordable Housing (EPAH) is part of a national consortium led by Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) which was awarded $137,107,133 in federal funding to revitalize neighborhoods in eight (8) states and the District of Columbia that have been negatively impacted by foreclosures and abandoned properties. A total of 13 non-profits make up the Consortium. Other members are located in Arizona, California, Texas, Colorado, Washington D.C. and Illinois. El Paso Affordable Housing and Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation were awarded funding to jointly implement the NSP II Program in the State of Texas (El Paso County) and Southern New Mexico, (Dona Ana County). Section 3 of HUD Act of 1968 will apply to this program. Section 3 Statement
NSP guidelines require that funds be utilized only for foreclosed homes in greatest need/high risk areas with the greatest percentage of foreclosures; the highest percentage of homes financed by subprime mortgage related loans; and likely to face a significant rise in the rate of home foreclosures, which is based on the HUD Risk Factor Score.
NSP regulations require that:
• All funds must be used to assist households at or below 120% of area median income (“AMI”);
• At least 25% of funds must be used to assist households at or below 50% of AMI
• A discount of at least 1% of current appraised market value is obtained when purchasing the foreclosed property.
EPAH-TDS Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2)
El Paso Affordable Housing and Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation have partnered to implement an NSP2 program with the CPLC/NALCAB Consortium. Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation will serve to acquire and rehabilitate the foreclosed and vacant properties in designated Census Tracts and El Paso Affordable Housing will provide a financing mechanism for the purchase of these homes by qualified applicants. Tierra Del Sol Corporation was awarded $5.895 million in NSP2 Grant funds to purchase and rehabilitate a minimum of 47 foreclosed or vacant homes, and El Paso Affordable Housing has been awarded $2.68 Million in NSP2 funds to provide purchasing NSP2 Homebuyers with financing packages for a minimum of 67 single-family homes in 16 eligible census tracts (see table below) located in El Paso County and Dona Ana County. Financing packages are available to income eligible households who earn up to or below 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as defined by HUD. The outcome of the NSP2 program will be to provide decent, safe, energy efficient houses to eligible buyers and help stabilize neighborhoods as well as help increase the value of the neighboring homes and stimulate local economies.
El Paso Affordable Housing’s NSP2 Financing Information
Under the NSP2, El Paso Affordable Housing will offer various types of homebuyer assistance to make buying an NSP2 home affordable for its buyer. Applicants for NSP2 homebuyer assistance do not need to be first time homebuyers, but cannot own a home at the time of application for assistance with this program.
Individuals interested in purchasing an NSP2 home acquired with NSP2 funds by our partner Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation (TDS), may apply for NSP2 homebuyer assistance from El Paso Affordable Housing. Homebuyer financing is available in the form of down payment assistance and closing costs. Down payment assistance will be in the form of a “soft” second mortgage using NSP2 funds, and may be supplemented with other type of grant, depending on the availability of NSP2 funds and other funds, for qualifying families. The amount of home purchase assistance and loan awarded will be based on the buyer’s ability to qualify for the purchase of a property at a monthly payment that is affordable to the homebuyer. In most cases, the following award amounts apply: The award will be in a range up to a maximum award of $40,000* of NSP2 funds. If an individual/household is determined to be eligible for the NSP2, EPAH staff will verify whether the applicant qualifies for NSP2 assistance, and how much will be needed to purchase the selected home.
*Additional Assistance may be available on a case-by-case basis.
