Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp.’s Senior Vacant Unit Initiative, a 2-year-old program designed to help elderly homeowners repair their multifamily homes, made possible the transformation of this Boston home’s kitchen.
A program launched two years ago has helped more than a dozen older homeowners in Boston remain in their homes while at the same time bringing vacant apartments back onto the market.
Run by the Roxbury-based nonprofit community group Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp., the program has so far provided assistance to 18 low- and moderate-income elderly homeowners in Boston’s Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods to renovate their multifamily homes.
The program, known as the Senior Vacant Unit Initiative, has secured $2 million in financing since 2002, according to Lauren Rodriguez, Nuestra’s external affairs manager. In recent months, the initiative has received several grants, including $10,000 from the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation and $20,000 from The Boston Foundation.
“We found that a lot of seniors were struggling to maintain their properties and had vacant units,” explained Rodriguez.
In an effort to help those senior homeowners and alleviate the shortage of affordable rental housing in Boston, Nuestra, in partnership with the city, developed the assistance program, which helps seniors who own two- to four-family homes identify renovation needs. The program also helps homeowners solicit contractor bids, arrange for financing and manage the construction process. Once the renovations are complete, Nuestra offers to manage and maintain the properties – including finding renters for the vacant units – for the homeowners.
‘Extremely Promising’
Thanks to the Senior Vacant Unit Initiative, one longtime Roxbury resident had his home completely renovated and was able to remain in the residence his family has occupied since 1968. In 2001, the resident had to board up his three-family home because of numerous building code violations. The Distressed Properties Division of the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development referred the homeowner to Nuestra’s program. In the last two years, Nuestra worked with the homeowner to secure $400,000 in financing from several difference sources to renovate his property and consolidate his debt. With Nuestra’s help, he also has been able to rent the other two units in his home to two local low- and moderate-income families.
“It does look like an extremely promising program,” said Andrew Kochera, senior policy adviser for AARP’s Public Policy Institute, after reading a brief description about the initiative.
The program’s goal to expand the affordable rental housing stock is noteworthy given that there is a severe shortage of affordable rental housing for seniors nationwide, according to Kochera. About 60 percent of renter households headed by someone 65 and older pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing, said Kochera, which is considered excessive or burdensome by federal government standards.
Nuestra arranges financing for seniors through two loans. The first loan, which comes from money that the city lends to Nuestra, covers 50 percent of the construction costs. That loan is interest-free for 30 years and must be paid back if the property is sold or transferred, explained Kevin Winn, Nuestra’s director of lending and technical assistance. The second loan, with applicable interest, is provided by Nuestra through a variety of funding sources.
To be eligible to participate in the Nuestra program, homeowners must earn 80 percent or less of the area median income, and the renovated apartments must be rented to people who have low and moderate incomes.
Florence Hagins, assistant director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, said programs like Nuestra’s are beneficial because they provide “an opportunity for the senior to have added income” while at the same time opening up affordable housing units.
Hagins said MAHA, which partners with Nuestra on other affordable housing endeavors, has not referred seniors to the program recently. Instead, counselors at MAHA refer elderly homeowners who need assistance to a similar program offered by Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses Inc. called the Senior Home Improvement Program, or SHIP.
That program, which operates in collaboration with the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development, offers interest-free loans, low-cost home repairs, security and energy conservation improvements and emergency assistance. As part of the services provided through SHIP, staff from Kit Clark Senior Services help elderly homeowners get reliable contractors at reduced prices.
