The city of Wichita has revamped its Home Repair program and will open applications and the wait list on Feb. 1. The Home Repair program assists low- and moderate-income homeowners with critical home repairs to achieve two main goals:
1) Stabilize homeowners within their primary unit of residence, assisting with the goal of sustaining affordable homeownership, and
2) Assist with critical repairs for existing affordable housing units to maintain and sustain these units as affordable housing stock within the city.
According to a news release, qualified Wichita homeowners can receive up to $5,000 in forgivable assistance with critical home repairs, such as water service and sewer line updates, furnace and water heater replacements or other key upgrades.
Homeowners with larger projects or multiple identified needs may work with program staff to receive up to $25,000 in city assistance to complete more comprehensive work. The first $5,000 will remain forgivable, and additional assistance will be in the form of a zero-percent interest deferred loan with a 10% homeowner match.
Homeowners must be the owner of record and the home must be their primary residence. Additionally, property taxes must be current, homeowners must present proof of home insurance, and households must be at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). That ranges from $47,000 for a one-person household and $54,500 for a two-person household up to $89,900 for an eight-person household.
Eligible types of projects include furnace and HVAC replacements, water service line leaks or re-piping water lines, sewer line leaks or collapses, electrical shorts or updates, water heater replacements, accessibility updates and roof replacements. Other similar project requests may be considered.
All program assistance is secured with a lien on the property for the amount of the assistance provided. The forgivable portion of the mortgages are released after the assisted homeowner has remained in the home throughout the five-year forgiveness period. Homeowners who sell or transfer the home within this period are responsible for repayment of the full loan amount, and all deferred loans are due upon sale or transfer. Homeowners must maintain hazard insurance on the home as long as they have an active city mortgage.
To avoid households becoming over-mortgaged under this program, assistance will be limited to once in a five-year period. Households will become eligible for additional assistance once they have fulfilled the forgiveness period for existing forgivable mortgages. Households with one current Home Repair lien may access the program in 2024 for exigent health and safety projects, to complete a multi-phase project already underway or to access the non-forgivable deferred loan component of the program.
The application will be available February 1 at https://www.wichita.gov/420/Home-Repair, and qualified projects will be scored based on exigent health and safety issues, prior use of assistance, and other special circumstances or identified project priorities. For the current funding year, these priorities are:
· Active code violations verified through MABCD
· Multi-phase projects under way through the prior Home Repair program and in need of completion
· Projects proposed by owner-occupant homeowners who purchase Wichita Housing Authority single-family housing units
· Projects for removal and replacement of lead and galvanized requiring replacement (GRR) water service lines and plumbing
For additional program information or to apply, please visit wichita.gov/420/Home-Repair. Program questions may be directed to Home Repair staff members at (316) 462-3713.
