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As long as legally binding paperwork is signed, the Warsaw Housing Authority agreed Monday to rehabilitate a home which would otherwise be deemed unfit for living.
Last month, the WHA board of directors approved sending a letter to the Indiana Housing Finance Authority asking permission to exceed the $25,000 loan limit through the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program so that work on the home could be completed.
The loan money comes from a Community Development Block Grant, which was awarded to the city of Warsaw and is administered by the housing authority.
The board previously offered its approval contingent upon the owner of the property on South Harrison Street, with whom the occupant has a land contract, reducing the amount of debt owed because the condition of the home indicates that the selling price in 1993 was higher that the worth of the real estate. The owner declined to forgive $5,000 of the loan as suggested by the housing authority. He did, however, agree to rewrite the loan with a lower interest rate, which will save the occupant $25 to $30 per month.
Catharine Walker, executive director of the WHA, told the board Monday that the client also is doing a lot of the work on her own per specifications.
"I've lived here seven years," the 30-year-old single mother of two told the board. "I love the house and I don't want to move." The woman referred to is not named because housing authority clients are confidential.
She also pointed out that her monthly payment is less than she would pay to live in a mobile home and, by staying in her house, her children have a yard to play in.
Once the house is rehabilitated, its value will be increased and the occupant should have half of the loan with the contract holder paid off in five years.
In approving the exception to the loan limit, board president Bob Kline said: "I think she's really trying ... to do right for her family."
"I think she was sincere," said Porter Polston, city council representative to the board. "I think we've stuck our necks out bigger than this. I think she's worthy."
The board unanimously agreed to provide the client with the additional funds needed to improve her home as long as the land owner signs documents accepting responsibility for the loan if the occupant defaults. Walker said conversations with the property owner indicate that he is willing to do so.
In other business, the board:
• Approved an amended personnel policy subject to review and acceptance by its attorney.
• Learned that the Section 8 Management Assessment Program has initiated a new grading system rule effective Oct. 13. Housing authorities are graded on 14 items, including whether they place clients from the waiting list, place clients in units with reasonable rent and use a determinate of adjusted income.
• Was told that the housing authority ended its fiscal year Sept. 30 in the black.
The next meeting is set for 5:15 p.m. Nov. 23 at Courthouse Coffee.
