Grants to aid Lapeer home renovation projects

LAPEER — Single-family homeowners living on Lapeer’s north end are eligible to apply for grant funding to renovate their homes to make them more energy efficient and enhance and stabilize their neighborhoods at the same time.

The City of Lapeer Housing Improvement Department, under the direction of Sara Coulter, was notified in December that it has been awarded a $250,400 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

The funds are designed to help financially support at least six homeowners of existing single family homes and at least two home buyers with money to renovate their homes within an area it designates as the North Oregon territory.

The neighborhood is bounded by Oregon between Lincoln and Saginaw streets, bounded to the north by Second and Third streets and northbound to Pine Street to where it meets Saginaw.

Grant administrator Denise Soldenski said in order to be eligible for the up-to-$25,000- per-home project, homeowners must have an income at or below 80 percent of Lapeer County’s average medium income.

“For this grant we targeted the North Oregon area because we have had some earlier spending on housing in the neighborhood several years ago, and we wanted to go back to an area where we could get the biggest bang for the buck,” Soldenski commented.

Typical renovations include installation of energy efficient windows, doors, additional insulation and vinyl siding — all projects favored by MSHDA to reduce the cost of heating and cooling of the house.

The grant funding favors infrastructure upgrades rather than cosmetic alterations.

Homeowners will be required to come up with 25 to 40 percent in matching funds for renovation projects to their homes should be they selected.

Soldenski said the city housing department will work closely with applicants to secure funding sources.

For homeowner renovations, said Soldenski, a deferred mortgage and mortgage note must be held for each project.

Another selling point of the grant money, she noted, is that 50 percent of the note will be forgiven after the homeowner remains in the home for five years, and the remainder will be payable when the homeowner no longer occupies the house, or in 50 years, whichever comes first.

For home buyer renovations, continued Soldenski, a deferred mortgage and mortgage note will be required for each renovation project, and 100 percent of the note amount will be forgiven after the homeowner remains in the home for 10 years.

“This is really a good program for the homeowner if they don’t have to pay it all back as long as they stay in the house,” Soldenski said.

“Our intent is to improve the quality and value of the homes in the city, and to help stabilize neighborhoods by encouraging residents to live there for many years.”

In addition to the grant funding to assist North Oregon residents, there remains $52,821 in MSHDA money for homeowners in the Cramton Park neighborhood of the city, bounded by M-24 to the west, East Genesee to the north, Saginaw Street to the east and Elm Street to the south.

For more information on how to apply for the MSHDA grant funding or for more general information on the home renovation program, call Soldenski at 810-245-4221. The state grant money is expected to be released in March.