By JAMES BELL and BECKY KISER
Hays Post
In an effort to address a shortage of homes available to medium-income families in Ellis County, the Ellis County Development Corp. has announced the development of a rehabilitation program in an effort the renovate existing housing stock through the county.
“We have available older, poor-quality housing, but we don’t have anything much in the middle, so the idea behind this program is to fill that gap,” said Aaron White, Coalition executive director.
The program was conceived after White realized there was a serious need for housing rehabilitation after speaking with local contractors and real estate agents.
The program, created with a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, will provide loans to real estate agents and contractors through a seven-person loan committee.
If the board approves a request, the parties can then use those funds to rehabilitate a house anywhere in the county.
“We can take some of the old, dilapidated houses and poor-quality houses and turn them back into prime housing stock,” White said.
But for applications to be accepted, developers have several requirements that must be met: a minimum of $10,000 in renovations, the project has to be completed in six months, and the home is capped at a $145,000 for sale price – right about the middle of the range of housing that is difficult to find in Ellis County, according to White.
Further, the remodeled home cannot be used for rental property.
“Our hope is that this will open up some new housing options in Ellis County,” White said.
While the ECDC will provide funding, they will not select housing for rehabilitation.
“We leave the project to come to us,” White said. “It’s up to professionals – contractors and Realtors. The loan committee will basically analyze each application to look to see if the projections if they feel like they are realistic.”
The seven-person board will be selected from leaders in the construction and lending industry, according to White.
Applications are expected to begin this summer, and funding available will allow for up to three housing projects to be carried out at the same time.
“The loan fund will rebuild itself as projects turn, and we’re hoping we can turn between six and 12 houses a year under this program,” White said.
While the impact will not be exceptionally large, White said it will assist the housing crunch as the city of Hays and Fort Hays State University continue to grow and new residents seek affordable housing.
“We have had a lot of employers have told us that housing has impacted their ability to recruit talent they need,” White said, adding he has heard from employers that employees recruited to come to Hays sometimes leave after failing to find housing.
“You don’t want housing to be another reason why you are potentially struggling to fill certain types of positions with employers in the area,” he said.