Does your home need repairing? Here’s how to apply for piece of $45M in home rehab bond dollars

By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor

Homeowners looking to tap into $45 million in city bond dollars set aside for home rehabilitation and repair—ranging from foundation work to roof shingle replacement—can submit their applications starting today through Sept. 19.

[ Apply here for the city’s home rehab program. ]

The home repair dollars are part of the city’s $1.2 billion bond program, which voters approved in May, and are intended for homeowners who make up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), which is $37,350 for a family of three. Households who make up to 30 percent AMI, or $22,410 for a family of three, will be prioritized.

[ Scroll down for a chart showing AMI levels in the San Antonio-New Braunfels region. ]

The bond dollars are reserved for minor repair of homes and to remedy code violations that could lead to demolition, according to guidelines set by a housing bond committee late last year composed of community members. An additional $105 million was also approved for other housing needs, including house and apartment construction, the building of housing for the homeless population, and the rehabilitation of aging apartment complexes.

Homeowners can apply online, or they can attend one of 14 workshops starting at 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the Southside Lions Senior Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Drive.

[ Scroll down for a list of all home repair community events. ]

Applicants can also reach out to the Health Collaborative and UTSA’s Westside Community Center for help applying for city home rehab funding.

Required documents for applying are:
» driver’s license or ID card
» social security card
» proof of income or employment (six pay stubs)
» recent annual social security or retirement benefits award letter (if applicable)
» three months worth of bank statements (if applicable)
» mortgage, loan or home equity statement (if applicable)

The City of San Antonio has three home repair programs:

» Under 1 Roof: Replaces damaged shingles with “new, energy-efficient white shingle roofs and solar underlayment.” (Note: accounts for 55 percent of homes rehabbed by city; average of $9,300 per house; according to the city’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan [SHIP].)

» Minor Repair: Repairs or replaces “plumbing, electrical, non-working utilities, broken windows, damaged doors or other items in need of repair.” (Note: 30 percent of homes rehabbed by city; average of $22,300 per house; according to the SHIP.)

» Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation: Repairs “health and safety, accessibility, and major system concerns,” and are paid for in the form of a deferred forgivable loan meaning “repayment is not required.” (Note: 15 percent of homes rehabbed by city; average of $103,000 per house; according to the SHIP.)

[ Read more about the city’s home rehab programs. ]

Applicants also must have a homestead exemption on the home, and property taxes must be current for those applying for the Owner-Occupied Program, but not if applying for the Minor Repair or Under 1 Roof programs.

Clear titles and homeowners’s insurance or fire insurance are also required.

The process has been criticized in the past, including by District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, as being too cumbersome for the demographic the programs are intended to serve.

[ Related: San Antonio’s home repair programs rebuild lives, but they’re not without critics | July 10, 2021 ]

Applicants will be considered using an “equity scoring matrix,” which takes into account factors such as whether the house is located in a former red-lined district, if the home resides in an area with a high concentration of people of color, and if the home is less than or equal to 1,700 square feet, among other factors.

In a City Council subcommittee last week, District 9 Councilman John Courage asked city housing officials how far bond dollars would go toward meeting San Antonio’s affordable housing goals.

According to the city’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, the city has a goal of repairing 10,986 homes over the next 10 years for a total cost of $296.7 million. Other home repair funding sources include those the city receives annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For the next fiscal year, the city is expected to receive more than $8 million in HUD fundinhg toward the preservation of roughly 53 homes.

[ Read the city’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan ]

The city is looking to partner more with nonprofits who specialize in home repair as a way of stretching bond dollars to help more homeowners.

“One thing we’ve been asked to do with the bond funds, and just overall, is how do we partner with nonprofits, maybe churches, maybe community groups … how do we create those partnerships?” Veronica Garcia, interim director of the city’s Neighborhood and Housing Service Department, said during the council’s Planning and Community Development Committee on Aug. 1. “We haven’t done that very much with our home rehab program … done on a very small scale. But how do we grow that effort with bond funds or general funds, since they are more flexible than our HUD funds that we use.”

Garcia estimates the city can repair between 800 to 1,000 homes per year toward the 10,986 home goal.

Community events

Aug. 9 (Tuesday) / 9 de agosto (martes):
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Southside Lions Senior Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Drive

Aug. 10 (Wednesday) / 10 de agosto (miércoles)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Mission Branch Library, 3134 Roosevelt Ave.

Aug. 15 (Monday) / 15 de agosto (lunes)
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at District 5 Senior Center, 2701 S. Presa St.

Aug. 17 (Wednesday) / 17 de agosto (miércoles)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Las Palmas Library, 515 Castroville Road

Aug. 19 (Friday) / 19 de agosto (viernes)
9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Normoyle Senior Center, 700 Culberson Ave.

Aug. 20 (Saturday) / 20 de agosto (sábado)
10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Las Palmas Library, 515 Castroville Road

Aug. 22 (Monday) / 22 de agosto (lunes)
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at District 2 Senior Center, 1751 S. W.W. White Road

Aug. 25 (Thursday) / 25 de agosto (jueves)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Carver Library , 3350 E. Commerce St.

Aug. 29 (Monday) / 29 de agosto (lunes )
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Willie M. Cortez Senior Center, 5512 S.W. Military Drive

Sept. 1 (Thursday) / 1 de septiembre (jueves )
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Cortez Library, 2803 Hunter Blvd.

Sept. 7 (Wednesday) / 7 de septiembre (miércoles)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Central Library, 600 Soledad St

Sept. 15 (Thursday) / 15 de septiembre (jueves)
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Doris Griffin Senior Center, 6167 N.W. Loop 410

Sept. 16 (Friday) / 16 de septiembre (viernes)
10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Thousand Oaks Library, 4618 Thousand Oaks Drive

Sept. 17 (Saturday) / 17 de septiembre (sábado):
10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Carver Library, 3350 E. Commerce St.

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Heron Editor Ben Olivo has been writing about downtown San Antonio since 2008, first for mySA.com, then for the San Antonio Express-News. He co-founded the Heron in 2018, and can be reached at 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter

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