[StBernard] State offering up to $300 million to property owners

[Westley Annis]

STATE OFFERING UP TO $300 MILLION TO PROPERTY OWNERS 

Round 2 of Small Rental Program Launched

BATON ROUGE, La., June 5, 2007 - Road Home program officials announced today the second round of funding through The Small Rental Property program. Through this round up to $300 million will be made available to encourage property owners to restore much needed rental housing and to commit to make that housing affordable. This second round comes on the heels of the first round, which funded over $202 million to help revive more than 5,000 rental units in 13 parishes.

The new round will continue to place the highest priority on owner occupants of three and four unit properties followed by other small rental owners whose buildings suffered significant damage from Hurricane Katrina or Rita. This round will also be open to middle size rental owners (those who own between 21 and 100 units) and new owners (those Louisiana residents who have purchased property since the storms) if funding is available after the priority groups. As in Round One, there will also be a 5% set aside for non-profits focused on providing longer term affordability and targeting units to those households with special needs. 

The program will continue to be limited to small rental buildings between one and four units. However, partially occupied buildings will now be eligible for funding as well as vacant buildings. Round 2 will remain open until July 5, 2007 for both general and nonprofit organization applications and offers an easy-to-use online application submission. 

The program offers awards through a series of competitive application rounds to ensure incentives are available to those owners who need it most. Larger property owners will have an opportunity to apply in later rounds. The amount of the incentive owners may receive will depend on the affordability of rents they are willing to charge. 


"The momentum started back in the middle of April when we announced the first awards from Round 1. That was an outstanding starting point for the program and gives us high hopes for Round 2," said Louisiana's Office of Community Development Rental Program Manager Calvin Parker. "Round 2 keeps the momentum going by offering more opportunities to rebuild our neighborhoods by making new investors eligible in this round as well as partially occupied properties."

To be eligible for Round 2, applicants must own a one- to four-unit rental property located in one of the 13 parishes hardest hit by the storms: Acadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion or Washington. All eligibility criteria can be found online at www.road2LA.org/rental <http://www.roadcommunications.com/action.cfm?md=emaillist&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=223&uid=hIk%28e%7Ek%3BmY&encoded=1&redirect=www%2Eroad2LA%2Eorg%2Frental>  or by calling The Road Home call center at 1.888.ROAD.2.LA (1.888.762.3252).

"As a result of Round 1 more than 4,000 units will be rented at affordable rates for low- to moderate-income working families and offer housing options that people can actually afford," said Senator Derrick Shepherd. "Anticipating there will be more applications for Round 2, the program is offering up to $100 million more funding for this round."

Starting today, property owners with up to 100 rental units at the time of the storms, nonprofit organizations, and owner-occupied three- and four-unit property owners can apply to Round 2 by printing or submitting an application online at www.road2la.org/rental <http://www.roadcommunications.com/action.cfm?md=emaillist&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=223&uid=hIk%28e%7Ek%3BmY&encoded=1&redirect=www%2Eroad2la%2Eorg%2Frental> . Paper applications can be printed online or requested by calling 1.888.ROAD.2.LA. Paper applications should be mailed to P.O. Box 4729, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-1182. Applicants who were not awarded in Round 1 but met basic eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to reapply.

"There is a great need for affordable rental housing for the 13 parishes funded in this round," added Parker. "Round 2 helps provide additional opportunities to property owners providing affordable rental options to low- to moderate level income families in those communities." 

To Download: STATE OFFERING UP TO $300 MILLION TO PROPERTY OWNERS: Round 2 of Small Rental Program Launched (186K) <http://www.roadcommunications.com/action.cfm?md=emaillist&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=223&uid=hIk%28e%7Ek%3BmY&encoded=1&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eroadcommunications%2Ecom%2Fassets%2Fdocs%2FRental%5FRound2%5FLaunch%2D6%2D5%2D07%5Fv7%2Edoc> 

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