Update: Due to budget uncertainties the City has stopped
processing grant proposals for the moment. But eligible people should
still consider applying, so as to be ready if and when funding resumes.
The Exterior Grants component of the Home Improvement
Program will offer up to $25,000 for exterior improvements that can
include the roof, porch, stairs, fencing, gutters, and paint, as well
as hardscaping and
landscaping improvements. These grants will be available in all SNI
areas, but the City will give priority to those SNI neighborhoods that
have identified rehabilitation as a top-ten priority.
This program will be available to owners that have properties occupied
by households that do not exceed median income for the County of Santa
Clara, currently $96,000 for a family of four, which is consistent with
the Housing Departments current programs. The San Jose Redevelopment
Agency will transfer $4 million to the Housing Department to fund the
program, with additional funding for the Exterior Grant component for
future years to be proposed through the Capital Budget process.
The Exterior Grants program will enable residents to see the benefits
of SNI spread from their front door to the rest of their neighborhood,
said Leslie Corsiglia, Director of the City of San Jose Housing Department,
in the city's press
release announcing the program.
Also, a SNI program for first-time homebuyers
The Second Mortgage Assistance Program will assist first-time homebuyers
to qualify for loans to buy a condominium or townhouse in any San José
Redevelopment Project Area. It also will encourage developers to build
ownership rather than rental housing. The program will offer second
mortgages up to $40,000 with payments deferred for five years, thereby
acting as part of the buyers down payment.
In addition to these programs, San Jose will continue
its commitment to first time homeowners by transferring another $2 million,
to complement the $4 million already invested over the past two years
through the
Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley. Together, the programs
represent $20 million in homeowner assistance programs for San José
residents.
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