FULTON, NY – The Fulton Community Development Agency has announced that a CDBG Affordable Housing Grant in the amount of $207,360 has been awarded to the agency from the NYS Office for Homes and Community Renewal.
The grant money will assist twelve families in purchasing their first home in the city of Fulton, a press release revealed.
A new twist, however, will allow a portion of the families the opportunity to purchase two-family properties with the owner living on site.
“We are absolutely thrilled to launch this new initiative in the City of Fulton. This was a direct result from a comprehensive planning session that will now become a reality,” said director of the Fulton CDA, Joe Fiumara.
The idea was developed from a City Comprehensive Plan Update committee that has now brought the strategy to life.
The benefit for the city is onsite ownership of multi-family housing. In the past, it has been documented that multi-family properties with the owners on site have seen less police calls, less dilapidation, and a better sense of neighborhood pride, Fiumara explained.
He said that the city has an abundance of two-family properties on market currently.
“This could be a great stabilization tool for our neighborhoods. This is the first time we have ventured into this type of homeownership, however this grant does provide funds for our traditional single family acquisitions as well,” Fiumara said.
The Fulton Community Development Agency has always displayed proven performance with many funding sources in terms of exceeding goals and providing very efficeint strategies to complete these projects, the press release said.
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great news for the city. Home ownership and the pride that goes with it is such a positive step. Comgradulations
Home ownership should be the dream of young couples. Help in obtaining that first step, the down payment with closing costs etc. is very nice. Those costs are only a small portion of the costs of being a homeowner.(don’t forget:Taxes,Water Bill,Sewer Bill,Garbage Bill,Up keep,a failing infrastructure) On the surface this grant seems to be a very nice Christmas present but it just may be a Trojan Horse if not handled properly. Twelve families divided into $207,360 dollars comes out to $17,280 for each family. A family may be able to purchase a tax foreclosed property which helps the city return a property to the tax rolls and help a family obtain that dream. Or it will help a family put a down payment on a house selling for between $60k and $70k or less. Both situations on the surface appear to be a win,win for the city and we all hope it will turn out to be a dream come true and not a money pit that will turn out to be a nightmare for both the city and new homeowner. Good Luck to all. I must say I am not in favor of multi-family homes being sold using grant money to purchase them even if they are owner occupied. Next question should be: What are the guidelines for the eligible recipients.(income range,etc.) That is not mentioned. Very key. If they are low income how are to going to be able to make a mortgage payment and perform the duties of a homeowner. Not NEGATIVE here just being a REALIST a big difference. Good luck again to all.
Well Frank at least you are honest. Those are all valid points and questions. Most times the cheerleaders just want to rally around the story and hope that nobody asks tough questions like this. I too do not agree with The multi family aspect of this. So where exactly is this correlate of study that sites lower crime and higher property values with on-site ownership? Fulton needs to get away from the duplex and triplex property craze. That’s why the city looks like it does. As far as on-site ownership goes, a few well thought out ordinances and regulations would prevent out-of-state slumlords from running the city from a far.
good questions On site ownership is far easier to be held accountable for violations than seeking and bringing in out of area owners to comply. The grant can be for single family also. Anytime the city can get one of these grants it opens up opportunity for home ownership for some that may need the help. Frank is correct and that 17,000 that could be used for a down payment leaves a 48,000 mortgage. The payment on that is more manageable than the mortgage on 65,000 and can make the difference for some families.
Here are some more interesting figures that everyone may or may not know. The CDA has been awarded the Grant amounting to $207,430. They say that it will help 12 families with the purchase of a home. Then they say that it will go this way. Each could receive $10,000 as a down payment and up to $1,200 in closing costs. If you add that all up it comes out to $150,000. Which means the CDA keeps up to $57,000 to administer the Grant. I think it comes out to be around 27% finders fee. Not bad. Now I’m sure that Mr. Fiumara will take issue with this information being released. He took issue with my asking questions. Now you know the rest of the story.I’m sure someone will explain how that $57,000 is used. Either way it is spent it sure is a lot of money to administer Grant money.
The only way people can afford the taxes (aka rent to the city) is to own a multifamily home. The city should not be in the real estate business either. These were people’s homes, that were taken from them for either taxes, or some other reason.