THE Northern Marianas Housing Corporation is now accepting completed pre-qualification applications for the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program and Homebuyer Program to aid in the repair and renovation of homes affected by Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu.
These programs are made possible through the CNMI CDBG-DR allocation of $244 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
NMHC developed the Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program to cover the eligible costs to rehabilitate or reconstruct storm-related damaged or storm-destroyed housing units in order to restore them to decent, safe, and sanitary conditions.
The Homebuyer Program is mainly to cover the eligible costs to construct a new home, acquire a home, or to acquire and renovate a home.
These two programs amount to $77.2 million: $36.1 million for the Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program and $41.1 million for the Homebuyer Program.
Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program
To avail oneself of the CDBG-DR Rehabilitation and Reconstruction financial assistance, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or qualified alien, and must be a CNMI resident for at least three years.
His or her gross annual household income must not exceed the 120% of median income threshold.
First priority will be given to elderly or disabled families with incomes between 0 and 30% of the area median income.
An elderly family is described as a family whose head of household, spouse, or sole member is 62 years old or older.
A disabled family is described as a family whose head of household, spouse, or sole member is a person with a disability.
Priority will then be given to non-elderly or disabled families, followed by extremely low to very low income families with incomes between 30.1 and 50% of the area median income.
Third priority will be given to families with incomes between 50.1 and 80% of the area income, while fourth priority will be given to families with incomes between 80.1 and 120% of the area median income.
To avail oneself of this assistance, the applicant’s dwelling must be his or her primary residence pre-Typhoon Mangkhut and/or pre-Super Typhoon Yutu.
The applicant must also occupy and continue to occupy said dwelling after the completion of rehabilitation or reconstruction work, and must own the property under an approved form of ownership, such as having a fee simple title to the property, maintaining a 40-year leasehold interest in the property, and not being located in a floodplain.
The after-rehabilitation value of the house cannot exceed 95% of the value limits for the CNMI for the single-family unit.
Homeowners provided with financial assistance will be subject to NMHC Affordability Period requirements.
The length of the affordability period will be based on the amount of financial assistance received and will range between five and twenty-five years.
A duplication of benefits analysis will be conducted to determine the net financial assistance to be provided to the applicants, to ensure compliance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Act.
Homebuyer Program
Similar to the CDBG-DR Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, the CDBG-DR Homebuyer Program requires applicants to be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or a qualified alien.
The applicant must qualify as a low-income household as per the HOME program.
Income eligibility is determined based on annual income.
Combined anticipated gross household income of adults 18 years old or older must not exceed 80% of the median income for the area.
However, household income of adults 18 years old or older exceeding that 80% but not greater than 120% may also be eligible for assistance.
The applicant must provide proof of ownership, such as fee simple title to the property and not located in a floodplain.
Ownership includes leases of 40 years or more provided that the applicant has at least a minimum of 30 years leasehold interest remaining on the property to be improved, or ownership of a condominium.
Homebuyers approved to receive financial assistance must occupy the property as their principal or primary residence immediately upon completion of all CDBG-DR Homebuyer funded activities.
An annual recertification for principal residency notice and form will be sent to homebuyers to complete, sign, and submit to NMHC in order to confirm and have on file that they are continually occupying the mortgaged property and housing.
The projected after-construction, after-rehabilitation, or property value at initial purchase of each homebuyer property to receive CDBG-DR funds must not exceed the most current 95% of the area median purchase or sales price for single family housing.
Applicants provided with financial assistance will also be subject to NMHC Affordability Period requirements, with the length of the period based on the amount of financial assistance received, ranging between five and 30 years.
A duplication of benefits analysis in compliance with the Stafford Act will also be conducted in this program to determine the net financial assistance provided to applicants.
The minimum loan amount allowable is between $1,000 and $250,000 through deferred or non-interest bearing loans.
NMHC corporate director Jesse Palacios on Tuesday said that loan payments usually begin a month after the home is completed.
“The lower the income, the lower you pay back,” he said.
“We’re really targeting the elderly and the disabled because we know that they are the ones who need most of the assistance.”
NMHC CDBG-DR planning and program support manager Kimo M. Rosario, for his part, said applicants must be residing in the CNMI for at least three years in order to avail themselves of these financial assistance programs.
NMHC has six years to exhaust these funds and encourages interested individuals to submit pre-qualifications.
Pre-qualification interviews will be conducted at the NMHC main office in Garapan, the NMHC Tinian field office on the NMC campus, and the Sinapalo Youth Center on Rota from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., not including holidays.
NMHC will review pre-qualification applications on the same day that they are submitted, Palacios said.
Those who are deemed qualified for financial assistance will be provided with applications for either one of the programs.
Persons with disabilities and non-English speaking residents will be accommodated upon request.
NMHC requests that persons who need reasonable accommodations inform them at least 72 hours prior to their visit.
For more information, visit http://www.cnmi-cdbgdr.com or call 233-9447/9448/9449/9450. Call the Rota field office at 532-9410 or the Tinian field office at 433-9213. You may also e-mail cnmi-cdbg-dr@nmhcgov.net
