Haywood County Affordable Housing Programs
In response to damage caused by Tropical Storm Fred, the U.S. Congress appropriated Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to North Carolina for long-term recovery activities in Haywood County. The primary focus of these allocated funds is to address housing recovery needs for low- and moderate-income households, with NCORR setting aside approximately $11 million for affordable housing programming.
Within the planned affordable housing programming, multiple initiatives will be funded, including an Affordable Housing Development Fund program and a Homeownership Assistance Program. NCORR will distribute CDBG-DR funds to beneficiaries through subrecipients administering the programs. In addition to overseeing and monitoring the selected subrecipients, NCORR will provide technical assistance and administrative guidance for each program.
Affordable Housing Development Fund
The Affordable Housing Development Fund - Haywood County seeks to create new affordable housing in a way that is responsive to the needs of communities recovering from disasters. For Tropical Storm Fred recovery efforts, Haywood County will offer funding for diverse affordable housing projects that may include single-family homeownership development; small-scale affordable rental housing and homeownership developments; scattered site/infill creation of rental or homeownership housing; and large-scale affordable multifamily rental new construction and/or rehabilitation/conversion.
For the implementation of this program, Haywood County has been identified as a local partner and subrecipient. Learn more about the partnership.
Through the Affordable Housing Development Fund, Haywood County invites qualified public, private and nonprofit organizations to apply for funding to support the new construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of rental or for-sale housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households. Qualified applicants may include property management organizations, developers, Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), Community-Based Development Organizations (CBDOs) and/or any other partnerships comprised of any of the above. Eligible activities for this program are included in the Program Manual.
Some $10 million in CDBG-DR funds has been allocated to the Affordable Housing Development Fund - Haywood County program. The maximum amount to be awarded to an individual project is $3.5 million.
Important dates for the program are listed below:
- Nov. 1, 2023 – Program Information Session
- Dec. 14, 2023 – Program Single-Family Homeownership Development Information Session
- Jan. 15, 2024 – Letter of Interest Period Opens
- March 1, 2024 at 5 p.m. – Deadline for Letters of Interest
- March 4, 2024 – Application Period Opens
- Mid-March 2024 – Technical Assistance Session
- May 1, 2024 at 5 p.m. – Deadline for Applications
- TBD – Award Announcement
Haywood County will begin accepting Letters of Interest (LOIs) from qualified public, private and nonprofit organizations to apply for the AHDF-Haywood County program on Jan. 15, 2024. The deadline to submit a LOI is March 1, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Formatting and Content Guidelines:
- Should be on agency letterhead and signed by authorized signor of the organization
- Should be attached and emailed to Patricia Cantrell with Subject Line “AHDF Haywood County LOI - <Name of Entity Applying>”
- Should include the following information:
- Name of entity applying
- UEI/TIN number of applicant entity
- Type of housing project (ex: single family homeownership development; multifamily rehab; multifamily new construction, etc.)
- Anticipated project location, if known
- Estimated total budget amount
- Estimated CDBG-DR amount to be requested
- Brief narrative description of project
LOIs, while mandatory to apply, are nonbinding. NCORR and Haywood County acknowledge that project details may change between LOI submission and application submission. LOIs and information submitted will be used to verify threshold eligibility only. Haywood County will verify receipt of all LOIs received via email. Verification of receipt does not constitute verification of eligibility. Haywood County may request additional clarification to determine threshold eligibility. Interested applicants will receive a determination of threshold eligibility to apply prior to March 4, 2024.
The application is the second part of a two-part application process for AHDF-Haywood County. To receive an invitation to apply, organizations must first submit a Letter of Interest by March 1, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Directions on how to apply will be emailed to invited organizations on March 4, 2024. The application and supporting documentation must be submitted to Haywood County no later than May 1, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Homeownership Assistance Program
The Homeownership Assistance Program - Haywood County provides funding to offset some of the costs of becoming a homeowner for first-time homebuyers or storm-displaced residents. The assistance will be available to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households to help with a home purchase, including down payment and closing cost assistance. Housing counseling service providers will assume a major role in assisting potential participants in this program. Recipients of the assistance must successfully complete program-provided and required homebuyer education and any additional required homeownership counseling, prior to receiving homeownership assistance.
In partnership with NCORR, Haywood County will administer the Homeownership Assistance Program, expected to launch in April 2024.
More information will be available no later that March 2024.