Families enjoy NSP-rehabbed homes in Cicero
The Town of Cicero is working diligently to meet federal deadlines to fully commit $2 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds by September 2010. To date, $954,892 dollars have been committed—46% of their NSP allocation. Cicero has focused its efforts on homeownership assistance, residential new construction and residential rehab.
Down Payment Assistance Program and Residential Rehab
Cicero’s NSP Down Payment Assistance Program provides pre-qualified buyers who identify and purchase foreclosed homes in Cicero’s Target Area with a down payment assistance loan of 20% of the purchase price of a home, up to $35,000. The loan is interest-free and structured so that if borrowers stay in the home for ten years or more, the loan is fully forgiven. Buyers can also receive a rehabilitation loan of up to $25,000 and a grant of up to $30,000 to abate lead-based paint hazards.
To date, six families have moved into homes with the benefit of the Down Payment Assistance Program. For example, Alberto Fret and his family moved into their NSP rehabbed property in August of 2009—just in time for an expanding family, as the Frets welcomed a new daughter the day before closing on their property.
Other rehabs include the new home of Cynthia Young, who leveraged an FHA 203K loan with Cicero’s rehabilitation assistance and is enjoying “the home of her dreams.”
Others that have successfully gone through the Town's NSP Down Payment Assistance Program and are now new homeowners include Erika Lopez, Sonia Garcia, the Tovar family, and Emmanual Abarca. Isidro Ruiz and the Medina family will soon be added to the list as they await the rehabilitation of their properties.
In addition to these success stories, two other families will benefit from Cicero’s Down Payment Assistance Program, pending their home closings: Eduardo Muñoz and Jacqueline Torres.
To date, eleven Down Payment Assistance offers have been accepted, and families have already moved into six of those homes. Four of these families have incomes at or below 50% of area median income and all borrowers have affordable monthly mortgage payments that, when combined with other debts, are 41% or less of their monthly income.
New Construction
Cicero’s plan for new construction involves the identification and purchase of three blighted properties in order to demolish the properties and build four newly constructed homes in their place. Designs for the new properties are currently being approved, and all demolition and construction is anticipated to be completed by August 2010. The homes will be offered to NSP pre-approved applicants. To ensure the monthly payment is affordable for new homeowners, the homes will be sold at an affordable price that ensures that the total debt-to-income ratio is no more than 41% and will involve a down payment assistance subsidy of 20% of purchase price, secured by a lien.
NSP1 Makes a Difference
Tom Tomschin, NSP Program Manager, and Ruperto Deloera, NSP Loan Officer, are positive about the contribution NSP1 has made to Cicero families and communities and appreciative of the work of Omar Maani and S. Sam Joh of Presidio Capital, LLC for the construction management, engineering, and architectural designs of the properties. With clearly identified work plans, strict work schedules, creative solutions to problems, and budget control, Presidio Capital, LLC has supported the town’s efforts to meet statutory deadlines and maintain the goal of the program—“decent and affordable homeownership.”
For more information on NSP in the Town of Cicero, please click here.