$3.28 Million Approved for Affordable Housing on Long Island

NEW YORK, NY (06/15/2007)(readMedia)-- The board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) approved a total of $3.28 million in affordable housing grants for Long Island yesterday.

The funds will finance the construction and renovation of 125 units of affordable housing through the projects listed below:

The Long Island Housing Partnership’s Employer Assisted Housing Program was approved for a $1.5 million grant to subsidize the purchase price and rehabilitation of 75 homes in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The program assists households that earn above income limits for traditional low-income homeownership programs but still cannot afford to buy homes near where they work. Participating employers will contribute a minimum of $3,000 toward mortgage reduction for each home purchased by their employees who participate in the program.

The subsidized sales prices on the homes are expected to range from $121,000 up to $428,000, depending on household incomes. The average homebuyer will be expected to make a down payment of 3% and may finance the remaining 97% with a conventional mortgage or with a special low interest rate mortgage from AHC’s sister agency, the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). Additional assistance is being provided by participating employers, Nassau County, Suffolk County and NYS HELP Long Island funds from the Long Island Housing Partnership.

The Long Island Housing Partnership was also approved for a $465,000 AHC grant to help finance 14 new two- and three-bedroom condominium units located in its Courtyards at Southampton project, a new 50-unit subdivision in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County.

Eligible homebuyers must not exceed maximum income limits. They will be expected to pay 5% of the subsidized sales prices, which will range from $142,945 up to $316,525 depending on unit size and household income. The remaining 95% of the purchase price can be financed with a conventional mortgage or with a special low interest rate mortgage from SONYMA. Additional assistance is being provided by Suffolk County.

Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk was approved for a $425,000 AHC grant to help finance 17 new single-family homes located throughout Suffolk County. The average subsidized sales price for these homes will be $65,000 and they will be targeted to eligible homebuyers earning between $28,000 and $44,000 per year. Eligible homebuyers will not be required to make a down payment, but instead must contribute 300 hours of labor on the construction of the home. Mortgage financing will be provided by Habitat for Humanity. Additional assistance is being provided by Suffolk County and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The Community Development Corporation of Long Island was approved for a $390,000 AHC grant for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 12 single-family homes located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The funds will subsidize purchase price, down payment and rehabilitation assistance for qualified first-time homebuyers.

Eligible homebuyers will purchase homes in need of rehabilitation on the open market and will pay subsidized purchase prices expected to range from $325,000 to $400,000, depending on the buyers’ household incomes. Homebuyers will be expected to make a down payment of 7% and may finance the remaining 93% with a conventional mortgage or with a special low interest rate mortgage from SONYMA. Additional assistance is being provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The Nassau County Department of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs was approved for a $500,000 AHC grant to help finance seven new two-family condominium units in the Village of New Cassel, in Nassau County. Each condominium unit will contain a three-bedroom owner’s unit and a two-bedroom rental unit.

Eligible homebuyers will be expected to make a 10% down payment on the subsidized sales prices of the homes which will range from $294,500 to $581,992, depending on household income. The remaining 90% of the home purchase price may be financed with a conventional mortgage or with a special low interest rate mortgage from SONYMA. The Long Island Housing Partnership is providing technical assistance and other assistance is being provided by Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County.

For more information about all of SONYMA’s programs in both English and Spanish, call 1-800-382-HOME (4663), or visit the Agency’s website at www.nyhomes.org.

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HFA was created as a public benefit corporation in 1960, to finance low-income housing by raising funds through the issuance of housing revenue bonds and the making of mortgage loans to eligible borrowers.

AHC is a subsidiary of HFA and was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households, by providing financial assistance as approved annually by the New York State Legislature, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and improvement of owner occupied housing.

SONYMA is a public-benefit corporation of the State of New York created in 1970. The Agency’s mission is to create affordable homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers and other qualifying homebuyers. In addition, SONYMA’s homeownership programs help stabilize and rebuild federally designated economically depressed Target Areas throughout New York State by enhancing opportunities for homeownership.

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Posted Friday June 15, 2007 at 05:25 pm by New York State Housing Finance Agency