GRANT PROPOSAL
WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation
Rehabilitation of low-income housing
2008
INTRODUCTION
Started in 1996, WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation is a California non-profit corporation established under section 501©3 of the Internal Revenue Code. (Taxpayer ID # 68-0373757). After years of work in the Sacramento area, WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation recently became aware of the community of South Oroville in Butte County. This is a particularly distressed area of Oroville and WHY NOT? plans on devoting its attention to this community.
The need for safe, decent, affordable housing in this area is great. There are vacant lots, distressed travel trailers, dilapidated old homes and streets without curbs and gutters. However, there are also signs of change. On many lots, new homes have been built replacing distressed single-wide mobile homes. On others, several old homes have been rehabilitated. The City of Oroville has improved streets in some areas and the area is scheduled for annexation to the City.
MISSION
The mission of WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation is to 1) revitalize declining neighborhoods through rehabilitation of distressed and blighted properties, 2) re-employ substandard houses where illicit activities occur and unsafe conditions exist and thereby expand, improve and preserve the supply of safe, decent, affordable housing for low-income families, 3) increase the opportunity for home ownership for low and moderate-income persons and families, and 4) rekindle community pride and eliminate conditions which cause neighborhoods to decline.
GOAL
In 2005, our goal was to build two new homes and rehabilitate six distressed houses in the greater Sacramento area. We met this goal by completing the houses described on our 2005 Completed Project List. Last year, our goal was to acquire 25 substandard houses and vacant lots in the South Oroville community for rehabilitation and new construction. In addition, we will complete construction on two new homes at 218 Nimitz and 635 Santiago Street in Sacramento County and complete planning, design and permit approvals for a six duplex new construction project at 801 Carmelita Ave. Our goals are concrete and measurable. They are aggressive, yet reasonable and attainable. Ours is now a proven program that can be achieved and will make a difference in the neighborhoods of need in the Sacramento and Oroville areas.
GRANT REQUEST
WHY NOT? is seeking grant support in the amount of $50,000 for a single house project to as much as $1,000,000 as loans secured by properties to be used for refinancing for properties, costs of rehabilitation and further property acquisitions, Each grant is acknowledged with a sign on the property and in news releases regarding our effort.
PROBLEM AND NEED
Like food and clothing, shelter is one of our most basic needs. It is our belief that without safe, decent, affordable housing little can happen in the way of permanent improvement to the plight of low-income families. WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation is dedicated to creating strong, safe, communities through the rehabilitation of substandard housing. In doing so, we eliminate dangerous, unsafe, problem properties where conditions associated with crime, drugs and other illicit activities may exist, and create decent, affordable housing for low-income families.
BACKGROUND
WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation was established in February of 1996 as a 501©3 non-profit California corporation. Most of 1996 was devoted to establishing the corporation and completing start-up work. Starting with two houses in 1997, our goal has increased each year until we accomplished our goal of completing two new homes and the rehabilitation of six houses last year. WHY NOT? holds both a Real Estate Broker’s license and a General Building Contractor’s license with a Home Improvement Certification and a (C-21) Building Moving and Demolition specialty license. We are members of the Enterprise Foundation Network and the Mercy Housing Foundation Building Healthier Communities Network. We are members of the Oroville Association of Realtors, the Oroville Rotary Club and the Oroville Chamber of Commerce.
PROGRAM
Through contact with owners of distressed properties, we acquire the worst of the worst properties where the effect of rehabilitation will make the largest impact on the community. These properties frequently have code violations and are dangerous housing, many of which are boarded and vacant. Through volunteer effort and donations of properties, materials and grants, we keep the costs as low as possible so that a quality product can be produced at an affordable price. We create decent, safe, affordable housing and, as a consequence, produce safe, healthy neighborhoods and eliminate blight.
As a non-profit organization, our interest is in creating a lasting product rather than short-term profits from cosmetic repairs. WHY NOT? replaces each component on the home that does not have an adequate remaining useful life including roofing, siding, plumbing and electrical systems and fixtures, drywall, and flooring. We frequently replace old wood single pane windows with new dual pane vinyl windows and install central heat and air conditioning. All work is completed in accordance with building permit requirements and inspections.
BUDGET
This year we acquired 30 properties in the community of South Oroville. Based on our experience with these properties it is anticipated that further acquisitions will cost in the range of 150,000. Assuming a 10% down payment, our budget for acquisitions will be approximately $450,000. The cost of rehabilitation work is approximately $15,000 per house. In addition, we expect that each property will have a negative cash flow for approximately two years until such time as work has been completed and units are reoccupied. We expect this to amount to approximately $7,200 per house.
HOUSE REHABILITATION PROJECT
Typical Budget
Two-bd. one-ba. single family residence of approximately 800 SF on a 44 X 100 lot.
Acquisition $125,000
Down payment 25,000
New loan $100,000
Rehabilitation expenses
Exterior paint 2,000
Roof 2,500
Interior paint 1,000
Carpets 1,500
Electrical 1,500
Plumbing 2,000
HVAC 1,000
Structural 2,500
Water heater 1,000
Windows 1,500
Misc. 2,000
Total 18,500
Monthly operating statement
Operating income 700
Operating expenses
Property taxes -0-
Insurance 70
Utilities 150
Maintenance 14% 100
Management 50
Net operating income 360
Mortgage payment 750
Operating income -420
Total annual operating loss 5,040
Reserves 1,500
Total investment 50,000
PROJECT LIST
Properties completed in 2007
Property Description Size
2330 A St 2-1 900
2345 A St. 3-1 720
2260 B St 2-1 888
3245 Burlington 2-1 duplex 1040
2375 B St. 3-1 952
2237 D St. 3-1 900
2241 D St. 2-1 800
2251 D St 2-1 600
2954 Elgin St 3-1 855
4015 Faunce 2-1 1218
4021 Faunce 2 -1 739
4025 Faunce 2-1 700
2788 Florence 2-2 1132
1730 Ft. Wayne 2-1 720
1825 Ft Wayne 2-1 720
2273 Ft. Wayne 2-1 678
2481 Ft. Wayne 2-1 732
2930 Fort Wayne 3-1 768
2350 Greenville 2-1 756
2637 Greenville 2-1 936
2923 Greenville 2-1 780
2935 Greenville 3-1 960
1935 Idora 3-2 1,034
3281 Myers St 2-1 1064
2054 B St. 3-1 850
2699 Oro Bangor 3-1 1448
2701 Oro Bangor 1-1 600
3775 Roseben 2-1 720
730 Safford 2-1 4-plex 2,640
2555 Wyandotte 2-1 953
2555A Wyandotte 1-1 600
2559 Wyandotte 2-1 800
REFERENCES
Tom Bollinger, County Manager, Fidelity National Title Co.
Linda Budge, Former Mayor and City Council Member for the City of Rancho Cordova
Karen Cooper, President, Fusion Architects and Planners
Fred Costillo, Mortgage Loan Broker, Allstate Funding
Todd Dierdorff, Vice President, Exchange Bank
Curt Haven, Director of Economic Development for the City of Rancho Cordova
Ross MacCarty, Mortgage loan broker, Past President Rancho Cordova Rotary Club
John Nahra, Real Estate Broker, California Pacific Properties
Mike Samson, President, Samson and Associates, mortgage lender
Sarah Seyyedin, Branch Manager, American River Bank
Laura Silva, General Manager, Ponderosa Property Management
Andre Simic’, Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern California
Joy Steinkraus, Branch Manager Fidelity National Title and Escrow Company
Gayla Wilder, Manager, Bidwell Title and Escrow Company
CONTACT
Eric J. Almquist, President
WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation
6987 Bunker Hill Mine Rd.
Yankee Hill CA 95965
Tel/ fax 530-532-6406
OR:
9513 Flintridge Way
Orangevale, CA 95662
Tel. 916-988-5285
Fax 916-988-3211
E-mail ericalmquist@comcast.net
SUCCESS STORIES
Frank and Sarah’s home for over twenty years was falling in around them. With Frank recently being laid off and in ill health, repairs were both physically and financially impossible. Their landlord was 3,000 miles away and unconcerned about repairs. WHY NOT? Community Housing Corporation learned about Frank and Sarah, and their plight, and became involved. In their case, WHY NOT? was able to contact the owner and purchase the house using a loan program that would also finance repairs. WHY NOT? rehabilitated the house without displacing the tenants, and gave them free rent in return for their help with the repairs. Today, Frank and Sarah still live in their home of 20 years. The only difference is that now the house is clean, safe and habitable.
Dennis was recently paroled from prison. While he had some construction skills, jobs were not easy to find. Dennis joined the employment-training program with WHY NOT? He worked hard, which helped to keep the houses rehabilitated by WHY NOT? affordable, and he learned new building skills in the process. With the good reference that WHY NOT? provided Dennis, he soon found new work in the building trades that has precluded his return to prison.
William came to the training program with little else than a desire never to go back to prison. He worked hard, learned to show up on time and ready to work and he learned quickly. He worked on the house at 3207 San Jose Way from the start. When the house was completed, he asked if he could rent and maybe buy the house he had helped to build.
Lucretia lived in her house for over twenty years. As she grew older and was unable to maintain the house any longer she moved to a retirement facility and rented the house. The tenants proceeded to destroy the property and not pay rent. Not knowing what to do, she donated the property to WHY NOT? to dispose of the problem. We evicted the tenant, made repairs to the property and now have a decent house with a good tenant. And Lucretia has a lot less to worry about.
CONTRIBUTORS
The Estate of Bertha Seat Single family residence
Wells Fargo Foundation $30,000
California Bank and Trust $5,000
Washington Mutual Foundation $3,500
ARCO Foundation $2,500
U S Bank $5,000
California Federal Bank $2,500
Union Bank $5,000
World Savings and Loan $4,000
Sacramento Regional Foundation $5,633
Farmer’s Insurance $250
BA Properties Reduced property cost
Department of Corrections Volunteer labor
Eric Grays $12,000
Viola Almquist $5,000
Stephen Cole Two single-family residences
Lucretia Blanco Single-family residence
Barry Notolli Four single-family lots
Fidelity National Title Company Title and escrow services
HUD Computer and office equipment
BFI Waste disposal service
Gee-Fong Contractor Resource $7,465 construction equipment
Booker Massey Single-family residence
Institute for Auditory Learning Commercial property
Vance Knoll Triplex and two condos
Mike Samson Single-family residence and
Condo, Franklin Villa
Habitat for Humanity Building materials, fixtures
John Nahra Real estate and financing
COMPLETED PROJECTS 2002 – 2006
810-838 Carmelita Way. Eight single cottage houses.
71 Danville Way. New three bedroom-two bath single family residence.
81 Danville Way. New three bedroom-two bath single family residence.
1440 Rene Avenue. Totally new rehabilitation of a distressed one-bedroom house into a new two-bedroom home. Completed and resold to low-income owner-occupant.
1144 Los Robles. Completed remodeling into a three-bedroom two-bath home. Occupied by low-income tenant.
3425 Montrose St. Completely remodeled vacant and boarded distressed house. Completed and sold to low-income owner-occupant.
3836 Dayton St. Completely rehabilitated and sold to low-income owner-occupant.
4432 Santa Monica. Completely rehabilitated and sold to low-income owner-occupant.
6940 Richman. Completely rehabilitated and sold to low-income owner-occupant.
2601 Encinal. Completely rehabilitated and sold to low-income owner-occupant.
6149 North Haven Drive. Rehabilitation of low-income rental housing including new roof, and complete interior repairs.
2344 Oakmont. Vacant and boarded fire damaged duplex and house remodeled
in conjunction with the Calvary Christian Center using labor from the Church’s Overcomer’s Drug Rehabilitation Program for construction skills training.
4224 Weymouth, 7487 and 7500 La Sandia. Three condominium units sold to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency as part of their rehabilitation program for the Franklin Villa area.
