- In the Southwest Tallahassee neighborhood, at least one person has gotten the keys to their new home.
- According to the University of Florida's Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, more than 10,000 of our low-income neighbors in Leon County are paying more than 40 percent of their income for rent and utilities classifying them as cost-burdened.
- Watch the video to see how much money the county has gotten to help the situation.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In Southwest Tallahassee, at least one person has gotten the keys to their new home.
"Leon County received funding through the state which allows us to meet our goal," Shington Lamy, Assistant Leon County Administrator said. "Our goal of building and preserving affordable housing for low-income families here in our community."
That money is from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership or SHIP for short.
Over the last few years, Leon County received about $340,000 per year of SHIP dollars that go to the county's Home Ownership Development Program.
"That really limited our ability to really increase the stock of affordable housing here in our community," Lamy said.
But last year an increase by the legislature raised their allocation to $1.1 million.
And it's making a difference in home buying according to one realtor.
"One thing that I continue to love about our community is from local governments or state government, they're open-minded, innovative, and creative when it comes to creating affordable housing programs," Wallisa Cobb, the of Broker Cobb Realty & Investment Company, LLC said. "And this this sale was a testament to that because Miss Green received $90,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance from two different funding sources."
According to the University of Florida's Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, more than 10,000 of our low-income neighbors in Leon County are paying more than 40% of their income for rent and utilities classifying them as cost-burdened.
"Even though inflation has been an issue with our program, we're able to work with those developers to keep the cost of these homes low. So that way that low-income families can access," Lamy said.
It hires local talent to build homes like this one.
"There has been big changes, especially an increase in pricing."
John David Thomas, the Chief Cornerstone General Contractor said. "Getting your labor has been a huge task lately. But so far, as far as construction, it's been very busy."
Thousands of dollars spent, dozens of local neighbors employed, and one happy first-time homeowner.
For more information on who qualifies and what you need to apply for assistance, you can click this link.
