Neighborhood Revitalization Program

Please click here for the Neighborhood Revitalization Program Preliminary Application for Homeownership.

Overview

WHA administers NRP through a partnership with the City of Washington. 

At the core of this partnership is the desire to provide families with the opportunity to begin to build generational wealth by revitalizing the historical sections of the city. 

Applicants to NRP must be current residents in the City of Washington, residents of Beaufort County, or residents of Low-Income Public Housing (LIPH) properties owned and managed by the Washington Housing Authority (WHA), participating in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program through WHA, or currently residing in Clifton Meadows, a USDA property owned and managed by the Washington Housing Nonprofit Inc. (WHNI)

Click here to view photos of the NRP project.

Neighborhood Revitalization Program

Background

WHA administers the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) through a partnership with the City of Washington. The NRP provides moderate to low-income families the opportunity to purchase affordable housing.

The NRP goals include:

1. To rehabilitate and build new housing within the City of Washington and make them available for sale; and
2. To promote homeownership to citizens who may otherwise not have an opportunity to own a home of their own.
3. To provide families with the opportunity to begin to build generational wealth while revitalizing the historical sections of the City.

Applicants must be a resident of Beaufort County.

Eligibility Requirements

1. Participants in NRP must be identified as moderate to low-income families. The income chart is the guide to determine whether a family qualifies to participate. Income guidelines will be updated annually. Income exceptions made for: City of Washington and other government agency employees, police officers, teachers, firemen, public housing, and HCV participants. Their max income is 80% - 120% of the area median income (AMI)
   

   Household Income Limitations for Beaufort County, NC citizens seeking eligibility for down payment assistance only.

   *Effective 2023

   Family Size - Maximum Income
   1 - $39,700
   2 - $45,350
   3 - $51,000
   4 - $56,650
   5 - $61,200
   6 - $67,750
   7 - $70,250
   8 - $74,800
   
   *The income limits may change annually.

2. Applicants must be employed a minimum of 2 years with the same employer or verification of employment in the same field if the applicant has changed employers in the last 2 years.
3. Applicants residing in WHA or WHNI properties must be in "good standing" with the Washington Housing Authority. "Good standing" is defined as no outstanding rent, fees, etc. ss owed to the housing authority. Additionally, there should not be any lease violations in the last twelve (12) months. The good standing requirement does not apply to applicants that DO NOT reside in communities owned/managed by WHA or WHNI.
4. Applicants residing in WHA or WHNI properties and enrolled in the Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) program are encouraged to participate.
5. Applicants residing in WHA or WHNI properties must complete the homeownership workshop. Applicants that do not reside in WHA or WHNI properties are strongly encouraged to participate in the program. Applicants who are not residents of WHA or WHNI can schedule an appointment with a member of the WHA staff for more information about participating in the homeownership workshop.
   
   

Application Process

Persons interested in the program may obtain applications in person at the central office of the Washington Housing Authority at 809 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, NC 27889. Applications may be submitted online.

Upon submission of a completed application, the applicant will be contacted with an appointment within fifteen (30) days from the Washington Housing Authority.

Loan Qualification

All applicants must be approved for a mortgage loan to participate in NRP. NRP recommends the following lenders; however, applicants may choose to use any lender that they have determined meets their needs.

1. https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-programs Well-built, affordable housing is essential to the vitality of communities in rural America. Housing programs give families and individuals the opportunity to buy, build, repair, or own safe, affordable homes located in rural America. Eligibility for these loans, guarantees, and grants are based on income and varies according to the average median income for each area.
2. www.nchfa.com/home-buyers At the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, we provide home buyers with safe, stable mortgages and down payment help that make homeownership affordable. Our NC Home Advantage Mortgage offers down payment assistance up to 5% of the loan amount that can help first-time and move-up buyers get into a new home.
3. www.naca.com/purchase/ The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is a non-profit, community advocacy and homeownership organization. NACA's primary goal is to build strong, healthy neighborhoods in urban and rural areas nationwide through affordable homeownership. NACA has made the dream of homeownership a reality for thousands of working people by counseling them honestly and effectively, enabling even those with poor credit to purchase a home or modify their predatory loan with far better terms than those provided even in the prime market.

Housing Choice Vouchers Participants

Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (formally known as Section 8) may continue to use their vouchers to subsidize their mortgages if they remain eligible for the HCV program after purchasing their homes. WHA will send their portion of the mortgage payment directly to the family. The family is responsible for sending the total mortgage payment to the lender.

The family must meet all the requirements listed below before the commencement of homeownership assistance.

1. The family must have been admitted to the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
2. The family must meet the Federal minimum wage requirement. The family must have a gross annual income equal to the Federal minimum wage multiplied by 2000, based on adult family members who will own the home.
3. For disabled families, the minimum income requirement is equal to the current SSI payment for an individual living alone, multiplied by 12.
4. For elderly or disabled families, welfare assistance payments for adult family members who will own the home will be included in determining whether the family meets the minimum income requirement. It will not be included for the other families.
5. The family must satisfy the employment requirements by demonstrating one or more adult members of the family who will own the home at commencement of homeownership assistance is currently employed on a full-time basis (the term full-time employment means no less than an average of 30 hours per week); and has been continuously so employed during the year before commencement of homeownership assistance for the family.
6. The employment requirement does not apply to elderly and disabled families. In addition, if a family other than an elderly or disabled family includes a person with disabilities, WHA must grant an exemption for the employment requirement if WHA determines that it is needed as a reasonable accommodation.

Families must meet the following guidelines to be determined eligible to participate in the homeownership option:

• The family has had no family-caused HQS violations within the past year.
• The family is not within the initial one-year period of the HAP contract.
• The family does not owe money to WHA or any PHA.
• The family has not committed any serious or repeated violations of the WHA-assisted lease within the past year.
• The family agrees to cooperate and comply with the terms and conditions of the homeownership contract.
• The family follows the family obligations and has not had any infractions within the past year.