Matthew housing rehab funds coming to the county

ELIZABETHTOWN — More money for housing rehabilitation after Hurricane Matthew is headed toward Bladen County.

The Essential Single-Family Rehabilitation Program-Disaster Recovery is through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and has additional funds. Money has been returned to the program from other counties that did not use it all, therefore leaving funds that are now able to go toward properties in Bladen and Robeson counties.

“As of Nov. 18, the county has received $630,224 for the rehabilitation of 16 homes that received various degrees of damage from Hurricane Matthew,” housing consultant Adrian Lowery said.

Matthew struck the region in October of 2016.

Many applications were received, and of those some were withdrawn or canceled for various reasons. Some didn’t meet the basic requirements.

Lowery said there is $200,000 available for rehabilitation of five other properties, four of which have already been approved by housing finance agency

“As far as the disaster recovery program it is going to look like 21 units when it is all said and done, for about $830,000,” Lowery said.

The average spent on each home was just under $40,000.

He said there was a potential for more money to be returned, increasing the $200,000. Houses that were eligible came to the attention of the program through different means, and word of mouth was one he cited as being particularly helpful in this case.

Lowery came before the board to request for administration of a loan program on behalf of the county for 2021. That program, Essential Single-Family Rehabilitation Loan Program, is different from the disaster recovery program.

More information is available by contacting the county manager’s office.