EVERETT — The bathroom floor in Falina Williams’ south Everett home had deteriorated so badly that relatives stopped visiting. Every month, Williams washed her walls with bleach to combat a never-ending mold problem.
"Our house was falling apart, but we didn’t have the money to get a loan through anyone," Williams said.
Williams and her husband, John, contacted the city’s Community Housing Improvement Program, which put together a $45,000 low-interest loan package for them. Workers installed a new roof and made other changes that ended the chronic moisture problem.
"This house is basically like a new house," Falina Williams said. "CHIP is a wonderful program."
CHIP is geared toward low- and moderate-income homeowners who would not otherwise be able to repair their homes. The program is so popular that there is a nine-month waiting list. However, those who need emergency repairs can get help earlier.
Faulty electrical and plumbing systems, deteriorating roofs and foundations, and malfunctioning heating are among the most common problems, said Laurene Kitchen, who administers the program for Everett.
Snohomish County has a similar program.
If the city approves an application, a CHIP construction adviser inspects the home and decides which repairs are necessary. The Williamses learned the moisture problem came largely from a poorly sealed wall and a rotting, poorly ventilated roof.
Residents receive about $1 million in loans each year through the program. The average loan is for $30,000 to $35,000, but there is no loan ceiling. Since its inception in 1977, the Everett program has loaned $15 million for work on 1,100 homes.
"We’ve seen lives transformed by this program," Kitchen said. "There are people who were overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done and didn’t know where to start."
The program has a ripple effect, because when one home looks better, it makes an entire neighborhood more pleasant, said Dave Koenig, the city’s manager of long-range planning and community development.
Middle-income homeowners such as the Williamses must get part of their loan from a private bank, which charges below-market interest rates.
Four area banks — Cascade, Coastal Community, EverTrust and Frontier — participate and recently committed to about $1 million in loans over the next two years.
"This is not a real profitable part of our business, but as a financial institution we have an obligation to help out the communities we serve," said Mike Deller, president of EverTrust, which will lend $500,000 to homeowners in the next two years. "This is something we believe in."
The poorest clients receive loans directly from the program, which is funded with federal money and with repaid loans from previous CHIP recipients. The program loans the money with a 3 percent interest rate that accrues only for the first 10 years. Recipients can defer payments for as long as 25 years, or until they sell the home.
The 2003 maximum gross income per household for the low-income program is $23,350 a year for a family of four.
Moderate-income homeowners who can afford monthly payments receive a combination of direct 3 percent CHIP loans and low-interest bank loans. They do not have to start making payments on the CHIP loan for 15 years.
The 2003 maximum gross income per household for moderate-income homeowners is $56,500 for a family of four.
Owners of rental units also can receive loans for renovations, but they must put up at least some money toward the repairs. The rest of the money comes from CHIP, a private bank or a combination of the two. Owners of rental units can be of any income.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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