Rockdale County’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program is about to open up its first rehabilitated homes to potential buyers.
At an open house ceremony in the Crescent Circle subdivision on Wednesday, attended by officials from APD Solutions, the department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Ga. Department of Community Affairs, Board of Commissioners Chairman Richard Oden described checks and balances in the program to highlight its aim of becoming a self sustaining program.
Mary Presley, director of the HUD Atlanta Office of Community Planning and Development, added, "We want to make sure we don’t add to the previous problem. We want to be a solution to the problem."
So far, the county has purchased 14 homes under the NSP program and is looking at eight more, according to Tanesha Lanier, Rockdale’s NSP administrator. The properties are administered through four asset management companies — ANDP, Jewel of the South, Affordable Housing and APD Solutions. The homes displayed at the Wednesday open house were managed by APD Solutions and all located n the Crescent Circle subdivision.
Lanier said there were 16 approved buyers on the list of applicants as of Wednesday. About one fourth of the homes must be sold to low income families, while the rest will go to middle and upper middle income families.
About $2.7 million in NSP1 funds, part of the federal stimulus money, was granted to Rockdale in March, with an additional $12,000 recently reallocated from other Georgia applicants that decided not to participate in the program. Out of that, about $1 million in NSP funds remains uncommitted, said Lanier.
Nationally, about 29 percent of the NSP funds have been committed. Funds not committed by September 2010 may be reallocated, said Presley.
Out of the ADP Solutions homes, the amount budgeted for repairs ranged from $9,800 to $25,750 per home.
Five homes purchased and rehabilitated by APD Solutions will be on display on Saturday, Feb. 13, from noon to 3 p.m. in a "Rockdale Neighborhood Showcase."
Applicants must "submit earnest money and an executed contract as well as complete the home counseling and NSP certification process." according to the county Web site. Those who meet the requirements are eligible for up to $14,500 in down payment assistance.
For more information, go to www.rockdalecounty.org or call (770) 278-7551. Applications can be found at the information desk at the Rockdale County Administration and Services Building, 958 Milstead Avenue Conyers, Ga. 30012.
