The City of East Moline is new accepting applications for its Single-Family Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program (SFOOR). The program is designed to help homeowners get their homes up to minimum housing quality standards.
Rock Island’s Economic Growth Corporation (GROWTH) received a grant from the Illinois Attorney General totaling $3,500,000. GROWTH collaborated with six cities in the Quad City Area, plus Arc of the Quad Cities, and Project NOW. East Moline received $180,000 from that grant. City officials are using that money toward a better quality of life for some citizens.
“They have to be a low to moderate income family, so it’s to help families that might not necessarily have the resources available to do these repairs that are needed on their homes….Basically, they apply, we’ll send inspectors out. The inspectors will tell us yes, this roof needs replaced or yes those windows need done,” East Moline Finance Director Megan Petersen said.
In a press release, Mayor John Thodos said, “We are excited to partner with Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation to offer this program to our community.”
To apply for SFOOR assistance, you must apply by Friday, February 12 at 4:30. You can either log on to East Moline’s website to apply, or you can pick up a paper application from East Moline City Hall, 915 16th Avenue. The applicants will then be screened for eligibility, and entered into a drawing.
The lottery drawing will select four qualifying applicants at random, and each homeowner could get up to $30,000 toward home renovations including siding, windows, air conditioning, heating, etc.
More families could get part of the grant money if the first four homeowners selected don’t use all of the money.
The qualifications for the SFOOR program are:
- The home must be located in East Moline
- The home must be a single family owner-occupied residence
- The homeowner must have owned the home for a minimum of one year at the time of the application
- All property taxes must be current now and have been current prior to the end of the previous year
- The home cannot be purchased on contract
- The homeowner’s insurance must be current now and have had no lapses for the prior year
- All existing mortgages must be current in payments
- The home cannot have received prior rehab assistance from GROWTH or Project NOW’s HOME, State Housing Trust Fund, or Single-Family Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation programs
- This program is designed to bring the home up to general housing quality standards including health, safety, and code violations as determined by GROWTH’s rehab specialist
- The maximum allowable improvement amount is $30,000 as determined by GROWTH’s rehab specialist. Properties requiring in excess of that amount are deemed ineligible to participate
- The property owner(s) must have no outstanding judgments which would create a lien on the property
- A credit report will be requested prior to the home inspection
- Household income must be 80% or lower than:
- 1 person: $37,250
- 2 persons: $42,600
- 3 persons: $47,900
- 4 persons: $53,200
- 5 persons: $57,500
- 6 persons: $61,750
- 7 persons: $66,000
- 8 persons: $70,250
The lottery drawing will be held on February 17 at 4:30 in East Moline City Hall.
“It will help the residents improve their houses. Quality of life, for those residents should improve a little bit just by having better windows, the house can stay warmer. Siding, roofs so there’s not leaks in their house,” Petersen said.
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