Homeowner Assistance

Awhile back I reported to the City Council my concern towards the community costs of mounting foreclosures within our City. Foreclosed homes become a burden on the remaining community and drain resources of several City agencies. As a result the Council asked West Valley City senior staff to draft a letter and statement to the various governing agencies explaining the housing situation that we are experiencing. The assembled letter was sent to various agencies with regulatory oversight. In a related response The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a loan program to assist families faced with foreclosure. While I am generally against 'bailout' type programs this attempt is well structured, as it offers another financing option to the already tight and suffering credit markets. The funds must be paid back in a relatively short amount of time, so they are only meant as a temporary assistance to those who qualify. ABC4 covered the announcement and the text of that report follows:


WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) - Struggling homeowners in Utah now have access to $16.5 million dollars in federal emergency loan funds that will help thousands of people who are facing foreclosure.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will announce the billion dollar Emergency Homeowner Loan on Wednesday in Washington D.C. but they announced the money will come here to Utah a day early.

The money will help people like Doug Delquardo, one of thousands of Utah homeowners who couldn’t keep up on his payments. "I feel really empty, jeez what matters now, where do I go,” Delquardo said.

After months of non payment foreclosure finally forced Delquadro out of his home. “I don't know where I am going, my credit is shot."

But on Tuesday the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a program that could have helped Delquadro and can help thousands of other Utah families in need. "These are people who are, that are on the edge and this is going to be a great resource for these families,” said H.U.D Regional Director Rick Garcia. Garcia announced the billion dollar emergency loan program at the Utah Housing Matters Conference in West Valley City.

Garcia said those who qualify can get up to $50,000 in emergency loans to pay their mortgages. "How quickly, because we have home owners in such urgent need right now,” said Utah Housing Coalition Director Kim Datwyler. Datwyler works with Utah families struggling to keep a step ahead of bank repossession and thinks the help can not come soon enough. She said the $16; 5-million in federal loans will help turn the tide of growing foreclosures in Utah, and prevent more situations like the exodus at the Delquadro home.” For most of them it is job loss or a partial loss of income and we do need to help them because it impacts the entire community,” Datwyler said.

To qualify for the loans the borrower must be at least 3 months behind in their payments and have suffered at least a 15 percent reduction in income but must have a reasonable likelihood of resuming their mortgage payments within the next two years.

Housing Crisis

As we individually and collectively battle against the economic recession I have become more and more aware of the impacts and hardships placed upon members of our West Valley City community. The housing market continues to a focal point of economic woes and as a City Council we have seen applications for new housing projects almost entirely off of the map. The City has little regulatory control to influence the housing market, but as a City we recognize the importance of having healthy neighborhoods and the impact that that has on numerous other areas of City life and services. I reported some neighborhood trends during one study meeting and the rest of the City Council supported me in asking the executive staff to draft and send a letter to individuals and entities that do have regulatory influence or legislative means to affect the housing foreclosure crisis and subsequent fall out. As every community is experiencing things differently it is also important to provide West Valley City's perspective. The following is the body of that letter that sent:


As you no doubt have been painfully aware over the past many months, stability of the housing markets has continued to be an issue. As part of our efforts to continue the struggle to maintain and strengthen our neighborhoods, we thought a reminder of our ongoing efforts and the importance of the support of our friends at the federal level would be appropriate.

Foreclosures and the negative impact they have on rates of home ownership and strength of communities and neighborhoods continue to be an issue for us. While we have been blessed in the case that our foreclosure numbers are relatively widespread and not concentrated in neighborhoods, they do indeed exist, and properties in foreclosure or close to foreclosure number in the thousands in our city.

There are a number of ways that we have combated the effect of this on our city. We have a very strong police, neighborhood support and legal presence that have done everything we could do to encourage and support quality of life in our neighborhoods. Another component of that effort has been our use and cooperation with federal programs including Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnership, housing assistance programs, etc.

Your continued support of these and other federal programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program is appreciated. Although we don’t directly participate in programs such as this, the important and positive effect on our community is important nonetheless.

Thanks again for your great support of us in the past, and we implore you to continue and strengthen that support as it is possible.

Information on New Apartments

This past week I was able to meet with the staff and take an in depth tour of the new Kelly Benson Apartments which is located a block away from the Bangerter Highway at 3100 South. There has been many questions about this over the past couple of years and it was good to see the facility and talk with the staff about the role that the apartment complex will play in the community. My questions were answered during the tour and I was pleased to see the contributions made by the local neighborhood in donations and labor to get the apartments ready for move in. Currently 22 of the 59 apartments are occupied and the remaining should be leased by July. The following are some information points about the new apartments:

PURPOSE: The Kelly Benson Apartments will help bridge the gap in affordable housing for seniors with disabling conditions in Salt Lake County by providing housing, rental subsidies, and services to help ensure successful tenancy. In addition to being a cost effective alternative to care centers, placing these individuals in permanent supportive housing will prolong and improve their quality of life.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 59 units of housing located at 3120 South 3600 West, serving as many as 70 individuals. The project will provide permanent supportive housing for seniors age 55 and older with disabling conditions including those who have been homeless or chronically homeless. This is a nonsmoking building, but covered areas for smoking outside will be provided.
STAFFING: The Kelly Benson Apartments will initially be staffed 24/7. Property management and case management services are located on-site.
SUPPORTIVE SERVICES: Our goal is to help tenants achieve stability by providing wrap-around services. Supportive services will be provided by Housing Authority staff as well as partnership agreements with local social service providers. On-site case management will help tenants access resources that will allow them to age in place.
TENANCY: The Kelly Benson Apartments will be made available to tenants who meet program requirements such as income, passing criminal background checks, and paying rent and complying with basic tenancy requirements.
OBTAINING A VOUCHER: Kelly Benson Apartments has 40 Project Based Section 8 vouchers. It may potentially have 8 Project Based Shelter Plus Care vouchers, and has 11 two bedroom units without a rental subsidy. Individuals must be placed on the Kelly Benson waiting list at the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake to obtain any voucher.
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES: Many activities and services will be available on-site at Kelly Benson Apartments. Kelly Benson will continually offer new activities, providing social outlets and learning opportunities for the residents.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, please contact the Kelly Benson Service Coordinator, Jenny White at 801-270-1321 or JennyWhite@hacsl.org.