Manufactured home photo by Roger Starnes on unsplash.com

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) recently announced more than $126 million in funding to increase opportunities for homeownership, encourage neighborhood revitalization and sustainable development and maximize use of existing homes in 23 California counties.

The 38 awards from the CalHome program will fund projects to support homeownership programs aimed at low- and very low-income households. Funding was available to local government agencies, tribes and nonprofits.

More than $11.8 million is bound for projects in the Central Valley.

“Becoming a homeowner is one of the surest ways to gain housing security and build generational wealth,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “CalHome presents a tremendous opportunity to make homeownership possible for people who never thought it would be attainable, strengthening both families and communities.”

For owners of manufactured homes, the City of Clovis received $1.39 million for owner-occupied rehabilitations for 20 units and $415,600 for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance for eight units.

For rural area assistance, projects in Fresno County were awarded $4.78 million, $1.5 million in Tulare County and $3.7 million in  Kings County.

Self-Help enterprises received $1.06 million for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance in the counties of Kern (two units), Tulare (two units), Merced (two units) and Madera (six units). 

The City of Parlier received $2 million for owner-occupied rehabilitation and $1 million for eight accessory dwelling units. The City of Orange Cove received $600,000 for owner-occupied rehabilitation for four units. Habitat for Humanity Fresno, Inc. received $1.04 million for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance and $141,750 for self-help technical assistance, aiding a total of 14 units.

In Tulare County, the City of Dinuba received $750,000 for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance for six units and $750,000 for owner-occupied rehabilitation of five units.

In Kings County, the City of Avenal received $1.6 million for 10 accessory dwelling units and $1.6 million for owner-occupied rehabilitation for eight units. The City of Corcoran received $500,000 for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance for five units and $500,000 for owner-occupied rehabilitation to four units.

HCD announced the first-ever Homeownership Super Notice of Funding Availability (HOSN) in January. Total funding was about $170 million, including $135 million in funds for the CalHome Program and $35 million for the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program.

CalHome provides grants and loans for first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance programs, owner-occupied rehabilitation programs, homeownership development projects, self-help technical assistance projects, and accessory dwelling unit (ADU)/junior ADU programs. 

The 38 CalHome awards will fund projects assisting 1,300 households in the counties of Alameda, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Nevada, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Tulare, and Yuba.