Pasco partners with nonprofit groups, using grants for homes

Pasco County has found it difficult to spend the $19.5 million in federal grant money for buying foreclosed homes, but that hasn't stopped the county from applying for another $29 million.

County officials were stunned last year to learn Pasco had qualified for the fifth-largest grant in Florida from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The funding is based on the number of foreclosures, vacancies and subprime loans in a given county. The number of foreclosures in Pasco is climbing faster than the county's community development office can spend the federal funds.

"We've spent $1.5 million so far - which is about $1.5 million more than anyone else in Florida," Community Development Director George Romagnoli said. "We have 10 nonprofits who are buying property."

The county recently submitted a joint application with Pinellas County for a combined $50 million for the second round of funding. "Every census tract in the county, except for three, qualified for the funding," Romagnoli said. "In Pinellas, it was closer to 50 percent."

But spending the money has proved to be a challenge. Last October county commissioners restructured the spending plan to shift more money toward home buyer assistance - up from the $4 million recommended by staff.

The proposal originally presented to commissioners would have spent $16.3 million on buying and rehabbing homes foreclosed properties to make them sellable.

Commissioner Michael Cox led the charge to restructure the plan with an emphasis on down payment help. A certified financial planner, Cox estimated the $16 million originally planned for buying homes could be turned into $436 million in home sales if shifted toward down payments.

But Romagnoli said the county's efforts to direct the money for home buyer assistance has been futile, primarily because banks still aren't approving loans to the same "at-risk" borrowers who would qualify for the county's assistance. Buyers could qualify for anywhere from $20,000 to half the purchase price of the home, based on their income level. But so far only three home buyers have received loans from the $6.5 million pool.

The county has until March 2013 to spend the money, and Cox said wants to give the program time to work. "It's my intention that we'll use all the money," he said.

Commissioners agreed to reevaluate the program after 10 months, and Romagnoli said the issue will be on the board's agenda in August. He wants to reallocate a portion of the money for buying foreclosed properties. The county and its nonprofit partners have bought about 35 foreclosed homes so far.

"We're aggressively looking for properties," said Harold Sample, executive director for Workforce Housing Ventures. "I've got nine [sales] pending - as you can see, the ball's rolling."

The county also plans to buy as many as 120 units at Sunset Bay Club, a retiree community in New Port Richey. The complex offered seniors the same type of living arrangements popular among college students - apartments where each tenant has a private bedroom and bathroom but shares his living room, kitchen and dining area.

The community was introduced in 2002 as an innovative approach to affordable housing for seniors.
But most of the towers have been vacant for years, and several banks have foreclosed on the property.

The county wants to lease the towers to nonprofit agencies to provide housing for their clients with special needs, such as victims of domestic violence, aged-out foster children and physically disabled.

"It was a horrible idea for the Pasco senior market, but it works perfectly for nonprofits," Romagnoli said.

Finding available foreclosed homes in east and central Pasco also has proved challenging in the first round of neighborhood stabilization funding because the cities of Zephyrhills and Dade City and much of Wesley Chapel were excluded.

East Pasco Habitat for Humanity is currently renovating a house on the outskirts of Dade City and has an offer on another house north of the city, executive director John Finnerty said.

"The lines were drawn using census tract data," Finnerty said. "We tried to buy a house but it was one block outside of the census tract, so it didn't qualify."

That won't be the case when the second round of funding becomes available, since almost the entire county is included in the grant application. The funding, however, isn't guaranteed. The next round of grants will be announced in September.

"It's a competitive grant this time around," Romagnoli said. "Hopefully, we'll get something."