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More affordable housing becoming available locally

The Housing Source program helps to give area houses a face lift.

Ken Grisez, Generation Construction, left, looks over blueprints with Badger Plumbing owner Dean South at The Housing Source work site on 6626 Harshmanville Rd. in Huber Heights. Montgomery County families searching for affording housing have a new option if they're looking to buy. The Housing Source, formerly CountyCorp, has been working on rejuvenation of 83 housing units, including 51 single-family homes.

Jim Witmer Ken Grisez, Generation Construction, left, looks over blueprints with Badger Plumbing owner Dean South at The Housing Source work site on 6626 Harshmanville Rd. in Huber Heights. Montgomery County families searching for affording housing have a new option if they're looking to buy. The Housing Source, formerly CountyCorp, has been working on rejuvenation of 83 housing units, including 51 single-family homes.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Kevin Moseman, left, and Larry Clouser of Badger Plumbing work on replacing the sewage system at The Housing Source work site on 6626 Harshmanville Rd. in Huber Heights. housing units, including 51 single-family homes.

Jim Witmer Kevin Moseman, left, and Larry Clouser of Badger Plumbing work on replacing the sewage system at The Housing Source work site on 6626 Harshmanville Rd. in Huber Heights. housing units, including 51 single-family homes.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Joanne Huist Smith, Staff Writer Updated 9:16 AM Thursday, January 26, 2012

Fully renovated and affordable homes for middle-income families are hitting Montgomery County’s housing market.

In 2009, The Housing Source, a program of CountyCorp, started buying abandoned or foreclosed properties, mostly single-family homes. The goal is to demolish some, but rehab most using $9 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding.

Thus far, 16 homes have been rehabbed and sold. One is under contract. Another 22 are for sale, including 19 in Huber Heights and three in Trotwood. Fourteen more are in the renovation pipeline and will be on the market by year end.

“They’re doing wonderful things with those homes and raising the value of others in the neighborhood,” Huber Heights City Manager Gary Adams said. “I wish they could do 50 more.”

All of The Housing Source Signature Homes currently available range in price from $90,000 to $125,000.

“Our home sales are averaging about one a month,” said Steve Naas, president of CountyCorp.

The slab homes are brick and were built between 1958 and 1965. All range between 1,000 to 1,700 square feet, most have garages, three to four bedrooms and two full baths. The rehab focuses on energy efficiency and includes low-maintenance systems and fixtures. Each home gets a new roof, windows, kitchen and bathrooms, along with EnergyStar appliances.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to build homes that are affordable long-term. That includes utilities,” Adam Blake, CountyCorp’s housing development manager said.

Ten of the Huber Heights homes will be showcased in the 2012 Eco-Rehabarama, a project by The Housing Source in partnership with the Home Builders Association of Dayton. The event takes place May 11 to 13 and May 18 to 20. Each of the homes, located in south Huber Heights, between Ohio 201 and 202, will have a green-related theme.

The neighborhoods selected for the NSP program were some of hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis in Montgomery County. The Housing Source often targeted the most blighted house on a block for the program.

To qualify for a NSP home, the buyer must meet income qualifications, take eight hours of home-ownership classes and qualify for a loan. Families may earn up to 120 percent of the area’s median income to qualify. For example, a family of four earning $74,900 a year may be eligible to participate in the program, which also includes down payment assistance.

Ben Kendrick of Huber Heights was one of the first to purchase a Signature Home and says he was immediately impressed by he quality of the renovation. Neighbors told him the three-bedroom house had been an eyesore, vacant and rundown.

“The quality of the work is exceptional,” he said. “They look like high-end homes.”

For more information about The Housing Source Signature Homes, contact Blake at (937) 531-7048 or email him at ablake@countycorp.com. Listings of available homes can be found online at thehousingsource.org.

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