Connecticut group trains renters and landlords to ‘bridge the divide’

Helping residents of its diverse community achieve homeownership is a core mission of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain (CT). In fact, the organization – which celebrated its 35^th anniversary this year – was chosen to participate in NeighborWorks America’s pilot program when it first started training housing counselors in 1982.

But homeownership isn’t feasible or the desired option for some people, and as Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reported this month, there is a growing shortage of affordable rental units. According to the report, the share of renters paying more than a third of their incomes for housing, traditionally considered the minimum threshold of affordability, rose to 50 percent in 2010. Much of the increase was among renters facing severe burdens (paying more than half of their incomes for housing) – a group now representing nearly 27 percent of tenants. 

That reality can be seen in central Connecticut as well. The area, which has a large population of Hispanic and Polish immigrants (giving the neighborhood around the organization’s office the nickname, “Little Poland”), has lost a lot of manufacturing operations over the years and now relies on service businesses for its livelihood. Unemployment is nearly 12 percent.  

The mission of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain is to help fill the gap in the supply of affordable housing – in part, through developing rental units, of which it now manages 25. The goal, says Executive Director Maureen Voghel, is to add 10 plus units annually for the next three years, along with two to four single-family homes. 

However, renting poses unique challenges – for both tenants and landlords. And while counseling is offered by many organizations for new homeowners, such training rarely is provided to people on both sides of the renting “equation.” NHS of New Britain is taking the lead by offering preparation classes for both existing and prospective renters and landlords.

“Sometimes, renters become landlords themselves,” observes Evelyn Branch, supervisor of Homeownership and Foreclosure programs for NHS. “It can make sense, once they are ready to purchase, to buy a multi-family unit – like a duplex – and rent out the extra space for some income. But becoming a landlord isn’t easy.”

Participants in the NHS-NB training class for landlords
hear from a police officer.

In the last year, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority began requiring landlords to receive education on their responsibilities, and with the closest alternative site a less-frequent program in Hartford, the NHS class attracts a regular attendance of about a dozen for each monthly, three-hour session.

The “Landlord 101” workshop, says Branch, covers everything from making the decision to purchase a rental unit and become a landlord, to how to screen tenants, maintain the property, manage their finances and – if necessary – evict residents in accordance with the appropriate protocols. Recently, the curriculum was supplemented to include the importance of green maintenance practices to keep costs low for everyone.

In October, NHS began offering a similar class, but for tenants. In the tenant class, participants discuss how to effectively communicate concerns to their landlords, ways they can bring down energy costs and their rights during eviction. In the future, NHS hopes to forge a partnership with other community-based organizations to provide legal services through pro bono attorneys to both tenants and landlords.

“It’s a two-way street,” explains Branch. “Both have rights, and both have responsibilities. But no one prepares them for that. Our goal is to help them build a good, professional relationship, based on open communication. ”

Toledo group generates goodwill – and funds – with ‘buy a shingle, save a home’ campaign

How do you raise money quickly for a pressing community need, while at the same time building public awareness and buy-in? (Isn’t that all nonprofits’ “holy grail”?) William Farnsel, executive director of NeighborWorks Toledo Region in Ohio, has developed a winning formula to do just that.

Farnsel’s organization, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year as a member of the NeighborWorks network, serves a majority African-American community with higher-than-average unemployment (8.9 percent). Many of the houses are in need of the organization’s weatherization-assistance program for low-income families, which it administers with funds from the federal government, Columbia Gas and Toledo Edison. (To date, NTR has installed more than $23.7 million in insulation and other materials for 15,000-plus customers in Toledo and the broader Lucas County.)

However, if a house has a leaky roof, weatherization isn’t going to do much good. One of the city’s anchor businesses, Owens Corning, donated the necessary shingles (along with a lifetime warranty for the resulting roofs), but a lot more money for time and materials needed to be raised, and quickly, in order for the weatherization program to continue before cold weather arrived.

“It’s a chronic problem we face,” Farnsel says. “Government funding comes with processes and forms that take time to sort out. Plus, it requires bringing the entire house up to code – an even more expensive, time-consuming endeavor. So, we decided to seek private funds.”

Farnsel didn’t want the typical meal or golf outing, however. He wanted his donors to feel a more visceral connection to the impact of their giving. That’s when he hit upon his theme: “Buy a shingle; save a home.” The goal: to raise enough money to finance the replacement of four roofs – one in each of four targeted neighborhoods. The CEO of the local hospital was recruited as chair of the planning committee, which helped attract representatives of local businesses, organizations and affluent families in the community to the fundraising dinner. Attendees were invited to “purchase” a shingle (or a bundle of them, or a box of nails, depending on the amount given) – with an onsite exhibit showing exactly what is needed to tear off an existing roof, complete structural repairs and install a new one.

The next challenge was how to choose which roofs to replace first, when there were so many low-income families who could benefit. Farnsel also wanted residents in the targeted communities to feel like they were active participants and partners in the campaign. His solution: a lottery. Tickets were sold to residents for $3 each at local churches, banks and other community locations. If your roof didn’t need replacement, or you knew someone else more in need, you could buy the ticket to “gift it” to someone else.

“One woman was so desperate for a new roof that she borrowed $100 from friends and family to buy as many lottery tickets as she could,” says Farnsel. “Her roof was so bad she literally had skylights, and she was forced to use kiddy pools to catch the water when it rained.”

Joanne Born (middle) weeps with joy when she learns
she has won the "lottery."

On the day of the drawing in that neighborhood – during NeighborWorks Week of 2013 -- a young couple was seen hanging out by the street corner where the winner would be announced. Farnsel later learned that the couple was the daughter and son-in-law of Joanne Born, who had bought all those lottery tickets. She was too nervous to watch the drawing in person, and sat instead in a car at the curb. And yes, she did win that drawing. Today, she is the relieved owner of a new roof – at the cost $12,000, which she could never have afforded on her own.

NTR raised $37,000 through this event, including $900 from resident-purchased raffle tickets. The second annual event already is scheduled, for May 3, 2014.

If you’re thinking of holding a similar fundraising/public-awareness campaign, Farnsel has a few tips to offer:

• Recruit supporters from the business community. In 2013, the CEO of the local hospital was enlisted as the fundraising chair, which generated both a good-sized contribution from that institution and those of his friends. In 2014, Farnsel plans to reach out to the local utility industry.

Joanne Born in front of her house, with
a new roof. (Habitat for Humanity is
set now to help refurbish her porch.)

• Don’t be discouraged when the unexpected occurs. Farnsel’s campaign was very creative, and would normally have been a great local media hook. But on the same day as the drawing, an 18-month-old girl was reported missing in the neighborhood. It was a tragedy, and understandably, the event got almost zero media coverage as a result. (Note from the writer: As a veteran PR professional, I can attest to that reality; if a bigger, competing news story occurs in the same timeframe as your event, you can pretty much forget any hope of attracting media coverage. That’s why it is so important to build in other ways to measure success. And Farnsel and his team did – both in terms of money raised and partners/residents engaged. In 2014, he is planning to incorporate “impact stories” from this year’s winners as well as a “tell-a-friend” campaign.)

• When developing goals and budgets, make sure you know the real costs. Don’t low-ball! The roofs that NHS ended up replacing were significantly more expensive than anticipated. Farnsel’s team had estimated $8,000 to $9,000, and Born’s, for instance, cost $12,000.

• Don’t under-estimate the effort and expertise needed. NTR hired a consultant to assist with messaging, outreach and event logistics, and Farnsel says it was one of his best decisions. “There are lots of day-to-day activities required to pull a campaign and event like this off, but at the same time, we still had our ‘real’ work to do. Consider hiring outside help,” he says.

• Don’t lose sight of your end goal. “You have to give something to get something,” Farnsel cautions. “Make community impact and goodwill the principal goal – not general fundraising for your organization.” About 82 cents of every dollar raised by NTR for the “Buy a Shingle, Save a Home” campaign went to the roof-replacement program. Over time, he says, events like these will help “nourish” the organization’s coffers, but that’s not the focus of the events. “The goodwill pays off over time,” Farnsel promises.

Written by Pam Bailey, communications writer for NeighborWorks America. She would love for you to post your own stories and comments!

Vermont quarry closing brings economy down; NeighborWorks affiliate rallies residents

It’s a story that’s been repeated across America: What builds a town up is also what, eventually, brings it down. In Detroit, it was the auto industry. In West Rutland, Vermont, it was marble quarrying.

When high-quality marble deposits were discovered in the 1830s – followed by the extension of the railroad into town – Rutland was suddenly put on the map. The simultaneous decline of the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, transformed it into one of the leading marble producers in the world. (The name of the main “drag”? “Marble Street,” of course.)

The double-whammy of a large strike in the 1930s and the Great Depression, however, took a toll from which the town never quite recovered. In 1986 the quarry was forced to close, plunging the outwardly idyllic enclave of “cows and jeans” into economic decline.

West Rutland today

“At its height, the quarry alone employed 2,400 people,” recalls Ludy Biddle, executive director of NeighborWorks of Western Vermont. “Now, there are only about 2,500 people living in the entire town and the county is the second-poorest in the state. For all social measures, it’s in the red – poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancies and, recently, foreclosures.”

Another recurring theme in America, however, is the recovery from adversity that’s possible when residents come together in response to crisis. The disastrous year of 1986 also is when the organization was founded by a group of local citizens to help the remaining residents stay in their homes by keeping them in good repair.  By the 1990s, the area serviced by NeighborWorks of Western Vermont had expanded from four neighborhoods to the entire county and a homeownership program was added to help both first-time buyers and a trickle of newcomers – primarily artists and families looking for a semi-rural lifestyle.

This year, the organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a chartered member of the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative, which strengthens communities with small populations by helping them integrate into their regional economies. It now serves three counties, not only with its original rehab assistance and homeownership counseling, but also with “financial fitness” coaching and foreclosure prevention. In 2012:

• Two foreclosed houses were purchased by the organization; rehab was begun on another five, with two completed and put on the market.
• 24 individuals graduated from the homebuyer education program and another 25 completed the organization’s financial-fitness training.
• Thirty-seven families successfully negotiated foreclosure alternatives with their mortgage lenders. Another 12 received coaching as they made the decision to opt for a reverse mortgage.
• Nearly $800,000 in loans was dispensed to pay for 40 home repairs.

Joan Jackson

Biddle is particularly proud of her organization's participation in the NeighborWorks Green Organization. In fact, in 2010, it was awarded a $4.5 million grant from the Department of Energy for its H.E.A.T. squad (Home Efficiency Assistance Team) – which now boasts the highest penetration rate in the country among similar programs.

Joan Jackson, a retired librarian who has lived in her Wallingford home since 1959, is just one example of the 577 households that received an “energy check-up” in 2012, thanks to the program. Her roof had been damaged by winter ice, the house was so cold she was constantly bundling up to stay warm and the increasing cost of fuel was a persistent worry due to her fixed income. But with the installation of insulation in her basement and upstairs walls, along with air sealing around her doors, ceiling and attic hatch, she is warmer and her fuel bills are 34 percent lower. (Watch a video interview with Biddle, as she explains just how the program works.)

“Twenty-five percent of the people we’ve been able to help with our H.E.A.T. squad are below 80 percent of the area’s median income – individuals who usually aren’t able to participate in programs like this, even though they need it the most,” says Biddle, adding that the organization is now looking for additional funds as the DOE grant sunsets. “The average household we serve spends 3-8 percent of their already-low income on energy. With H.E.A.T, they save an average of 386 gallons of fuel a year – about $1,500 a year. It’s central to our mission to make homeownership affordable.”

Partnerships Bring Energy Efficiency to Vermont

This blog post comes to us from Erica Bradley, NeighborWorks Rural Initiative VISTA

Blowing insulation in an attic is a great way to keep
energy costs down.

NeighborWorks Western Vermont (NWWVT) is in new territory with their focus on energy efficiency, thanks to a grant by the Department of Energy, and recently, a new partnership with Green Mountain Power.

“We have suddenly become a major player in the energy initiative in Vermont, “said NWWVT executive director Ludy Biddle. 

The new partnership between NWWVT and Green Mountain Power (GMP) comes two years after the Department of Energy granted $4.2 million to NWWVT as part of the Better Buildings program. According to the Department of Energy website, the program targets efficiency improvements such as lighting, better insulation and more efficient heating and cooling. Another program area is educating customers about energy efficiency and how to finance upgrades.

Under the grant, NWWVT’s Home Efficiency Assistance Team (HEAT) Squad schedules audits of homes with a certified contractor who issues recommendations and a cost estimate. An energy advisor from the HEAT Squad can then go over the recommendations with the client, including financing options. Biddle said 1,000 homes have to be done over a three- year period in Rutland County, and so far they have completed over 500. Biddle said they are on track to meet the 1,000 home requirement by 2013.

The HEAT Squad’s work laid the foundation for the partnership to form with Green Mountain Power. “We’ve been helping the utilities not directly, but by providing outreach, customer service, loan products and all of the things a NeighborWorks housing organization does for its clients, we’ve been doing to enhance the participation in the efficiency programs,” Biddle said.

GMP, Biddle said, has an interest in providing good customer service, especially in Southern Vermont. The company was formerly a small energy company with a service area in the northern part of the state, but in August, 2012 bought Central Vermont Public Service and now serves southern Vermont as well.

From L to R: Ludy Biddle, executive director of NWWVT;
Jim Merriam, director of Efficiency Vermont;
Jonathan Dancing, BPI contractor/auditor;
United States Congressman Peter Welch (VT-D),
and Mary Powel, CEO of Green Mountain Power.

“There was concern in our part of the state that high paying jobs and the corporate presence would leave the county and go north, and once again Burlington would get all the good things and we would be left with very little,” she said.

The concerns were unfounded, Biddle said, and GMP made several promises, including investing in Rutland, making it the solar capital of the state, and designing the Energy Innovation Center. “I genuinely see action behind the promises they made,” Biddle said.

One of the promises, the innovation center, is now taking shape. GMP invited NWWVT and Efficiency Vermont in as partners, and the three organizations will share office space in the center. For now, the center is located in the Opera House in downtown Rutland. GMP is renovating the Eastman's Building and has plans to move the innovation center there after renovations are complete. The Eastman’s Building, Biddle said, has long been a sore spot in Rutland.

Biddle said the renovations to the Eastman’s Building represent another investment in Rutland. She expects they will be moved in by fall, 2013. She expects to locate at least two members of the HEAT Squad there.

New Appraisers’ Tool Helps Homeowners Get Credit for Green Features



By Michelle A. Winters,
Senior Manager, Green Strategies
NeighborWorks America

Homeowners who have invested in energy saving upgrades can now have greater confidence that their property will be appraised at a fairer market value.

The nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers released a form recently that is intended to help appraisers identify and describe a home’s green features, from solar panels to energy-saving appliances. The Appraisal Institute says the Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum is the first of its kind. It will help the industry standardize the way residential energy-efficient features are analyzed and reported.

The form was issued as an optional addendum to Fannie Mae Form 1004, the appraisal industry’s most widely used form for mortgage lending purposes. Used by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, Form 1004 is completed by appraisers to uphold safe and sound lending. Currently, the value of a home’s green features is rarely part of the equation.

The Appraisal Institute encourages use of the form not just by appraisers, but also by lenders, homebuilders, real estate agents and the homeowners themselves. Lenders can request that the form is included with Form 1004 or provide it to homeowners to fill out and give to appraisers. Real estate agents can use the data to help populate the multiple listing service (MLS). Key stakeholders in the homebuying process can all take advantage of this new tool.

NeighborWorks America has done work with the Appraisal Institute in the past. In 2010, NeighborWorks partnered with the Appraisal Institute, the US Green Building Council and others to help the National Association of Realtors® develop a Green MLS Toolkit. The tool kit was created to help Realtors® add green fields to their local multiple listing service, so that it is easier to market and identify green homes for homebuyers and sellers.

The Appraisal Institute’s latest tool can be downloaded here.