Rutland West Neighborhood Housing Services Inc

Programs: The housing rehabilitation program: the rehab program consists of construction managers that oversee a rehab project for low income homeowners that are receiving a loan from nwwvt. As the loan process proceeds, construction managers are completing a scope of work and getting bids for the project. Once the loan is approved, the management continues with oversight and an escrow payment. The project concludes when all rehab work is complete to the satisfaction of the homeowner. There are approximately 50 health and safety rehab projects completed each year. The better building/heat squad program, as part of the housing rehabilitation program, was developed to improve the efficiency of homes in rutland county. The goal was to have homeowners save significant money on heating costs-an average of 375 gallons of heating fuel saved annually. Since the inception of the program, housing stock in rutland county has improved, local jobs have been created, and significantly less carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. The program now extends to most of the state.

real estate activities: currently, neighborworks of western vermont (nwwvt) participates in a partnership with the city of rutland, vermont to revitalize a section of the city known as the northwest neighborhood. Through the vermont community development program (vcdp), rutland received a housing & urban development (hud) block grant to demolish four (4) lots of blighted structures and rehabilitate seven (7) other houses which are vacant. Nwwvt purchases the property, completes the environmental due diligence, creates a plan for modernizing the house into a single family residence, generates the scope of work, manages the entire construction revitalization process from beginning to end, and then markets and sells the homes to qualified buyers. The homes are sold with grant subsidies which are shared equity covenants which place the home into perpetual affordability. When a home is resold, 75% of the increase in equity returns to nwwvt to be applied as a subsidy to the next buyer. Nwwvt has completed all four of the demolition projects, and of the seven rehabilitation projects, nwwvt has completed three and is currently working on the fourth and fifth. There are two other real estate development projects ongoing. Nwwvt is in the process of downsizing the four-site development property in the town of tinmouth into a two-site subdivision; the second building site is under contract for construction of a new home. There are two scattered- site houses owned by nwwvt, one in the town of poultney and one in west rutland. Both houses will require significant rehabilitation work. Rehab work on the house in poultney is 95% complete while the one in west rutland is still in the planning stage. Both houses shall be sold by nwwvt realty. Lending program: nwwvt is designated as a full cycle lender by neighborworks america. We have a full time licensed lender on staff with a full time processor and servicer. Loan types include home purchase, refinance, down payment assistance energy rehab and health and safety rehab. On average, 125 loans are processed each year. Energy program: the h. E. A. T. Squad energy program can be described as a concierge of services to assist homeowners through the energy efficiency upgrade process. Services include scheduling an audit with a certified bpi contractor, reviewing the report and proposed scope of work with an unbiased eye, answering any questions about the report, finding alternative bids if necessary and offering a low cost, unsecured loan to complete the work. Escrow management comes automatically with a nwwvt loan.

homeownership program: the homeownership program consists of both education and counseling for sustainable homeownership. Counseling is offered one- on-one or by phone for pre-purchase homeownership. Financial counseling and limited foreclosure counseling education is offered online. Foreclosure education, homebuyer education and financial capability education is offered in person for homebuyer education. There are approximately 150 participants each year attending homeownership and financial literacy education classes and approximately 450 that take advantage of some counseling services offered.