Help is on the way for manufactured home owners in need in the Catskills of New York State.
According to The Daily Mail, the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation received $400,000 to replace a dozen dilapidated manufactured or mobile homes, from the Mobile Manufactured Home Replacement Pilot Program.
The nonprofit organization was one of five in the state to receive the award last week.
Older homes replaced by the organization will be replaced with new, energy efficient, manufactured or modular homes.
“This is the first time the state has made funding available to help replace manufactured homes,” said Lawrence Krajeski, Executive Director of the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation
“We have already received three inquiries about the program.”
Krajeski says that the state originally decided to create a separate fund for manufactured homes last year.
“Prior to that we applied to the state for federal home funds and received grants from the Affordable Housing Corporation. Last year, with $700,000 we were able to replace eight homes.”
State Senator Elizabeth “Betty” Little, R-Plattsburgh, made a big push for the funding to be included in last year’s state budget.
“Not only will this program help address the problem of unsafe and inadequate mobile and manufactured homes, it will provide a boost with some new local building activity,” said Little.
“The end result will be higher quality homes that last longer and are much more energy efficient.”
To qualify, applicants have to be from Greene County and own their home as well as the property on which it sits. The home must be considered in poor condition, and the household income must fall below 50 percent of the area median income.
“We knew there are many more applicants than we had space in the program, but we are hoping next year’s budget will include additional funding,” said Dan MacEntee, a spokesman for Senator Little.
To apply for the program, manufactured homeowners can call the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation at 518-943-6700.
The Daily Business News recently covered NYS Homes and Community Renewal and their announcement of a $2 million pilot program to address the needs with numerous pre-HUD Code mobile homes as well as older manufactured homes in disrepair to preserve an important source of affordable housing in New York. That story is linked here. ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
