Robbins housing repairs welcomed

Bertha Carter remembers winters when her home was so cold she had to wear a sweater to watch television. Summers brought the rain through her leaky roof, and winters gave her the chills.

Carter, 80, had been among more than 100 Robbins residents waiting to get their homes rehabbed through grants. Her home was the first to receive about $20,000 in repairs through the Southeast Cook County Redevelopment Rehab Program.

The money comes from the Single Family Rehabilitation Program, which doles out more than $3 million a year to rehab homes in suburban Chicago. Funding originates with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered through the Cook County Department of Planning and Development, which uses regional agencies to deal with contractors on the repairs.

Carter, who has lived in her Robbins home since 1950, said she had been waiting for home repairs for about 10 years.

The house, where she and her late husband raised nine children, had fallen into disrepair and, living alone and in failing health, she couldn't do the improvements herself.

Many homes in Robbins cost between $30,000 and $40,000, said Bernie Lucas, executive director of the Southeast Community Economic Development Association (CEDA), the organization that doled out the funding in Robbins.

"We wanted to improve our residents' quality of living and make sure their homes are in code compliance, so it's not a safety hazard," Lucas said.

The average home improvement costs about $20,000, Lucas said. The amount of work done, however, cannot exceed the value of the house.

Carter's home had to be almost completely remodeled to bring it into compliance. The furnace that sat in the hallway was moved to a new room that was created because there was nowhere else for it to go, said Diane Miller, Carter's daughter.

The hot water heater, also in the new room, was replaced. The downstairs bathroom was gutted. A window was added, along with a new toilet, flooring, lighting and cabinets.

The roof was also replaced.

Bertha Carter said she went to Southeast CEDA hoping to have the roof replaced, but when the contractors arrived they found myriad other things that needed to be addressed.

All of the windows in the house were replaced because they were drafty. The foundation was made even.

To qualify for the program, homeowners must show financial need, have no liens on their homes and be willing to take out a second mortgage equal to the amount of the repairs done. The loan, which is interest-free, does not need to be paid back unless the homeowner moves.

The Single Family Rehabilitation Program has been around since 1975 but is new to Robbins. The village received a $200,000 grant for the project in the fiscal year that runs to the end of September. The program is looking to receive $240,000 next year and to expand the service to Chicago Heights, which does not have the rehabilitation program.

"Our goal is a minimum of five houses in Robbins and five homes in Chicago Heights," Lucas said. "Clearly that will not be sufficient."

An agency can request additional funding, "but we didn't want to have money set aside and it not be expended," said Charles Echols, district grant manager for the Cook County Department of Planning and Development.

The Single Family Rehabilitation Program serves 52 municipalities in suburban Cook County and rehabs about 120 households annually.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.