Lee County’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program Focuses on Energy Efficiency, Home Lists Available
Lee County’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) supports communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment by purchasing, redeveloping and reselling such homes to permanent residents at an affordable price.
Since NSP’s inception in 2008, Lee County has been proactive in not only helping people to move into their dream homes-but to stay in them. One way is to incorporate energy efficiency into its rehabilitation program to lower utility usage and expense for new homeowners.
The NSP Program operates solely on federal funding provided by The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program, recently praised as “solid” by HUD, uses no Lee County general funds.
Director of Human Services Ann Arnall said, “Lee County’s rehabilitation standards are designed to stabilize neighborhoods, ensure long-term affordability and sustainability for income-qualified homebuyers, and provide as maintenance-free of a product as possible.”
HUD initially encouraged and now mandates that communities adopt energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly green elements as part of NSP program design. Lee County was ahead of the curve, having been in full compliance with these regulations since the program began.
According to HUD’s Green Housing Development Guide, “Green building helps stabilize communities by providing housing that offers lower utility bills, reduces maintenance, and creates healthier living environments. These increase the likelihood that tenants and homeowners will remain in their homes for the long term.”
Among Lee County’s strategies:
Homes up to three stories gutted for rehabilitation must meet the standard for Energy Star Qualified New Homes.
Homes being partially rehabilitated must replace older, obsolete products and appliances such as windows, doors, lighting, hot water heaters, furnaces, boilers, air conditioning units, refrigerators, clothes washers and dishwashers with Energy Star-46 labeled products.
Water efficient toilets, showers and faucets, such as those with the WaterSense label, must be installed.
Where relevant, the housing should be improved to mitigate the impact of disasters (e.g., earthquake, hurricane, flooding, fires).
Since surpassing its original goal to purchase 115 foreclosed homes, rehab them by putting local contractors to work, then sell the move-in ready homes to income-eligible buyers, Lee County has continued to move the NSP Program forward, purchasing a total of 160 properties to date. Of those, 105 have been fully rehabbed, with 101 sold or under contract to NSP buyers.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program will not be successful if homeowners cannot afford to maintain the homes that they purchase. So each house is carefully inspected by County staff to determine the repairs and, when necessary, replacements needed.
For instance, staff reviews the air conditioning units at each house to determine if the SEER rating is at least a 13. A unit with SEER less than 13 is obsolete and must be replaced to comply with current building standards and ensure energy efficiency and affordability. The obsolete A/C units cannot be used in other construction projects because they do not meet current building codes.
Another example of testing can be found with wells and water equipment. Previous testing at unoccupied homes proved unreliable for determining the viability of the systems after occupancy. Because that has led to the required replacement of well equipment within a few weeks of families moving in, Lee County’s protocol is to replace such equipment prior to new homeowners taking occupancy.
To view the listings of available homes, or to find out how to apply to become a NSP buyer, go to: www.nsp.leegov.com