Affordability of homes has long been a challenge in Orange County, and the local government is renewing one resources meant to help long-time home owners manage changes in property value. The Orange County Longtime Homeowners Assistance Program is once again looking to help people stay put, and organizers Corey Root and Erica Cormack joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to spread the word.
This is an edited transcript of their discussion of what the program offers and how residents can apply. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the full interview here.
Aaron Keck: Corey, Erica, thank you both so much for being with us today.
Corey Root: Thanks, happy to be here.
Keck: So, tell us about the Homeowner Assistance program in general. What is the overview?
Root: Yeah. So this is a program that is designed to help people retain their housing. It is for folks that have been in their housing that is located within Orange County for more than five years and that are below certain income thresholds. For a family of four, that would be under $76,400, or for a single person under $53,500.
Keck: How is that calculated? What is that number?
Root: It is this metric called the area median income, and it is a certain percentage of that. So for this program, it’s at 80% of the area median income. We are just really wanting folks to know that there could be help with the Orange County portion of their property tax if folks are below those income levels and have been in their home for more than five years.
Keck: What do you see as being the need in Orange County? How many people are struggling with this specific thing?
Root: It’s large. We did some calculations that were pretty detailed for the county commissioners when we were looking at the kind of total liability for the program. There are hundreds of thousands of folks that would qualify potentially. There is quite a lot.
Keck: We are talking about hundreds of thousands of folks not within Orange County, but like in the state as a whole.
Root: Right, but in Orange County, there are many, many folks.
Keck: We always talk about recruitment and retention when it comes to teachers and professors in K-12 schools and colleges. I think about it in terms of residents as well. There are people who want to move to the area and we have to find housing for them. There are also people who live in the area and whose families have lived in the area that go back generations and want to stay in their homes, who want to stay in the area. Those folks are struggling too.
Erica Cormack: We have definitely seen a rise in property taxes. Our concern is we really want to make sure that people are able to age in place. There are a lot of studies that show that affects people’s public health outcomes. We really want to make sure that people are able to stay in their communities. This is one of the ways that we are trying to help to ensure that.
Keck: For people who are beneficiaries of the program, what do they get? What is the benefit, exactly?
Root: It would be a reduction in the amount of tax that they owe to Orange County. Of course, property tax bills can include lots of different things depending on where you live, but there is a portion that is just for Orange County. It would be that portion that would be potentially reduced for folks.
Keck: How many people can benefit, and how many people currently benefit?
Root: Last year was the first year of the program, and the county commissioners dedicated $250,000 of the American rescue plan for that. We ended up only getting a very few number of applications and only spent a fraction of that amount, so they increased the amount again for this year. We looked at the eligibility to try to expand the number of folks who would be eligible for the program. Last year folks had to be in their home for 10 years. This year, it was reduced to five years. In effect, it actually doubles. When we looked at the number of folks potentially eligible, it doubles the population of folks who could apply.
Keck: You mentioned ARPA relief funds. This is a COVID-era measure. Is it something that is going to continue in perpetuity?
Root: That’s a great question. I think the commissioners from my understanding are really looking to see what happens this year and if folks are applying. We have already received double the applications we received last year and applications are open through December 1st. We started taking applications on August 1st, and already we have more than double what we received last year. We are thrilled about that.
Keck: The application process for this is open through December 1st. If people want to apply, where do they go? What do they do?
Cormack: We have applications that people can pick up in person at various locations. One is our office, which is located in Hillsborough. The other one is through the Jackson Center. We are also distributing them through several churches in Orange County as well. There is an online application, and the application actually has been translated into four different languages so it is accessible as well.
Root: If folks need help with the application, they can call the housing helpline. Folks on the housing helpline will direct them. That is (919)-245-2655. The housing helpline staff can either help them complete the online version or get them to a paper version. We are really trying to make it as accessible and low barrier as we possibly can.
Keck: Is that also where people can go to find out if they are eligible in the first place?
Root: Yeah. The housing helpline again, that number is (919)-245-2655.
Keck: What, in your opinion, can we do as a community to address the root cause of the problem and make housing more affordable and accessible in general?
Root: Oh gosh, there are so many things. I think that there are a number of programs that we are currently running that help folks, including the emergency housing assistance program that primarily provides rent and utility assistance. Looking back at how to keep folks in their housing is such a key factor. We also have these rehab and repair programs within Orange County. We also coordinate with all of the groups doing this work to ensure that nobody is falling through the cracks with that kind of thing. We are trying to get the exact right assistance to folks. There is help available for folks that are at lower income levels to help with rehab and repair.
Cormack: There are lots of resources out there just as Corey said. There is no specific algorithm. There are lots of things that are happening in the affordable housing world. For folks who are interested in this type of stuff, you can look at the North Carolina Housing Coalition website. There are loads of resources out there for folks who are interested in how they can make an impact on the affordable housing world.
Keck: Anything else the folks need to know about the Homeowner Assistance program?
Root: The applications are due December 1st, so we want to make sure that folks are really clear on that. Folks that have been in their homes for five years or more in Orange County at certain income levels are eligible.
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