June is Homeownership Month

Here are a few handy tips and tricks for landlords to help your renter’s IERA application process:

• You may start an application for a renter household at indianahousingnow.org; all you need is their email address.
• A direct link may be posted on rental portals or included on rental invoices provided to tenants.
• Our renter information page, assistance examples, and FAQ is available by clicking HERE. You may share them in hard copy or electronically.
• If a tenant was denied for assistance and their circumstances have changed, they should re-apply immediately.

• Make sure that tenants know the correct name and contact information of their landlord in our vendor system to put in their application
  • This will ensure that you will see their application in your portal quickly
  • Vendors are pre-loaded into the platform as a drop-down menu
  • Tenants can select the correct choice and you will receive an email when their application is submitted
• Make sure that tenants have a current copy of their lease including all recent addendums
  • This will ensure that IERA staff have all the correct information about their address, current rental amount, and when and how to reach the landlord if necessary

• Don’t try to determine a tenant’s eligibility
  • Let IERA staff determine AND deliver the news – good or bad.
  • Encourage tenants to apply and let us do the heavy lifting
• Don’t assume that a tenant will come to you if they need help
  • Reach out, send a text, email or call them: “The office is aware that your household is behind on rent. Here is the name of your landlord and a copy of your lease to assist you in applying for the Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program at IndianaHousingNow.org. You can apply at your convenience.”

  • The Site Visit

    

    Last week’s Site Visit took us to Southwood Villas (pictures below) located in Tipton. The Southwood Villas concept was proposed by residents and the Tipton’s Housing Committee in response to a need identified for more affordable senior housing. The development utilized a vacant parcel of land in an existing residential subdivision south of Tipton’s downtown area. The local nonprofit developer HAND(a certified community housing development organization) was approved to develop five single-story two-bedroom, one-bathroom units at approximately 900 square feet. All of the units are compliant with ADA design standard guidelines and include adaptable and universal design features. 

    Congratulations to HAND for developing another high-quality affordable housing development in the communities they serve!

    

    School might be out for summer but affordable housing never takes a vacation. This week’s Site Visit (pictures below) is another example of a local nonprofit who is a certified community housing development organization that took on the challenge of preserving their community’s historic school building while creating 24 affordable housing units and community space. The school sat vacant for almost a decade and was quickly deteriorating before being acquired and preserved into affordable housing. These photos show the school in its current state, after rehabilitation: 

    These photos show the vacant building prior to development:

    

    The only clue I will give you to the location of this week’s Site Visit is that Margaret Hamilton was born here. Margaret is one of America’s most renowned computer scientists. She is credited with coining the term “software engineering” and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. 

    If you can identify the name of this week’s Site Visit, the location, any personal story, memory, or significant contribution it is making to its community, please free to email me at jsipe@ihcda.in.gov.