{"id":15731,"date":"2023-07-21T15:50:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T15:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/?p=15731"},"modified":"2023-08-02T16:54:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T16:54:19","slug":"santa-fe-realtors-promote-diverse-housing-options-in-housing-strapped-region-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/homepage\/success-story\/losar-hop0823","title":{"rendered":"Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS\u00ae Uses Housing Opportunity Grant to Boost Landlord Acceptance of Federal Rental Assistance Vouchers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>According to a recent report sponsored by Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> (LOTSAR), a whopping 104 federal rental assistance vouchers that were available in western North Carolina\u2019s Buncombe County went unused in January 2023 \u2013 not for lack of need, but for lack of landlords willing to accept vouchers.\u00a0 Not only does this number mean a missed opportunity valued at more than $1.6m in federal funds, but each voucher represents a Buncombe County family or individual who does not have adequate housing; many more remain on a waiting list for federal assistance.<\/p>\n

Source of income is not a protected class under North Carolina\u2019s Fair Housing laws, explains Matt Allen, LOTSAR\u2019s Director of Professional Development and Government Affairs.\u00a0 \u201cLandlords are not legally required to rent to tenants using vouchers and may choose not to for a variety of reasons.\u00a0 To reverse that trend, we have to identify those reasons, find solutions to eliminate or minimize them, and promote these solutions to entice more landlords to get with the program.\u201d\u00a0 Last summer, using grant funds from the state REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> association, LOTSAR supported the Landlord-Tenant Partnership operated by Thrive Asheville.\u00a0 This year, they expanded their effort by securing a Housing Opportunity Grant<\/a> from the REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party that enabled them to become a key stakeholder with the recently launched Buncombe Rental Assistance Collaborative (BRAC), an alliance of non-profits that advocate for vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n

The grant is helping BRAC to raise awareness of profitable and low-risk opportunities for landlords accepting federal rental assistance (FRA).\u00a0 The first step was commissioning the above-mentioned report from Thrive Asheville, entitled \u201cClosing the Gap: A Report on Federal Rental Assistance in Buncombe County.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIt did a really good job of exposing the extent of the need for safe rental housing in our community, and the waste of unused vouchers,\u201d says Allen.\u00a0 The grant also supported the creation of https:\/\/buncomberentalassistance.org<\/a>, a web-based platform to help multiple agencies and landlords navigate the FRA process.\u00a0 On it, property owners can learn about features that address common concerns, such as Guaranteed Rent and Security Deposits; the $2,500 Housing Stability Bonus; Damage Insurance Funds (up to $7,500) for Landlord Protection; and Dedicated Navigation Support.<\/p>\n

The indemnification feature and signing incentive dovetail nicely with NAR\u2019s current federal legislative priorities, notes Allen.\u00a0 Educational videos supported by the grant are also in production.<\/p>\n

In honor of the website launch, LOTSAR hosted a \u2018Lunch and Learn\u2019 for its members, one of whom has become an enthusiastic ambassador of the FRA program.\u00a0 \u201cShe has committed rentals of her own to voucher-holding tenants, and encourages others to become involved,\u201d reports Allen, who adds that LOTSAR plans to host another event this fall.\u00a0 Tapping further into the expertise and passion for housing among LOTSAR members, BRAC has hired a local REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> to serve as its Landlord Navigator, tasked with creating its public-facing community education and awareness campaign about the new benefits and features, and helping landlords to match their housing units with local residents in need.<\/p>\n

On the affordable homeownership front, LOTSAR is using another Housing Opportunity Grant to conduct an innovative project for aspiring homeowners: \u201cWe had held a housing fair, and a savvy member pointed out that we would generate better results if we went out into the community to meet people where they are,\u201d explains Allen.\u00a0 That idea became the Housing Mobility Workshop, which brings members and staff out into the community to events where they provide information on credit repair, the community land trust, and lending practices.\u00a0 LOTSAR hopes to build the program into a replicable model and use it as a springboard for a partnership with the local housing authority.\u00a0 \u201cWe are so grateful to NAR for the support that allows us to implement ideas and support the values of our members!\u201d says Allen.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how Land of the Sky REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> is using REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party resources to help its community to increase access to affordable housing, contact Matt Allen, Director of Professional Development and Government Affairs, at mallen@lotsar.org<\/a> or 828.333.5840.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Land of the Sky REALTORS\u00ae has partnered with the Buncombe Rental Assistance Collaborative (BRAC) to increase access to affordable rental housing in the Asheville, North Carolina region by encouraging landlords to accept federal rental assistance vouchers. A Housing Opportunity Grant from the REALTOR\u00ae Party is supporting the effort.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33,296],"tags":[14,204,1787],"class_list":["post-15731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-us","category-success-stories","category-success-story","tag-grants","tag-housing-opportunity","tag-land-of-the-sky"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}