Aurora – In the wintertime, Katherine Johnson waged a failed war against heat loss because her home was a sieve, cold as the outdoors.
Plus, she couldn’t use her kitchen sink because of a clog somewhere deep in the line. And a short in the wiring two years ago knocked out electricity in the house’s bottom level.
Johnson, a 53-year-old former Army interpreter, didn’t have money for the fixes, and heating costs are predicted to rise as much as 30 percent this winter.
“I needed so many repairs to the house,” she said. “I couldn’t afford to do it myself.”
Enter Aurora’s Single Family Rehabilitation Program, which uses federal money to provide low-cost loans for low- income homeowners to do repairs.
The loan becomes a lien against the house, and repayment is necessary only if the house is sold or the mortgage is refinanced. Eligible homeowners must live in Aurora, meet the income requirements, have homeowner’s insurance policies, be current on their mortgages and have legitimate need for help.
A city caseworker examines the home, accepts bids from contractors from an approved list, pays for the work and keeps track of it from start to end.
“We fix what’s broken,” said Laura Allen-Hatcher, Aurora community development specialist. “We’re not here to remodel.”
Johnson is getting $50,000 worth of work, including new insulation, new windows, a new water heater, updates to the kitchen and bathrooms and new electricity and plumbing. The work, being done by J.C. Construction Builders Inc. of Brighton, started in July and is expected to be finished soon.
Aurora’s Single Family Rehabilitation Program is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership Act, which last year provided about $1.8 billion for low-income homeowners across the country. Since the program began in 1976, the city of Aurora has helped more than 700 people renovate their homes.
Colorado got about $22 million for 2005 – money that goes to the state’s dozen jurisdictions to help low-income homebuyers with down payments, land acquisition, new construction and rehabilitation.
This year, Aurora will provide about $900,000 for its rehabilitation program, already completing eight projects, with another 19 in the works.
Johnson is particularly happy with the living room wall, which was uninsulated and covered with paneling. It’s now insulated, covered in Sheetrock and painted.
The best part, Johnson said, is it will keep in the heat.
“It’s wonderful,” Johnson said about the program. “I’m just seeing (the house) transform.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
