Ulster County News

FROM: ULSTER COUNTY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

DATE: December 7, 2004 

Ulster County Legislative Chair Richard A. Gerentine is pleased to announce that Ulster County has completed the County Home Ownership Grant Program begun in 2002 with a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant administered through the New York State Governor’s Office for Small Cities. The Program provided down payment and closing cost assistance to low and moderate-income households seeking to achieve home ownership.

The program allowed 41 households to achieve their dream of homeownership. In addition to the original $600,000, nearly $3.5 million in private mortgages was leveraged, as well as $400,000 from other grant sources and $225,000 in homebuyer down payment contributions.

"The County is exceptionally pleased that the Program worked so well to enable families’ to purchase their own homes," said the Chairman. In setting up this Program the Legislature recognized how difficult it can be for those with limited means to afford to buy a home, "especially given the sharp increase in housing prices in our area." We are glad that Ulster County was able to play a part in securing the funding to assist these families."

The County contracted with Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO) a non-profit housing agency for program delivery and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County for post-purchase education for the new homeowners.

"Credit for Program’s success belongs to all of our partners," Gerentine remarked. "RUPCO did an extraordinary job leveraging additional funding from other sources, without which many of these purchases could not have taken place. Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Home Buyer Education efforts were recognized by GOSC early in the Program. Recognition is also due the County Administrator, Planning Board, and Treasurer who were responsible for Program administration."

The Chairman noted that this is the third in a series of grants that the County has completed to address housing needs. A similar $600,000 home ownership grant was awarded in 1998 that aided over 60 families and a Farmworker Housing Program begun in 2001 provided monies to 25 farmers to meet the housing needs of approximately 300 farmworkers.