Walton County committee weighs using SHIP, CRA and nonprofit help to keep seniors in their homes

Members of the Walton County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee discussed steps to help older residents remain in their homes, focusing on state SHIP-funded owner-occupied rehabilitation, potential assistance from Habitat for Humanity and questions about reverse mortgages and CRA funds.

Committee chair Melanie opened the discussion by saying she had heard concerns about seniors living on home equity and asked whether the committee could track the number of residents with reverse mortgages and whether local funding could offset accessibility repairs.

"One of the things that we've used successfully to address just that kind of thing" was owner-occupied rehabilitation, Matt Carpenter, Planning Department, told the committee, referring to improvements such as accessible showers and widened doorways funded through SHIP. Carpenter said the county's recently approved local housing assistance plan includes owner-occupied rehabilitation as a primary strategy.

Committee members and staff described the county's existing practice of using SHIP money to make homes accessible for elderly or disabled homeowners, including step-in showers with grab bars, enlarged doorways, roofing repairs and accessible walkways. Kelly, the program contact, said people interested in rehabilitation are placed on a wait list and prioritized by need; she reported 46 people currently on the rehab wait list.

Speakers also discussed the lien the county places on rehabilitated properties and efforts to clear or document satisfied liens in official records. One staff member said the county is proactively filing satisfactions of mortgage for completed projects and for estates that had gone through probate so title searches show liens as released.

The committee flagged several open questions for follow-up: whether Habitat for Humanity would provide funding or only labor and materials; whether Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds for DeFuniak Springs can be used for accessibility work; and how the county could determine the local prevalence of reverse mortgages. Patricia and other members said they would seek more information and return with details at the next meeting.

The committee accepted the minutes of the prior meeting by voice vote at the start of the session.

The committee agreed to place aging-in-place back on the agenda when staff from Habitat and county grant programs are available to outline funding, eligibility and any programmatic limitations.