Al Giacalone, Chair Affordable Housing Committee
During the past five years, the REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc. has focused our Attainable/Affordable Housing Work Group efforts on a) establishing a non-profit 501(C) 3 Housing Foundation to provide gap assistance to essential workers in our community; b) providing required Homebuyer Education to the public; c) helping distressed homeowners to understand the options to foreclosure; d) supporting the efforts of Habitat for Humanity; e) working with the Lee County School Board to pilot Financial Literacy in senior high curriculum.
The Association’s Housing Foundation, approved by the IRS as a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization, provides gap assistance to essential workers in our community who qualify for subsidies but need further financial assistance in order to purchase a home. We provide up to 6,000 per transaction for workers who earn up to 120% of the area’s median income. Our non-profit partner, LCHDC, reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the Housing Foundation’s Board of Directors for approval. Monies are distributed as a loan with a 10-year second or third mortgage placed on the property. The mortgage is self-amortizing and reduces at a rate of 10% per year. As long as the property is occupied as a primary residence and homesteaded for the ten-year term, a satisfaction of the mortgage is given and the loan will not have to be repaid.
