Monday night, the Paris City Council considered and approved the extension of the home repair loan program.
City Manager John Godwin (pictured right) spoke to the availability and effectiveness of the program, “It’s for folks that need substantial repairs to homes, like holes in roofs, unstable foundations, and walls that threaten to eventually ruin the house. And they don’t have the money to pay for it outright, and they’re not a good risk for loans because they’ve got a house that’s falling down, with this program the city guarantees up to fifty percent of the loan; a $5000 loan would be guaranteed up to $2500.
So if the banks agree to give these folks loans, there are certain conditions they have to meet, if they qualify, there are four banks that are participating in the program, and they can choose any participating bank they want, we’ve had some go to all four at one time or another and if they get the loan, they start projects on the house.”
The four banks include First Federal, Guaranty Bond, Lamar National, and Liberty National. Of the banks’ involvement Godwin said, “It’s not just something any bank will do. It’s working great. It’s doing what it’s meant to do. That’s helping people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”
On the origin of the program Godwin said, “The overall notion was, we’re spending a lot of money tearing houses down, that’s a good thing if they need to be torn down, but if we can save some of them, that’s even better, and those folks can continue to live there.
It’s not a common thing, but it’s worked really well, and for four banks to willingly say ‘Yes, let’s keep doing it,’ that’s a good thing.
We have talked about some time in the future about doing the same thing for downtown businesses. A lot of downtown businesses are in the same situation. They’ve got an old building with a leaky roof, or hole in the wall, or drainage problem, and they have a hard time getting a loan because they own an old building.”
The program is still available for homes that need repair, mostly to the outside of the building. Windows, doors, roofs, holes in the wall can be fixed so the building doesn’t deteriorate further.