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Loans Bring Home Improvements

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - TEMPLE TERRACE - Settled in a moderate abode in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, Patti Galvin was content in her primary role as a wife and mother. But she also made time for a work-study program in nursing, a field in which she hoped to eventually find a part-time job that fit in with her family's schedule.

The Temple Terrace woman's stable and fairly predictable lifestyle made an abrupt about-face in 2000, however, when her husband committed suicide. Left with her only child, Jeanne "Kris," still in high school, Galvin instantly became the head of her household.

Ineligible for standard death benefits and living on a limited income, she also was faced with a home that needed major renovations to bring it up to the city's minimum housing code standards. By happenstance, she read a newspaper article in 2001 about a Temple Terrace program that provides 10-year, interest-free home improvement loans up to $20,000 for low- and moderate-income homeowners.

To qualify, for example, a family of two's annual income would be limited to $36,150.

The principal decreases 10 percentage points each year, and repayment of the loan is deferred for 10 years. Essentially, after 10 years, the loan is a grant.

"They made it so easy. I call it my beacon of light because it literally saved me," said Galvin, whose $20,000 loan covered the costs for materials and installation of some new plumbing, a new air conditioner, kitchen cabinets and flooring.
Galvin has since finished the study program and works full time in the medical field. Kris went on to graduate from college and land a teaching job.

The Temple Terrace Homeowner Rehabilitation Program operates through federal grants managed by the fire department under the direction of Gail Garnier, a deputy housing official. On average, $150,000 has been made available yearly for disbursement to qualified homeowners.

"Our goal is to keep homes structurally safe and sound," said Garnier, whose department has helped about 100 homeowners since the program began 10 years ago. "Some people are too prideful to let us know their needs, but the level of comfort has built and built."

Longtime Temple Terrace resident Faye Morgan-Driggers, 81, took advantage of the loan in 1999 upon becoming a widow. It enabled modifications to her home - including kitchen and bathroom renovations, a new roof and some outside repairs - some of which have aided Driggers in the caregiving responsibilities for her disabled adult daughter.

"I couldn't have had all that work done without taking out a lien on my house," she said. "The great thing is that they brought everything up to code and the loan is almost paid off, even though I haven't paid a dime."

In the event a homeowner sells his home before the 10-year period ends, Garnier said, the balance of the loan is deducted from the sale's proceeds.

In 2005, Linda Valentine learned about the city's program for owner-occupied homes through a hospital social worker while her husband was undergoing treatment for cerebral palsy. As a result, her home was equipped with a handicapped-accessible shower, new plumbing, widened doorways and an outside ramp to accommodate her husband's wheelchair.

"Now he's much more independent, and it keeps me from worrying about him while I'm at work," she said. "It's magnificent, and when people ask me, 'What's the catch?' I tell them, 'There is no catch.' It's simply a wonderful program."

MAKING CONTACT

Applications for the Temple Terrace Homeowner Rehabilitation Program are available at the code compliance office, 111-D Bullard Parkway. For details, call Gail Garnier at (813) 983-3173.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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