Western Catskills Community Revitalization Council, Inc. (WCCRC) is pleased to announce that a new staff member has joined the long-established 501(c) 3 not-for-profit Rural Preservation Company.
WCCRC’s mission is to cooperate with local, state and federal governmental and civic bodies in aiding, assisting and fostering the planning, development, renewal, and improvement of housing and other buildings in the counties of Delaware, Schoharie and Greene, State of New York, for the primary purpose of revitalizing communities and in securing improved housing, commercial buildings and community facilities.
With support from funding sources which include: NYS Housing Trust Fund, Homes and Community Renewal, the Office of Community Renewal, Empire State Development’s Restore NY, the Affordable Housing Corporation, the NYS Department of State, USDA, the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation, and the O’Connor Foundation, WCCRC has been able to grow during the last five years. In fiscal year 2011-12, WCCRC managed grants in the amount of $1,210,000, and leveraged $1,300,000 in private funds against those grants for a total of $2,510,000 which helped stimulate the local economy and enabled elderly and disabled participants to remain in their homes.
WCCRC is pleased that once again there is an on-staff HUD-certified Housing Counselor for its eighteen-town service area. If you need advice on buying a home, renting, default, foreclosure avoidance, credit issues or reverse mortgages, you are encouraged to contact Elizabeth Estelle. The counseling is provided free or at low cost.
Ms. Estelle, who lives in Delaware County with her family, joined the WCCRC staff in August, 2013. Well-known in the community for her many years of effort in the local home schooling chapter, she has also been working as an advocate for the elderly and financial consultant since 2001.
Although WCCRC does not currently have first-time home buyer grants, they are able to offer e-Home America's on-line home buyer counseling course. In order to receive some kinds of mortgages, some lenders require this kind of training which includes learning about making a budget, credit counseling, shopping for a mortgage, finding a real estate agent, the in-and-outs of purchasing property, and performing home maintenance. This on-line housing counseling program also meets the USDA and Rural Development loan requirements for housing counseling. Potential home buyers are encouraged to get in touch with Ms. Estelle to learn more about this service.
WCCRC provides grants for owner occupied housing rehabilitation, first time homebuyers and financial counseling to residents in Harpersfield, Kortright, Middletown, Roxbury, and Stamford in Delaware County; Ashland, Halcott, Hunter, Jewett, Lexington, and Prattsville in Greene County and Blenheim, Broome, Conesville, Fulton, Gilboa, Jefferson, and Summit in Schoharie County.
The company is currently managing the following programs: a NY Main Street Program in Hobart and Jefferson, Community Development Block Grants in the Towns of Fulton Jefferson, Stamford and Summit, and service area-wide - a HOME owner-occupied housing rehabilitation grant and a HOME rental rehabilitation grant, as well as other projects.
To learn more about WCCRC’s programs, call 607.652.2823 or visit www.westerncatskills.org.
