Residents enjoy first time home ownership with new affordable home program

Jacqueline and Dominique Houston were running and jumping around Thursday at the prospect of owning homes for the first time.

And now, if they get a loan, each should be sitting in her new home in a few months.

“We've been waiting for this day to come,” said Jacqueline, 39, of Coralville.

She and daughter Dominique were among 31 people who applied for an affordable home program borne out of last year's record flood.

It's a state program, using federal funds, intended to help replace housing lost during the flood.

Thursday's event involved the part of the program being overseen by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, which got $3.8 million to build 66 homes.

It will provide for a mix of detached homes, duplexes, zero-lot lines, row houses and condominiums in Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, Hills, Lone Tree and Riverside. The $3.8 million includes 12 homes in Palo that were not a part of Thursday's drawing.

Iowa City and Cedar Rapids received money directly for 40 and 177 homes, respectively.

Buyers will pay for the homes but will receive down-payment assistance of up to 30 percent. Prices top out at $180,000. There are income guidelines for eligibility.

On Thursday, a drawing was held for 31 applicants to determine the order for choosing a home. Flood victims, of which there was just one, were given priority. Next were 21 first-time homebuyers.

That included Jacqueline and Dominique Houston, who were among about a half-dozen applicants in attendance. The pair were a couple of minutes late and ran from a bus and up a flight of stairs to get to the drawing.

When Jacqueline's name was drawn, they both jumped out of their chairs a bit. Dominique, 23, of Iowa City, who had her name called later, said she was ready to move in as soon as possible.

“I got my stuff packed now,” she said with a laugh.

They and other applicants still must be approved for a loan.

Construction could begin next month, with the first homes finished next spring, said Tracey Achenbach, executive director of the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, which is administering the program.

More applications will be accepted once those in the current group are assigned homes. Achenbach said publicity of the Iowa City drawing in June led to many more applications there, and she's hopeful that will happen this time too.