Kettering, OH - Mayor Marilou W. Smith

Purchase Rehabilitation Program

In 1995, the City of Kettering launched an initiative which purchases homes in deplorable condition, brings them up to like-new condition, and sells them to income-qualified home buyers. The Purchase Rehabilitation Program is considered a way to revitalize aging neighborhoods by converting nuisance properties into rehabilitated housing for low- to moderate-income families.

Since the Program's inception,

• •an old commercial block building in a residential neighborhood was purchased on the open market, substantially rehabilitated, and converted into a single-family home;
• •a property damaged by fire and repossessed by the mortgage company, and which had been vacant and boarded up since 1994, was purchased from the mortgage company and substantially rehabilitated;
• •a poorly constructed house was purchased at a Sheriff's sale, rehabilitated, and is being used as temporary housing for Montgomery County families whose homes are undergoing lead abatement; and
• •a house in fair condition was given some design changes to give it a fresh look and distinguish it from all of the other houses in the neighborhood.

The local utility company, the County health department and various City departments were involved in these projects. Dayton Power and Light used funds from its weatherization program to insulate the homes and install set-back thermostats. The Montgomery County Combined Health District and Montgomery County Community Development Department provided HUD funds for lead-based paint abatement. The City of Kettering's CDBG staff conceived, organized and implemented the Program, which was designed to complement the City's existing housing rehabilitation and first-time home buyer programs.

City officials see the success of the Purchase Rehabilitation Program in several areas: It has provided homeownership opportunity to low- and moderate-income first-time home buyers, kept properties out of the hands of investors, removed vacant and nuisance properties, had a significant impact on aging neighborhoods, and generated a lot of positive feedback from the community.

Contact: Jeff Hoagland, Economic Development Manager, (937) 296-2453

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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