LYFORD — For residents such as Jorge Luis Castro-Rodriguez, a state program is giving him something he could only dream of — a nice, new home.
This year, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ HOME program has earmarked more than $700,000 for the construction of seven new homes here that will replace houses in disrepair.
“The purpose of this program is to help low- to moderate-income households that reside and own their home and do not have the means to repair necessary items to live in their home comfortably,” stated Karen Rego, the city’s grant administrator with Langford Community Management Services in Austin.
The new homes will revive parts of town while boosting the city’s property tax revenues, Mayor Wally Solis said.
“It’s good for Lyford,” Solis said. “It’s good for (home owners). They’re going to be living in a good, warm home and when they pay their taxes, (our revenue) will get a little higher. It beautifies Lyford. It brings us up a little with the new homes.”
For Castro-Rodriguez and his wife Carmen, the program is making their dreams come true.
“We never thought we’d have a house,” Castro-Rodriguez said.
For years, heavy rains flooded the family’s mobile home until the trailer fell into disrepair on their low-lying lot off Broadway Avenue.
So, Castro-Rodriguez and his wife applied for a loan from the HOME program.
The family’s low-income status, its clear title to the mobile home and the trailer’s disrepair helped them qualify for the $85,000 loan which would be forgiven if they live in the house for 15 years, Rego said.
Last month, the program launched construction of the three-bedroom home on the family’s lot.
As part of the project, the lot was elevated to prevent floodwaters from damaging the home.
“I’m very happy for the help,” Castro-Rodriguez said.
More than a year ago, medication damaged his kidneys, leaving him disabled, said Castro-Rodriguez, who used to work as a cook in a nursing home.
Meanwhile, his wife holds a part-time clerk’s job.
“It’s good for us with little money,” Castro-Rodriguez said of the program. “No matter how much you work, you don’t make enough money for a house in the Valley.”
In Lyford, the program is helping revive parts of town, replacing old homes such as Castro-Rodriguez’s trailer with new construction, Rego stated.
“Most of these homes are 50-plus years and some are close to being condemned, so this helps the community get rid of eyesores and let’s homeowners live comfortably without need for repairs for a long time,” Rego stated.
Construction is expected to be completed in about four months.
In this low-income farming community, the HOME program has built 12 homes and renovated seven others since 2011, City Secretary Lydia Moreno stated.
– Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ HOME program
– Building seven new three-bedroom homes
– Total cost — $700,000
– Construction completed in four months
