Aurora working to improve neighborhoods block by block

Angel Corral is looking to buy a home in Aurora.

Tired of renting space for himself and his wife, mother-in-law and three children, he has been eyeing certain properties and learning about the process of buying a home.

“I have been looking at the homes that have been vacant for a long time,” Corral said. “There's so many vacant, it's kind of hard not to see them.”

Aurora city officials also have noticed vacant properties in the city's near east and near west sides. And with about $3 million in federal stimulus funding, the city has begun to buy and renovate 10 of the sites.

“The goal is to improve neighborhoods block by block and help spur reinvestment,” said Karen Zilly, development coordinator for Aurora's Neighborhood Redevelopment Program.

The city received funding through a grant called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides municipalities money to buy vacant and foreclosed properties, renovate them and resell them to qualified buyers making up to 120 percent of the area's median income.

The program helps the city clean up dilapidated properties and allows renters like Corral a few more opportunities to purchase recently renovated homes. The first two homes the city purchased and improved with stimulus funding will be on the market this spring, Zilly said.

“We are trying to beautify our neighborhood and also our quality of life for the residents,” said Alderman Juany Garza, whose ward includes some of the homes the city is renovating. “It is a very nice idea to improve the neighborhoods, to improve the properties.”

Aside from meeting income standards, prospective buyers must receive eight hours of homebuyer counseling — and have a certificate to prove it.

Joseph Corporation, a downtown Aurora nonprofit that works to empower individuals and improve neighborhoods, is one local organization that offers the type of counseling necessary to purchase a home through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The counseling includes a review of the prospective homebuyer's credit score, pay stubs and tax forms, as well as education about mortgages, loans and the process of closing on a home, said Jerria Donelson, who runs Joseph Corporation's homebuyer education program.

“There's a lot that goes into homeownership. We just want to make sure that you're very prepared (for) that,” Donelson said at a homebuyer education session in December. “The more educated a consumer you are, the less likely you are to default or run into (problems.)”

Corral said he attended the homebuyer education session to learn about the process before officially starting his search for a home. Another introductory homebuyer education session is scheduled for noon Wednesday, Jan. 12, at city hall, 44 E. Downer Place.

“It's overwhelming if you take it upon yourself to do it,” Corral said.

June Martinez, who rents an Aurora apartment with her boyfriend and son, said she meets the financial requirements and may be interested in buying a home renovated through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. A three-person household like hers must make no more than $81,100 a year to be eligible.

“I'll be a first-time homebuyer,” Martinez said. “For what I'm paying (in rent), I think I could buy.”

Qualified buyers who finish the homebuyer counseling can bid on homes once they are for sale. Zilly said the city is working with real estate agents to set fair prices for the homes as they are renovated. The prices likely will start at less than the city spent on purchasing and renovating the homes, she said.

As city contractors put the finishing touches on the first two homes renovated with stimulus funding — located at 628 Bangs St. and 593 Second Ave. — Zilly said she hopes educated and financially qualified buyers like Corral and Martinez will purchase the homes and become an important part of the neighborhoods.

Alderman Stephanie Kifowit, whose ward includes some of the homes, said the city has taken a long time to get the program rolling.

“Now that the program is established, I hope we can get it moving,” Kifowit said. “The key is reinvestment. I hope we can sell them and get the money and reinvest it.”

The city cannot charge more for the homes than the amount that went into their purchase and renovation, Zilly said. And all money made from the sale of the homes from now until 2013 must be used to purchase more vacant or foreclosed properties and start the process again.

“The return we get isn't necessarily going to be in dollars from the sale,” Zilly said. “It's going to be in improvement of the neighborhoods.”

If you go

<b>What:</b> Homebuyer education session

<b>Why: </b>Prospective homebuyers can become qualified to buy houses Aurora is renovating with federal stimulus money

<b>When:</b> Noon Wednesday, Jan. 12

<b>Where: </b>Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place

<b>Cost: </b>Free; reservations requested

<b>Info: </b>(630) 906-9400 or aurora-il.org