County seeking applicants for moderate-income housing

Howard County (Map, News) - Howard County housing officials want to change the way buyers qualify for the moderate-income housing program so more residents have a chance to buy an affordable house.

“We are making some changes to the regulations, which we are now advertising, and [we] will have a public hearing on those in July,” said Thomas Carbo, Howard’s deputy housing director. “They are designed to help us get more folks qualified.”

Only 12 applicants qualified to purchase 23 available units. A lottery planned for earlier this month was canceled because not enough residents qualified, due in part to income and credit requirements.

From Sunday to July 31, Howard housing officials are holding the second open application period. These application periods are held quarterly.

This allows housing officials to build a list of potential buyers, Housing Director Stacy Spann said. Before a recent regulation change, the county waited until a development was complete before finding buyers.

A lottery will be held in August to select buyers for town houses in Shipley’s Grant in Columbia and condominiums in Elkridge Crossing. Eleven homes are available, but “more are coming up,” Carbo said.

Among the possible changes to qualify more buyers is to expand the eligible pool by first checking credit before examining other criteria such as being a county employee or first-time homebuyer, Carbo said.

The houses are geared toward moderate-income residents, such as entry-level teachers and public safety personnel.

A few of the first four potential buyers selected for Elkridge Crossing are teachers, said John Liparini, president of Elkridge Crossing developer Brantly Development.

“We are hoping to get more over the summer,” he said.

At Shipley’s Grant, 10 percent of the planned 396 town houses will be moderate-income houses, said Scott Peterson, vice president of developer The Bozzuto Group.

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

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