Citing “burgeoning statewide demand” for low- to moderate-income family housing, the Housing League Inc. has opened branch offices in Naples and Vero Beach, Fla.
Jerry Flick, president and founder of the 15-year-old Coral Gables-based affordable housing developer, said the nonprofit is buying vacant lots to build “and acquiring foreclosed homes for rehabilitation and resale at affordable prices.”
Higher home prices that are currently soaring in many parts of the state have increased affordable housing demand pressing developers to take advantage of available resources, he said.
According to Flick, there are more homebuyer resources out there “than many families or even governments realize,” including money from locally administered programs that “often goes unused and returned to the state and federal governments.”
Among others, the nonprofit is looking at a new initiative “to build energy-efficient, attractive, affordable homes resistant to 200 mph winds in Category 5 hurricanes, tornado resistant with an FS4 rating, and mold- and termite-proof,” Flick said.
The Housing League acquires foreclosed homes or builds properties in partnership with benefactors in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee who typically lend the money to the Housing League for three to five years.
The nonprofit provides housing options for families making up to 120% of median household income for incomes of roughly $60,000 with an upper limit of $93,000 in Miami-Dade.
It operates along the Treasure Coast, as well as in Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, Tampa and St. Petersburg.
