Home Improvement Rebate Program (HIRP) - In Depth

I attended the meeting at the Mark Twain library to get a little more information on the Home Improvement Rebate Program in Long Beach. In a nutshell, this is a program that gives out up to $2000 to increase the curb appeal of the homes in Long Beach. 

I have a reasonably well maintained 4-plex. However, being the owner of income property does not disqualify you from the rebate. The rebate is based on the verified income of 51 percent of the tenants. The owner's income only applies if they are also a tenant.

The low income threshold is about $45,000 for one person. Income is calculated for the whole based on everyone who lives in the building. However, you will only have to go through the income verification with 51% of the residents must qualify. In other words, in my 4-plex, where I reside, I could leave at least one tenant out of the calculations. 

What this means is one high income tenant won't necessarily cause the application to be denied. In my case I am, so check the first box, based on income I probably qualify.

This is from the Long Beach website that shows an example of what the $2000 can do

The property owners of 6775 Gaviota Avenue, located in the Hamilton School NEA area, took advantage of the program and made some dramatic improvements to their property.  The owners had the house painted, including the fascia/wood trim, the front door replaced, installed new windows, and installed a brick planter around the front of the house.  The improvements made a dramatic change to the house.  The owners invested an additional $1,600 to complete the improvements.

This example from the Naples Website

Applicants can apply to fix more than $2000 worth of issues. But the rebate itself will be limited to $2000.

So if I ended up having to do $2600 worth of work, the other $600 is on me.

Once an owner applies to paint, fix stucco, rehabilitate the windows, etc, the city sends someone out to take pictures. And here's where I may personally get disqualified. Unless code enforcement sees some real signs of deterioration, the application will probably be denied. As it was explained to us, peeling paint and broken windows will probably get the stamp of approval. Faded paint and drafty windows, you are probably on your own. If you look at the picture to the left, that home clearly didn't have that problem.

Previous picture passes the deterioration test

As it applies to me, I have a gate that could use rehabilitation, but it doesn't look all that deteriorated. I also just painted the outside recently. A slightly ugly gate is not the same as a deteriorating gate. The lady addressing us suggested I apply anyway. The worst thing that would happen is code enforcement may disagree that I needed to need to have my windows, driveway or paint touched up.

However, if Code Enforcement finds four issues and you only wanted to address two, you will be expected to deal with all of them.  In other words, it's in your best interest to know what they're likely to do before you apply.

This is why a large portion of the owners who end up participating are using the program to lessen the burden incurred when Code Enforcement tells them something needs to be fixed.

Here are some interesting notes that came up:

• Condos are ineligible, the city doesn't want to have the issue of dealing with HAOs.
• Non profits like Churches must go through the NPP Program.
• There is an equivalent commercial rebate program if the residence is om top of a business.
• If code enforcement sees something that could stand rehab, you are unlikely to be cited for it.
• However, if they see obvious signs of illegal conversions you may have opened a can of worms.
• This program is for the owners, but tenants in deteriorated buildings can encourage the building owners to apply.

Commercial Improvement Example: Business got better branding here

 A few closing details. This is a HUD program dependent on federal funding. That means, all owners of the property will have to sign on before the rebate can be given. Also, this is a rebate program. It also means if there was recently a change in ownership, through say a divorce, which hasn't been recorded with the county assessor, you can expect complications.

The contractor doing the work will need to be paid in full before any rebate can be given. That rebate usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks to be processed.  Also, the house will have to be tested for lead paint before the job is improved. While the speaker said only one out of 100 homes she had tested failed that test, that particular number seemed unreasonably low for a city full of homes built in the 1920s.

For more details visit. I looked for a PDF version of the application on the city's website, nut could not find one.

Neighborhood Resource Center
425 Atlantic Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
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Please call the Neighborhood Services Bureau at 
(562) 570-6866 or email bryant.ben@longbeach.gov.