Scranton offers first-time homebuyer, housing rehab grants

Feb. 6—SCRANTON — More than $1.1 million in grant funding will assist first-time homebuyers in Scranton and help existing city homeowners to rehabilitate their properties.

Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti announced the opening of the grant programs through the city's $68.7 million allocation under the American Rescue Plan Act at a press conference Monday at NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The city will use $350,000 to support the first-time homebuyer initiative and another $800,000 for home rehabilitation projects, the mayor said.

"By using ARPA funding to support both new and existing homeowners, we're making it easier for residents to start and sustain their future in Scranton," Cognetti said.

Residents will be able to apply for the money through existing homebuyer, aging-in-place and home weatherization programs already operated by NeighborWorks and the Agency for Community Empowerment of NEPA, which are partnering with the city.

Individual grants under both programs will be capped at $20,000 and, to qualify, residents must meet income eligibility requirements and be current on taxes and trash fees.

The city will host a webinar detailing the new grant opportunities on Friday at 2 p.m. Interested residents can preregister for the webinar at www.bit.ly/arpahome.

The first-time homebuyer grants will build on the homebuyer program NeighborWorks has operated for the city since 2020.

That program has helped 45 first-time buyers purchase homes in Scranton by assisting with down payments and closing costs, said Pamela Anslinger, NeighborWorks home ownership manager.

"The goal of the program is to create a meaningful contribution to lower the amount of money that somebody would have to borrow in order to purchase a home," she said.

The home rehabilitation grants will focus on weatherization and repair, Cognetti said, with the objective of helping older city residents especially to stay in their homes and age in place safely even as their houses get older.

"We want to make sure people can continue to be in their homes," she said.

Mary Endrusick, who coordinates the NeighborWorks aging-in-place program, said it will be the first time the program has partnered directly with the city.

When aging-in-place specialists visit older residents to assess their critical safety and accessibility modification needs, they often identify home repair or rehabilitation issues, she said.

"So this will be the first time that we are able not only to address the accessibility modifications for older adults to allow them to live safely in their homes, but also the repair issues such as roof repairs or replacement, heating repairs or replacement," Endrusick said.

ACE of NEPA Executive Director Jim Wansacz, whose agency provides weatherization services, said the program will allow ACE to address repairs that it couldn't in the past.

To be eligible through the NeighborWorks aging-in-place program, residents must be 60 or older, own their own home, have valid and up-to-date homeowners insurance and meet additional income requirements.

ACE's home weatherization program requires that applicants meet income guidelines, including a wage at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines.

Information about the grant programs, including eligibility requirements, is available by visiting www.scrantonpa.gov/arpa/arpa-homeowner.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9132.