Germantown United CDC outside banner. (GIH | Rasheed Ajamu)

Germantown United CDC (GUCDC) is gearing up for yet another year of vast resident services that’ll continue to assist local homeowners and renters with sustaining life in their homes. The development organization plans to continue its face-to-face engagement with the community by holding local informational events that help people understand what offerings are available and how to get involved.

When it comes to resident services, GUCDC has made its mark by serving as a bridge linking residents to citywide programs and funds. 

The many programs people can apply for, deriving from different city agencies and funders, aim to alleviate the heavy burdens on residents with support such as foreclosure prevention, tangled title grants, tax relief, eviction diversion, utility and home repairs, and first-time home buyer assistance.

Resident Services Coordinator Sheirce White has seen it all throughout the past year in her role with GUCDC and refers to herself as a type of “community navigator.”

“They can come with any type of issue, and I will figure it out,” White said. “I will refer them to any type of agency or organization that I feel fit for the individual’s situation. I join hands at two ends of the bridges.”

Rebuilding Together

Right now, GUCDC partners with Rebuilding Together; they held an info session on Tuesday, November 12, at the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library from 4:30-6:00 p.m. to help seniors and other low-income homeowners apply and learn about the home repair opportunities that they may qualify for. 

Rebuilding Together offers free repairs, including carpet removal and floor installation, electrical and plumbing repairs, drywall repairs, and painting and exterior refurbishment repairs. Like many other home assistance programs, eligibility depends on a resident’s annual income.

Tangled Title Fund

Right now, White and the GUCDC are focusing heavily on working with the Tangled Title Fund (TTF) and spreading its work throughout Germantown. TTF is a city-funded program that provides grants to assist low-income homeowners with clearing the legal title to their homes.

Grants help cover the costs of settling a legal homeownership issue to put the appropriate name on a home’s deed.

“A lot who come in here are those who have issues with the deeds to their house and the entanglements with not having a will,” White said. “[For example], A lot of people don’t have wills and automatically think that it will be left to their children, but there are legalities around that, such as ‘which child’ and ‘what if there are three [children] and no will?”

White, also a Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) coordinator, has held workshops to inform people about tangled titles and the extensive process involved in getting one straightened out, and she expects to hold some again soon.

In these meetings, she brings in representatives from Community Legal Services (CLS), the Office of Property Assessment, Save Your Home Philly, and Homestead Tax Exemption, who can speak about the available resources and how one can apply.

“With these workshops, I try to have them be in intimate settings because these are personal issues that are being spoken about,” White said. “They can then get a one-on-one with a lawyer and hear all the aspects of having a tangled title and can then ask questions that are more personable to their situation, [while] hearing about other people’s situations and gather information like that as well.”

The next TTF workshop is scheduled for sometime in December, and the meetings usually run from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Though the details have yet to be fully ironed out, White said, “It will be catered, and I also offer free roundtrip rides.”

A tangled title can also impede other processes and can cause housing issues for residents if someone else’s name is on the deed of the home they’re living in. This is why the GUCDC strives to bring in these specific organizations and attorneys who can speak to homeowners about the ways to avoid foreclosure and large tax backups with a Tangled Title.

“TTF is a big umbrella; [For example] under a tangled title is when a person’s property assessment has gone up, and a person is backed up on their property taxes or a person is backed up on their mortgage,” White said. “A lot of people can’t get their property taxes done properly with [a Tangled Title].”

Since 2018, GUCDC has operated as an NAC organization whose work heavily focuses on information accessibility, community engagement, and communication that helps residents accurately complete an application process for a specific program.

The NAC Program operates under the guidance of the City of Philadelphia’s Division of Housing and Community Development. The NAC citywide network includes 21 organizations that do similar work to support Philadelphia residents, focusing on serving community members with moderate to low incomes.

Aside from Rebuilding Together and the Tangled Titled Fund, White and the GUCDC hope to also interact with the community to inform them about the many other city programs to which the GUCDC can connect them.

PDHC Programs

White says that GUCDC will host different Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) workshops next year so residents can learn more about programs like Basic Systems Repair and Adaptive Modifications.

The Basic Systems Repair Program has a 40-year history of assisting low-income homeowners from all across the city with free home repairs such as heating, structural, roofing, electrical, and plumbing issues. 

To qualify, residents must make 60% or under the Philadelphia Area Median Income for their family size. For example, a family of four must make no more than $68,850 to qualify for repairs.

The Adaptive Modifications Program aims to assist homeowners with physical disabilities, mostly seniors, with free built-in adaptations that allow for easier house mobility. Possible adaptations consist of stairway elevators, wheelchair lifts or ramps, barrier-free showers, and widened doorways. 

For income guidelines, visit the program’s PHDC webpage.

GUCDC has also partnered with Mt. Airy CDC and occasionally holds classes for first-time home buyers. These classes discuss opportunities available through the Philly First Home program and the Turn The Key program from the PHDC. 

The PHDC’s Heater Hotline provides free repairs for eligible homeowners with broken oil, coal, gas, or electrical heating systems, and the Rental Improvement Program provides loans to small landlords to repair their rental properties for tenants.

DHCD Programs

For homeowners, the GUCDC also works to connect people with the Foreclosure Prevention Program from the DHCD for residents who are facing the potential loss of a home.

For renters, they help share information about Philly tenant rights and connect locals to the city’s Eviction Diversion Program, which grants resources to resolve landlord-tenant complications. The other is the Emergency Housing program from the DHCD, which helps people who are at risk of being homeless.

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For the full list of programs that GUCDC can help connect homeowners and renters with, visit the resident service webpage.