The East Tennessee Housing Development Corporation (ETHDC) is a community-based housing development organization (CHDO) dedicated to providing quality, affordable homes for low to moderate income residents in Knoxville and the East Tennessee region.
Our primary focus as an organization is to provide affordable homeownership opportunities as a powerful wealth building tool for low income residents and the generations that follow. We directly facilitate economic empowerment of low income residents through one-on-one financial mentoring, an activity which significantly shapes our work and contributes to successful outcomes for the beneficiaries of our program.
2023 HOUSING IMPACT AT A GLIMPSE
Although these last few years have continued to be a particularly challenging for affordable homeownership nationwide, ETHDC has continued to work closely with our funding partners, lenders, and development team to find ways to best meet the needs of low-income homebuyers locally.
Because of our solid partnerships, our policy recommendations to our major partners and the ongoing support that we receive, ETHDC was able to continue to empower prospective low-income borrowers to secure mortgage qualification and move into a home of their own. We project continued growth over the next several years as we work together to ensure that we make it possible for low-income residents to have access to both quality and affordability in the housing opportunities we provide.
ETHDC has now completed 40 affordable housing projects, with 2 more under construction and 2 lots purchased that will begin development in January of 2024.
Highlights
- Existing Homes Acquired, Rehabilitated and Sold
- 2 Homes Under Construction
- 2 additional lots purchased for New Construction
- Ownership & Management of 2 Existing Single Family Rental Homes
ETHDC’s 2023 STRATEGIC ACTIVITIES
ETHDC continued to look for existing homes and vacant lots to provide quality, affordable homeownership opportunities throughout the year. We completed the rehabilitation of 4 existing homes and sold each of the homes to income-qualified families and individuals. In addition, we purchased 4 vacant lots from the City’s Homemaker Program, with construction nearly completed on two of the homes. Construction on the other 2 homes is slated to begin in January/February of 2024.
Since 2019, ETHDC has received federal funds to develop homeownership projects from both the City of Knoxville and from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). Our funds from the State allow ETHDC to develop projects on scattered sites throughout Knox County, as well as in the City.
Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance is a must to make homeownership a possibility for low income buyers. For every buyer, ETHDC has either helped secure down payment and closing cost assistance from the City of Knoxville or provided direct assistance to our buyers ourselves when the development side was funded by THDA. We continue to actively pursue additional options on behalf of our buyers to bring down the mortgage costs in the current, high-priced real estate environment.
Through our HOME Rental Program, we have continued to work with two families living in ETHDC-owned homes, providing quality, affordable, energy efficient homes. We worked with our renters and our homeowners alike during the year to help ensure housing stability and keep current in rent or mortgage payments during what has proven to be more difficult economic times for low-income residents of our community.
IMPACTS TO FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS
Numerous studies have clearly indicated that moving into homeownership often results not only in children doing better in school, but also positively affects the job and educational prospects of the adults in the family. ETHDC Affordable Housing program is significantly and purposefully designed to be client centered. Participation in our Homebuyer Mentoring Program is frequently cited the asset most valued by our clients. We clearly understand that purchasing a home is the single greatest purchase most residents make in their lives. It provides the foundation for many community residents to stabilize their economic wellbeing, especially as it relates to their future and for the generations that follow.
In addition to our Homebuyer Mentoring and the provision of Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance, ETHDC most impacts our homebuyers through the actual design and quality construction of our homes. Our intent is to provide a safe, affordable structure for the buyers, with no major investments for our buyers needed for at
least the first five years. Upgrades to energy efficiency and visitability are made to every unit.
Every new construction project is Energy Star compliant or greater, as well as constructed to be fully visitable and accessible to those with disabilities. Our homes allow our buyers to comfortably “age in place.”
The fact that we emphasize the client’s choice as to the neighborhoods they live in (when possible) directly addresses a large gap in choice of housing that often exists for residents of high poverty areas. Many of our clients come from areas of concentrated poverty and have experienced life-long neighborhood disparities and inequality, affecting both their
health outcomes and educational attainment levels for themselves and their children.
Over the last several years, 24 of our homes have been purchased by participants in the housing authority’s Self-Sufficiency Program, making ETHDC very successful in serving clients with lower incomes than many affordable homeownership programs. ETHDC has played a major role in moving each homebuyer into greater our Self-Sufficiency through the development of quality, affordable housing, one-on-one Mentoring, and the provision of down payment and closing cost assistance, all making their home purchases possible.
ETHDC secured or directly contributed a total of $56,499 in Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance for our homebuyers in 2023. Cumulatively that amounts to $474,764 in assistance made by ETHDC or secured from the City of Knoxville to directly benefit participants of our homeownership program.
Supporting our homebuyer mentoring work in 2023 were US Bank and Regions Bank.
2023 IMPACT ON MINORITY AND HARD TO REACH POPULATIONS
OTHER FINANCIAL/ECONOMIC IMPACTS
With the help of our funding and lending partners, ETHDC’s development activities have continued to make financial impacts throughout Knox County during 2023. The total development impact of our homeownership projects last year was $1,013,763, with a cumulative total of $6,208,035. This number represents the direct Acquisition and Rehabilitation or New Construction cost of each home, as well as soft costs needed to develop the home for homeownership. These funds directly stimulate our local economy through payments made for construction contracts with a variety of small, minority and women subcontractors, contributing to support the growth of these businesses over the last decade.
In 2023, our homes represent $876,000 in completed sales value. Cumulatively, our homes represent $5,176,500 in completed sales. ETHDC secured $147,031 in gap financing from our banking and foundation partners for direct project development that helped make our work possible in 2023, as well as utilizing $437,000 in Federal Funds from the City of Knoxville and The Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). Our gap financing partners are Pinnacle Financial Partners, HomeTrust Bank
and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund of the East Tennessee Foundation. Contributions of these three sources have resulted in a cumulative $2,576,578 in revolving funds toward direct project development since 2011. Having secure sources of revolving funds and trusted partners for needed development activity has significantly improved ETHDC’s ability to act quickly on potential projects and real estate opportunities as they arise.
IMPACTS TO COMMUNITY AND ORGANIZATIONS
With our strong track record in successful affordable homeownership development through Acquisition/Rehabilitation and New Construction, ETHDC receives ongoing referrals from area Lenders, Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC),
the City’s Community Development staff, and numerous other agencies that serve low income residents in the area. Affordable homeownership is greatly needed by our community and in high demand throughout all sectors of the City and County.
As the East Tennessee Region grows in diversity, our outreach efforts have included organizations and churches that serve Hispanic and Latin populations, as well as the immigrant community overall. The organizations we have communicated with directly about our program are the Knoxville International Network, Bridges Refugee Services, the Knoxville Area Urban League, HomeSource of East Tennessee, Knoxville Community Development Corporation, Centro Hispano, the Lonsdale Union of
Churches , Operation Hope, Boys and Girls Club and numerous other churches and organizations which have programs serving residents who might qualify for our affordable housing initiatives.
The goal of our outreach efforts at ETHDC is to work with our partners to help facilitate the kind of equitable community development practices that result in stronger neighborhoods where every resident of our neighborhoods and community can thrive.
We look forward to our continued good work
together in 2024!
IMPACT BOARD
