More Jackson residents can now become homeowners due to a new City of Jackson’s “Pre-fab Program” that aims to bring affordable housing to the capital city.

The city will provide a $40,000 grant — meaning residents don’t have to pay it back — as a downpayment on the home. The initiative utilizes prefabricated or manufactured homes, which are prebuilt in a factory and are much cheaper than traditionally built homes.

“The idea is that we want to push and support families to be homeowners in the City of Jackson because it just doesn’t make sense for us to be wasting our money on rent,” said Chloe Dotson, director of the Department of Planning and Development.

Dotson spoke at a town hall meeting on Wednesday at Rosemont M.B. Church about the program, along with officials from the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association, Rosemont Human Services and the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

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The average cost of a manufactured home in the program is $150,000, which includes kitchen appliances, an air-conditioning unit, as well as delivery and setup of the home. Residents with an income more than $40,000 per year and pay more than $1,000 in rent qualify for the new initiative.

Some homes will be cheaper depending on the buyer. You will also have the ability to customize the style and interior of the home.

The overall goals of the program are to build more affordable housing throughout the city, as well as increase the city’s tax base, Dotson said. Dotson stressed to those in attendance about the importance of homeownership as a means to build generational wealth.

There are also now more renters than homeowners in Jackson, she said, which is something the program is hoping to decrease.

The city has partnered with the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association, which estimates over 500,000 Mississippians have purchased manufactured homes.

NACA can help residents become homeowner ready

The city has partnered with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit that provides financial counseling and planning for those interested in becoming homeowners. They provide over 30% of all housing counseling in the country, according to their website.

“We first give people homebuyers education. Then we look at their whole financial situation and we discuss with ways that will help them become homeownership ready,” said Andre’a Haqq, a counselor with NACA. “So we provide them counseling to get them ready, then we help them secure a loan and close out on a loan.

Along with providing counseling, Haqq is also a licensed loan officer. Originally from New Orleans, Haqq bought her home in Jackson in 2017 with the help of NACA.

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NACA’s counseling includes assessing a person’s income and debt, making sure all taxes are paid off or up-to-date within the past year and creating a budget. They will also help define a person’s housing price range.

“Those budgets have to be really realistic because not only do they have to have their finances in order, they have to have their lifestyle habits in order to be successful in their homeownership,” Haqq said.

Workshops for residents to attend that will focus on homeownership education and the process of becoming qualified will take place in both February and March around Jackson. The first being on Feb. 3 at the Madison County Library. A second workshop will take place in March, though Haqq said the date for that one has not been finalized.

For those interested in counseling, you can call NACA’s phone number: 601-922-4008.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS starts affordable housing program with prefab homes