NEWS

We, at Davidson Housing Coalition (DHC), want to thank our supporters from across Davidson and the region.

The Board of Directors of DHC has decided that a portion of this year’s donations to Holidays for Hope and Housing (HHH) will be used to establish a reserve fund to assist any Bungalows residents unable to manage some of the $50/month rent increase for 2023. This move comes with appreciation for the Bungalows residents, and contributions made during this year’s annual luminary fundraiser will help DHC assure that no Bungalows resident’s housing will be jeopardized over the coming year by the forthcoming increase in monthly rent for 2023.

Now for some context.

It has been nearly three years that we have been dealing with the forced sale of the Bungalows on the open market by our limited partner. We worked hard to avoid such a listing, and to establish a fair price for us to buy the Bungalows outright. Instead, the limited partner, an investor in affordable rentals, has moved to take the property to market, likely in early 2023. It is still the firm intention of the DHC Board to buy the Bungalows, perhaps with another investment partner. We will apprise the community of next steps in the new year.

Over the years, we have kept the rents extraordinarily low at the Bungalows. When we built the Bungalows in 1999-2000, our Board pledged to keep the rents so low that they could be afforded by those who make 50% or less of Area Median Income (AMI), or what the federal government defines as lowest income. These extremely low rents do not cover the cost of managing and running the units. This year, the shortfall (difference between our actual costs and rent income for the Bungalows) is around $90,000.

For 2023, we have informed our residents that we will raise rents by $50 a month—still quite a bit lower than 50% of AMI.

In order not to raise the rents even to that 50% level, we must fundraise the difference. In addition to using a portion of this year’s HHH donations to establish a reserve, as described above, we also must raise enough money to help support and run our other important programs. This is a critical time in the life of our organization and some of those programs are:

• 28 affordable rentals under our direct management, separate from the Bungalows
• 14 single-family affordable houses, and three affordable townhouses via our land-lease program
• The Hoke Townhome Development’s eight affordable rental units which will be owned by DHC
• Affordable for US – our plan to provide rent subsidies for eligible families. This program has the potential to greatly increase the availability of affordable housing options by allowing us to bring market-rate rentals down to the range that working families can afford.
• HAMMERS, which provides eligible homeowners with critical repairs so they may more safely remain in their homes
• Financial Empowerment, increasing significantly in the past year, serving 80 participants.

We are all grateful for a warm place to call home. Please continue to support DHC to allow us to open doors to those in need of the warmth of home and financial security, as well. Thank you.