Earlier this year, Dougherty County was awarded the Community Home Investment Program (CHIP) grant by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Administered by the Georgia Department of Commu- nity Affairs (DCA), the $300,000 grant will focus on rehabilitation of owner-occupied homes and the option of building and renovating affordable single-family homes for sale to eligible homebuyers.

The CHIP grant is part of a home buyer development program to help counties provide funds to applicants for new construction, rehabilitation, and/or reconstruction of single- family units for homeownership. Under the program, construction loans to applicants will be provided at zero percent interest upon the sale to a home buyer who is eligible under the HOME Program.

Dougherty County has received the CHIP Grant for several years. Under the new 2020 plan, however, if an application proposes the development, including new construction and rehabilitation, of housing units that will be sold to low and moderate income home buyers, a formal agreement will be required between the subrecipient and a HUD-ap- proved housing counseling agency to provide pre-purchase and home buyer education services to all new home buyers.