Why Are Tenth Street And West Dallas Leaving Money on The Table?

If you live in West Dallas or the Historic Tenth Street District, the City of Dallas is trying to make your life easier.

“Trying” is the key word, of course.

They released a new program on December 11 called the Targeted Rehab Program (TRP). The focus of TRP is to help preserve and maintain homes within these two areas. The deadline for application is January 29 — just a week away — so let’s get down to what you need to know.

If you need assistance with improvements but are financially challenged, the program provides up to $10,000 for West Dallas residents and up to $20,000.00 for Tenth Street homeowners. The goal is 35 home repairs in the Tenth Street Historic District and 200 in West Dallas. To date, there have been approximately 30 applications from West Dallas and 10 from Tenth Street.

That’s leaving a lot of money on the table, folks. Why? You better sit down now and get a cup of coffee.

Try as they might, the City of Dallas has yet to convince a lot of residents this is a great program.

Many still don’t know about it, and homeowners feel challenged by the rules on the application. To give the city officials credit, they did quite a lot to get this information out to homeowners. Thor Erickson is the city’s area redevelopment manager and was kind enough to give me the low-down.

“We partnered with seven community organizations to get the word out, mailed flyers to everyone with a homestead exemption, held WebEx question and answer sessions before and after the application launch, and we may hold another one if needed,” he said.

Let’s break down what’s great about the program and what’s perhaps not.

Saving affordable housing stock is actually more important than building more housing. It’s economically and environmentally sound. And when it comes to the Tenth Street neighborhood, it’s a no brainer to save these homes.

It’s also a bit easier because it’s a landmark district. While you may think $10,000 is a drop in the bucket, the city is not trying to help you flip a house. They are trying to help you take care of things like code violations, roof repairs, plumbing, foundation, and HVAC repairs.

So, what’s not to love?

Patricia Cox is the president of the Tenth Street Residential Association. She thinks this is a great program, but meeting the qualifications will be tough for those who need it the most.

“It’s a great first step,” Cox said. “I hope this program is successful and can be applied to other areas of the city. However, I think they need to revisit it and give us more time, and there is a bit of a Catch-22 with the insurance requirement. A lot of people can’t get insurance. If a house is not up to par, companies won’t insure it, especially with property values increasing. Let’s not forget history. It’s because of the city that the houses are in this condition, because of redlining and not being able to build back if a home burns.”

So let’s think about that one. Residents cannot get the money intended to help them overcome a code violation because they cannot get insurance — likely because of the code violations. That’s some Catch-22, alright.

But of course, from the city’s perspective, they have legal hoops to jump through, and insurance is one of them.

As with any grant, the city is bound by law.

“For us to have an agreement to be on someone’s property, we have to have proof of homeowners insurance,” Erickson said. “And from a legal standpoint. We can’t give a grant unless you can prove you own the property.”

That proof of ownership is the biggest hurdle for residents.

Years ago, the city burned Tenth Street deeds. From what I can gather, this was a gross oversight that happened during a move.

So you have to prove you own your home but have no deed. The city allows for an affidavit of heirship in place of a deed. That’s another mountain to climb for most.

Shaun Montgomery, Secretary of the Tenth Street Residential Association, broke down a typical scenario.

“We have a lot of heirship properties here. All of the people that need to sign the paperwork may not be in Dallas or even in Texas, so we have to chase down relatives in other parts of the country. That takes time,” Montgomery said. “Even getting a necessary document in Dallas is difficult as you cannot go to City Hall. It’s closed to the public due to the pandemic.”

The city does have a solution for this puzzle piece.

They have partnered with Cadillac Law and, for those that qualify, help is free. But, of course, we are back to the time issue. January 29 is fast approaching.

There are a couple of other issues chafing residents. One is the nine-page application asking for a lot of sensitive financial information. The city went to a paper application because a lot of people do not have computer access.

Larry Johnson is an involved community activist, has a background in construction, and was asked by Tenth Street neighbors to get on the task force.

“The city wants us to drop off applications that contain sensitive financial material and put them in the hands of people that don’t know anything about the program,” he said. “So, many residents don’t want to participate simply because of that process.”

Of course, you can seal your documents in an envelope. You can also make an appointment and deliver them to a city official in person.  I think determination is a big factor here.

According to Johnson, the city is vetting and selecting the contractors, and residents have no input.

“We can’t be part of the interview process and talk to the people that are going to be rehabbing the houses,” he said. ” This is so upsetting. I’ve been inside houses before they were torn down, and I knew they could have been rehabbed. How do we know the contractors the city is bringing in are not going to say a house is not worth repairing? Right now, there are those homes that are not going to qualify, and there are the developers putting pressure on the homeowners to sell. When the city finds out your house is in disrepair, code enforcement comes out. They write you tickets, so you almost end up having to sell. I don’t have much faith in the program because the City of Dallas wants to turn Tenth Street into another Bishop Arts District. I don’t think the program was well thought out. I don’t believe enough people that deal with the issues of Tenth Street were involved.”

I reached out to a couple of Realtors who work in West Dallas who confirmed some of Johnson’s concerns. David Riley with EXP Realty sees a lot of home purchasing by investors who are flipping and a great deal of commercial development.

“I think it’s a worthwhile program,” he said, “but I’m finding people are opting to sell in residential areas.”

Gracie Vela with United Real Estate is being contacted by developers regularly.

“In general, clients want the most money for their property, and that is coming from developers,” she said. “I had no idea about the TRP program, and my clients don’t either.”

The bottom line is the City of Dallas is trying.

“We always try to provide as much advice as we can,” Erickson said. “I encourage people to start with us. Give the housing department a call. We want to help you.”

And they will help you. They provide a deep level of case management, and if you are missing something, you’ll get the necessary assistance. I think that’s what has not been emphasized. There is also every likelihood the January 29 deadline will be extended, so don’t think you are out of time.

Sadly, it seems, for the city, this is a typical case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.  But just remember, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. If the City of Dallas is offering you money, you may want to try and climb those mountains to get it.

Find out more about the Dallas Targeted Rehab Program here.