Rabobank Awards $10,000 to Housing Trust Fund

Source: Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County (HTF) is pleased to announce that it has received a generous $10,000 grant award from Rabobank, N.A. The grant will support the Housing Trust Fund’s on-going housing production program that offers low-cost loans to developers of affordable housing countywide as well as the agency’s homebuyer program that provides low-cost down payment loans up to $100,000 to help first-time low-to-middle income homebuyers purchase an entry-level home in the community where they work. All affordable housing funded by HTF creates substantial positive community development impacts by providing individual project residents safe and affordable housing and by preserving the housing affordability for future generations. The HTF funds housing projects for under-served and special needs populations who find it difficult to locate housing in the expensive Santa Barbara County market, including low-income families, single parents, farmworkers, senior citizens, the disabled, homeless and other persons with special needs in diverse communities.

“Rabobank is committed to helping build strong and sustainable communities around the county,” said Nina Kobayashi, retail market manager for Rabobank, N.A. “Sharing our goals, the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County is tackling one of the essential components for vibrant communities: affordable housing for local workers and residents.”

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County operates in the 6th least affordable small metropolitan area housing market in the nation (National Association of Home Builders 2018). Over the past several years, HTF has funded over $5 million in loans to facilitate the production of 195 units of newly constructed affordable housing for low-income households and has provided $1,023,924 to help 30 first-time low to upper moderate-income homebuyers buy a home.