The Mississippi Development Authority’s Small Rental Assistance Program (SRAP for short) round 2 is here and applications are being processed. For anyone wanting to take advantage of this program, you need to do it BEFORE December 15th 2008.
SRAP round 2 started on October 15th 2008 and offers some of the nicest incentives to put rental property into the market and create affordable housing. A typical, three bedroom home can receive $36,500 in the form of a forgivable loan provided the guidelines are met with the program for a period of 5 years.
The Small Rental Assistance Program is very unique and round 2 has many of the same guidelines as round 1 of SRAP but there are some minor differences. The forgivable loan amounts are as follows, and come directly from the SRAP Guidelines:
| # Units | Efficiency | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR |
| 1 | $20,000 | $22,500 | $25,000 | $27,500 | $30,000 |
| 2 | $40,000 | $45,000 | $50,000 | $55,000 | $60,000 |
| 3 | $60,000 | $67,500 | $75,000 | $82,500 | $90,000 |
| 4 | $80,000 | $90,000 | $100,000 | $110,000 | $120,000 |
Then, you can get an additional “completion bonus” if it is in use within 9 months of the approval:
| # Units | Efficiency | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR |
| 1 | $3,000 | $7,000 | $8,000 | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| 2 | $6,000 | $14,000 | $16,000 | $18,000 | $20,000 |
| 3 | $9,000 | $21,000 | $24,000 | $27,000 | $30,000 |
| 4 | $12,000 | $28,000 | $32,000 | $36,000 | $40,000 |
As you can see, the benefits can quickly add up and that is the nature of the program – to get as many lower rate rentals as possible to attract more people back to the coastal counties most effected by Katrina.
SRAP round 2 does have a few minor changes including the fact that you have to OWN the property. Round 1 allowed you to have them under contract or have options to purchase and be able to apply. Because of significant issues, they have changed this. Directly from the SRAP round 2 guidelines:
MDA is now requiring that an Applicant OWN the property prior to application processing. A lease, contract for purchase, option to purchase, or a reservation will not meet this requirement.
For the purposes of this program, property ownership is defined as “fee ownership”. In other
words, the applicant must be able to provide MDA with a recorded warranty deed, quitclaim
deed or other documented proof of ownership.
In round 1, people were trying to make sure they would get the loan as a means to buy the property and this created a LOT of headaches. What this does mean is that less people will be taking the chance on getting this on new purchases which leaves a better chance for you to be able to take advantage of it!
If you are considering buying investment rental property, give us a call (or email) and we will go over some properties that will KNOCK your SOCKS off.
My partner and I spend a lot of time putting properties together for our investors – come see what all your investor friends have been keeping from you 
See the Official SRAP page on the MDA website HERE.
Real Estate Investing | MS Coast Real Estate says:
[...] to me today where the investor was looking for properties to buy in the Go-Zone that qualified for SRAP. He had been talking with another agent who put on investment seminars which were basically a [...]
October 29th, 2008 at 12:35 am
SRAP | Small Rental Assistance Program Opportunities on the Gulf Coast | MS Coast Real Estate says:
[...] Program) offer on the Mississippi Coast, it would be a good time to read more about it. The Small Rental Assistance Program is designed to help address the affordable housing issue on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and awards [...]
November 17th, 2008 at 12:50 am