Hidalgo County is turning federal housing funds into new homes for Valley residents

After a long day caring for others as a healthcare worker, 62-year-old Maria Ramos can now rest and recover in a brand-new home with central air conditioning that sits in the Delta Orchards community in Hidalgo County. 

Delta Orchards is an unincorporated community that sits just east of the city of Edinburg near Val Verde Road and Farm to Market Road 2812. 

For years, the widow struggled to maintain a two-story wood-frame home she built herself in 1965, especially after a severe storm, which seemed more like a hurricane, damaged the roof causing leaks inside. Ramos earns about $13 an hour as a health aide, which is a salary of about $27,000 a year. 

“My house was very dilapidated and every now and then I could do something about it, but it was too much,” Ramos, who has lived in the Valley for the past 40 years after immigrating from Mexico, said. She raised two children in the Valley who are now adults living in Edinburg. 

Ramos is able to move into the new construction this week because she applied for a slice of federal grant money through the Hidalgo County Urban County Program nine years ago, and her turn on the waitlist was up. 

She applied in 2017, was approved in 2021, the existing home was demolished and construction was completed this month. 

“Thank God we were able to get it,” she said, adding that she looks forward to whipping up something to eat in her new kitchen soon. She encouraged other residents to apply and be patient. 

Even after severe storms rolled through the Valley this week, her new home — and the entire surrounding area — was dry.

County officials dropped off coffee mugs and pan dulce to celebrate handing off the keys to her new home. And they plan to do the same for several more homeowners across the Valley this week. 

Sometimes, the county will even contact homeowners with damaged properties in the area by sending them a letter about the program to raise awareness. 

“Sometimes they have funding available immediately and sometimes they are put on a wait list,” Hidalgo County Commissioner for Precinct 4 Ellie Torres said. “It took nine years to make this home a reality. That’s pretty substantial, but we’re chipping away at it and we will continue to provide these funds as they become available.” 

The older home was about 2,000 square feet and the new home is a two-bedroom, one-bath ranch-style on a 1.2 acre lot. 

It was built by Andrew Nicolas Salinas, of A-One Insulation, a company which regularly bids on Hidalgo County Urban County Program projects as a contractor. Federal funding typically requires minority and women-owned businesses to “have the maximum opportunity to participate” and interested construction companies can bid on Hidalgo County projects or enter a pool to be considered as a vendor. 

The property value increased from roughly $65,000 to more than $126,000 over the last three years, records show. The Hidalgo County program tends to add about $2,000 to the tax rolls per home as a result. 

The Hidalgo County Urban County Program was created in 1988 in collaboration with nearly a dozen cities across the county so smaller communities could access U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development federal funding through a HUD Community Development Block Grant. 

Hidalgo County’s HOME Investment Partnership Grant for Housing Rehabilitation and Reconstruction program — which is where the money for the new Delta Orchards home stemmed from — has been operational since 1992. 

Since its inception, the program has invested more than $54.6 million in Hidalgo County to rehabilitate more than 2,700 single-family homes, condos, or mobile homes. 

“It still exists because there still is a need for this kind of funding within Hidalgo County,” said Crystal Medina, HOME manager of the Hidalgo County Urban County Program. “We did 25 houses this past year, and we plan to do at least 25 this year as well. Right now, our program funding is only for complete reconstruction of homes.” 

Each year, the county receives between $1.5 million and $2 million for the HOME reconstruction program, records show. It was not immediately clear how much it costs to rehabilitate a single-family home, but $1.9 million was projected to support 15 rehabilitated properties between 2023 and 2027, records show. 

Homeowners located in unincorporated communities and within the city limits of Alamo, Alton, Donna, Edcouch, Elsa, Granjeno, Hidalgo, La Joya, La Villa, Mercedes, Palmhurst, Palmview, Peñitas, Progreso, Progreso Lakes, San Juan, Sullivan City, and Weslaco may be eligible to participate. The program excludes properties in McAllen, Mission, Edinburg, and Pharr, which are established cities. Typically, homes located in the 100-year FEMA flood plain are ineligible due to future flooding concerns. 

The annual income of homeowners cannot exceed 80% of the area median income, which was about $42,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a family of four in 2024. 

By 2026, that was adjusted to $46,900 for an individual and $66,950 for a family of four. Homeowners must be U.S. citizens or legal residents, maintain the home as their primary residence for at least 5 to 10 years, and have a forgivable loan that converts to a grant for the complete rehabilitation. 

“I know it sounds like it’s too good to be true, but it is a real program,” Medina said.