Underwriting support from:
GRAR Offices /R Lemmon
The Greater Regional Alliance of Realtors (commonly known as GRAR and, until recently, known as the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors) is West Michigan’s largest association of licensed real estate professionals, with over 3,500-member agents, brokers, and affiliates. The association is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2018, serving the real estate needs of real property buyers and sellers in Western Michigan.
GRAR recently announced a $100,000 donation from its membership to the Realtors Property Crisis Fund, the largest contribution ever received by the fund. The contribution allows GRAR to significantly extend the reach of the Crisis Fund, which offers grants for property disaster relief and disability-adaption projects to individuals, families, and non-profit agencies.
The fund provides financial assistance when property owners have limited resources to cover the cost of repairs, temporary housing, or adaptions or where there is a gap between what insurance and/or the owner’s personal financial resources cover and the cost of completing the project. No repayment of the grants is required.
A few examples of the assistance that has been provided to West Michigan residents include:
· A home owner in Grand Rapids received a grant to cover the purchase and installation of new overhead garage doors after a tree fell on the unattached garage during a thunderstorm; the home owner’s insurance did not cover the damage.
· A family of 11 in Hudsonville received a grant to assist with repairs necessary to obtain a certificate of occupancy permit following a fire in their home. In the interim, they were living in travel trailers in their driveway.
· A family of 4 in Middleville received a grant to assist with temporary housing after the home they lived in was lost in a fire.
The Crisis Fund is administered by GRAR volunteer members who are appointed to the Crisis Fund Task Force by the association’s board of directors. The task force reviews each application and makes the decision to allocate money from the Crisis Fund based on what other resources may be available to the applicant as well as individual need.
The Crisis Fund is designed to help owners located in Kent County, Southeast Ottawa County (primarily Jamestown and Georgetown Townships), Ionia County, and northern Barry County.
Information on the grant process and guidelines can be found at the Greater Regional Alliance of Realtors website, GRAR.COM.
Ron Lemmon is broker/ owner of Patriot Realty. Patriot Realty is a member of the Greater Regional Alliance of Realtors.
The Rapidian, a program of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Community Media Center, relies on the community’s support to help cover the cost of training reporters and publishing content.
We need your help.
If each of our readers and content creators who values this community platform help support its creation and maintenance, The Rapidian can continue to educate and facilitate a conversation around issues for years to come.
Please support The Rapidian and make a contribution today.
Comments, like all content, are held to The Rapidian standards of civility and open identity as outlined in our Terms of Use and Values Statement. We reserve the right to remove any content that does not hold to these standards.