Questions about NACA: Round #2

Apologies for the delay in this next installment. I was unexpectedly out of town...

What's your experience with NACA's rehab department, HAND?

Not good--not good at all.

But before I launch into my tirade, let me give a little background: NACA members have the option of taking out rehab loans for their property at either a lesser, equal, or higher amount than the amount of their mortgage. Both loans--the mortgage and the rehab funds--get rolled into one payment. We took out a rehab loan worth a quarter of our mortgage loan. Follow me so far?

Prior to closing, buyers are required to get 2-3 estimates on each item of work they need done. This is difficult for a couple reasons: for one, it's hard to get into a house you don't yet own and for another, it's challenging to coordinate with 2-3 contractors per job. We had many jobs but luckily, we only needed to choose two separate companies to handle them all in the end. Still, a lot of groundwork.

After closing, we were told that work on the house needed to start immediately. Our contractors needed to fill out 5-8 pages of paperwork to begin their work and another 5-8 pages to complete it and receive payment. As if the paperwork itself were not enough, the HAND department is completely and utterly incompetent.

In year or so that we've been dealing with the HAND department, staff turnover has been high. Perhaps for this reason, very few staff members know what they're doing. Staffers often contradict each other or themselves, and they rarely seem familiar with NACA's own policies and procedures. You can forget about developing a relationship with someone in the department because they will either leave before you get a chance to call again or not remember you at all, despite the fact that you spoke for 15 minutes the day before.

(Can you tell I hate this part? Steve has often felt violent after hanging up with HAND; I relate.)

The very real consequences of this staffing problem come into play when it's time for contractors to get paid. In short, it takes forever. Both of our contractors have told us they will never again do a NACA job. My friend Michael, a contractor, said he will never again do a NACA job after he spent hours of his life on the phone with the idiots at HAND--and he's the one who recommended NACA to us!

So, I would not recommend getting a substantial loan for rehab from NACA. I'm glad we got ours--annoyances aside--because we would not have been able to afford the repairs out of pocket, but I am thankful that they were relatively small, done by two contractors and completed within six months of closing. I have a friend who took out upwards of $40K in rehab and her experience has been, it seems, a nightmare.

I hope to never interact with the NACA HAND department again.


I'm working with the NACA program now in Baltimore, and I want to give up. No one returns your calls or e-mails, and the turnover is so terrible you end up working with several counselors before you can close.

I've heard people in other cities, besides Baltimore, voice similar complaint about NACA offices. Just like any business, I'm sure much of the experience depends on the staff. I found Buffalo's office to be responsive, helpful, and reasonable both before and after we closed. Good for us, I guess.

When we were wrapping up with our counselor John and moving on to work more appropriate for our NACA-paid lawyer, I definitely got the sense that our progress was freeing up room for more people. John is no doubt a busy guy so I think it's even more incredible that he returns my calls.

All this being said, given my experience with the HAND department, I think NACA does need to do some top-level evaluation of its departments and regional offices. Inconsistency seems to prevail.