San Fernando Seeking More Takers for Home Repair Funds : Loans: The Redevelopment Agency is looking for low-income homeowners to take 3% interest loans of up to $25,000 to upgrade houses badly in need of repair.

Henrietta and Martin Gomez live in a modest stucco house built in the 1920s on San Fernando’s south side. Like many of the homes nearby, the house where the Gomezes live is small and in need of repair.

Henrietta, a dental assistant, and her husband, Martin, an auto mechanic, and their neighbors are the targets of a new low-interest loan program offered by the city. But few of those the city would like to have apply for the loans have done so.

So the city is attempting to create more interest in the program, by providing pamphlets and other materials in Spanish and targeting community service organizations to help publicize the program.

“We really need to fix up our home and we just couldn’t afford higher rates,” said Henrietta Gomez, referring to the city’s new 3% home improvement loans. “Our income is hardly enough . . . to pay our mortgage and other expenses. And, I think that the extremely low interest rates will definitely appeal to a lot more people once they find out about the program.”

The city subsidizes the interest on loans from Security Pacific Bank, allowing residents with low to moderate incomes to pay 3% interest rates instead of the current market rate of 12%, Assistant City Planner Bob Kishita said. The subsidy is provided by the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which has about $600,000 set aside for the program, said Interim City Administrator Michael Graziano.

Homeowners can borrow up to $25,000 to upgrade homes badly in need of repair, he said, and the city can subsidize between 15 and 20 units a year. The city expects the bank to approve the loans of homeowners who apply to the program by mid-April.

The city initially posted bright yellow flyers and gray brochures throughout San Fernando in mid-January to get the word out that the program was available.

So far about 20 people have applied to the city’s planning office for the loans. But, Kishita said, many of the applicants are not eligible for the loans because of the types of additions or renovations they want to make. “These loans are not for people who want to add swimming pools,” he said.

If the Gomezes are approved for the loan, it would give them money they need to add an additional bedroom, garage and driveway to their two-bedroom home on Hollister Street.

Henrietta Gomez said the improvements would create more space for the couple’s 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son and be a blessing on rainy days.

“The mud was horrible” on the unpaved driveway when it rained, she said. “And in my profession, I have to go to work nice and neat.”

Henrietta Gomez and her husband had been turned down for another loan program provided by the city because their combined income of $30,000 exceeded the low-income requirement.

Mayor Daniel Acuna said the program will give moderate income residents a break. Those earning from $31,900 for a single person to $45,600 for a family of four are eligible.

“Everyone comes away with something,” Kishita said. “Residents get their homes refurbished and the city gets nicer communities. This program enhances the property values for the city and the homeowner.”