MCKENZIE COUNTY FARMER

Will financial incentives help spur the construction of much needed affordable single-family homes in Watford City, as well as Arnegard and Alexander?
The McKenzie County Board of County Commissioners hopes so. And the board is now giving serious consideration to allocating $1 million of county funds in the way of financial incentives to help jump-start the construction of new single-family homes that meet the $315,000 FHA maximum loan restriction in the county.
“There is a big backlog of people wanting to secure FHA loans,” stated Commissioner Gene Veeder, during the commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19. “We want to do something that the developers can move forward with. This program is designed to help the first- or second-time home buyer who can’t meet the FHA requirement.”
The lack of affordable single-family housing in Watford City and elsewhere in the county is at a critical stage, Joel Brown, McKenzie County Job Development Authority (JDA) chairman, told the commissioners.