Nearly $77,000 is coming to Vermont from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures.

The Central Vermont Community Action Council in Barre and Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council in Rutland will share $76,882.73 in HUD grants.

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity has been given the Clarence Jordan Award for a home its building in Charlotte.

Habitat for Humanity International honors just two local chapters a year with the award. There are approximately 1,500 local Habitat affiliates nationwide.

Construction of the house, on Greenbush Road across from the Old Lantern, began in September. Builders are paying special attention to carbon-neutral construction concepts as specified by the Passive House Institute.

We've posted the 2011 application deadline for Act 68 subsidized rental housing certification: Feb. 25.

Act 68 categorizes all Vermont properties as "homestead" or "non-homestead," charging a higher tax rate for non-homestead properties.

Subsidized housing buildings are, by default, considered non-homestead properties under Act 68. Luckily, the law allows owners/managers of those properties to apply to reduce their assessment to reduce their tax burdens to something more akin to homestead status.

More details about Act 68, the process of applying for the subsidized rental housing designation, as well as a PDF application are all available online.