- December 15, 2025
Staff is having trouble finding homes in Bunnell which qualify for federal aid.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, approved the appropriation of $36,125.85 in State Housing Initiative Program funds Monday, April 16, for the rehabilitation of two houses in Flagler County.
“We were looking at rehabbing three homes with SHIP dollars but one (estimate) came in too high,” explained Deputy County Administrator Sally Sherman. “So we’re going to rehab two homes, instead.”
The two bids accepted by the commission were from McNeal & White, of DeLand, for $15,579.79, and Roman Building Contractors, of Flagler Beach, for $20,546.06.
The third home, rehabilitation of which was originally assessed at $14,600, was re-assessed at $56,900 — well out of the price range afforded by the grant.
In a similar housing initiative, Sherman explained that county staff is also currently exploring the option of expanding its search area out of Bunnell and into areas of Palm Coast for homes to rehabilitate and rent through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
To expand into the city, though, staff will need approval from Palm Coast officials.
Through the initiative — which the commission approved last May — the county is hoping to rehab seven for-rent homes with federal dollars. The program’s requirements, however, dictate that a home is only eligible for the more than $1 million grant if it is located in Bunnell (which last year was named Flagler’s “area of greatest need” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and currently in foreclosure.
Finding homes that qualify, though, has proven difficult, according to Sherman.
“We’re desperately, desperately trying to find homes that qualify in Bunnell,” she said. “(But) we’re having trouble finding them … (because) a lot of the houses in the area are older and more established.”
Although Bunnell is an area of need, Communications Manager Carl Laundrie suggested that eligible homes have been harder to find there because of the city’s age.
“It’s a different situation than what you had in Palm Coast,” he said of the housing boom and collapse. “A lot of what was going on in Palm Coast was people jumping on the bandwagon.”
But in Bunnell, he added, there was not the same explosion of new builds.
Currently, staff is looking at areas off Old Dixie Highway in Palm Coast to focus on for stabilization.
