Government grants can help families complete home improvements.
The cost for do-it-yourselfers to fix up their homes can go beyond the price of a hammer and a few nails. Some homes, such as those with mold, direly need work that is often beyond families' budgets. To help, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other government agencies offer grants and other financial assistance that can help families finish home improvements for free or lower costs.
Function
HUD and other government agencies offer grant programs that each have their own purpose. HUD has the broad goal "to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all." Grants and other funding programs help it accomplish that mission. Other programs, such as those through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development, focus on helping certain demographics have better homes. Some grants also intend to improve communities overall, such as HUD's Community Development Block Grant Program.
The U.S. Department of Energy also offers home improvement grants to low-income families through the Weatherization Assistance Program.
Applying
Government agencies often provide directions for apply for individual grants on their websites. Many solicitations, including eligibility criteria, also appear on Grants.gov, which is a database dedicated to federal grants. HUD offers online training and information about its grant programs. If grants don't have online filing, the solicitations should list the address to which people should mail applications.
Loans
Many federal agencies, including HUD and the USDA, also offer loan programs. The key difference is loans require repayment, but grants do not (albeit, many grant programs require recipients to match portions of the amount or commit to other obligations). Regardless of repayment requirements, government loans, such as HUD's Section 203(k) mortgage insurance program, can help families finish home improvements without having to worry about ballooning payments or other concerns that come with bank loans. Also, many grants apply to specific groups of people or situations, where as loans tend to have broader eligibility.
Other Considerations
Home improvement grants, like many housing grants, tend to go to low-income families, the elderly, the disabled and other in-need groups of people. Grants also have specific purposes that limit eligibility. HUD's Healthy Home Program, for example, helps communities renovate homes, but only those needing remediation for mold or other health-related problems. In many cases, grants also only go to communities, which are supposed to use the money to improve homes. That means for some grants, families cannot apply and need their local government on a nonprofit to take the initiative to help them.
Social Benefits
Government grant programs for home improvements often have goals broader than helping families have better homes. Many of HUD's grants intend to improve entire neighborhoods or cities, especially low-income ones, by improving individual homes and their values. And the Department of Energy says weatherization grants aim to help families reduce their monthly utility bills, thus reducing Americans reliability on foreign energy.
Tags: grant programs, help families, home improvements, agencies offer, better homes, Department Energy