The American dream is to own a home, a place where you can raise your family and leave the world behind you with a click of the front door. However, with the dream comes expenses: property taxes, utility bills and seemingly endless home repairs. Making ends meet can be a strain, but there is help if you qualify.
Identification
Income determines whether many home improvement grants are given. Families with a home in need of repair but with little income to cover costs may qualify for the Home Repair Loan and Grant Program. The program also has funds to make homes accessible to disabled residents. Other grants are for older homeowners who may have limited income. Home improvement grants are available to homeowners age 62 and older through the USDA's Rural Development and Housing Community Facilities Programs.
Function
Many grants specify that the money must be used to correct health and safety issues within your home. Some of the home improvements eligible for grant money are roof repair and wheelchair ramps on the front entrances of homes. Other things home improvement grants may be used for are replacing wood stoves with central heating and replacing outhouses and pumps with running water, bathrooms and waste disposal systems.
Types
Technical Assistance Grants and Site Loans are provided to nonprofit and local government organizations that oversee 5 to 12 people in the Self-Help Program. Members help work on all the homes, and when the homes are completed, participants move in at the same time.
If you are willing to get your hands dirty, you may be eligible for the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program, which is a loan-based program. The goal is to make homes more affordable as long as applicants are willing to do 65 percent of the work. Once accepted into the Self-Help Housing Program, individuals generally apply for a single-family housing direct loan.
Finding Help
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has several tips for finding grants for home improvements. The agency, commonly known as HUD, encourages homeowners to contact local governments to ask about community development block grants. Seventy percent of these grants "must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income" residents, according to HUD.
HUD also suggests visiting www.govbenefits.gov. This site offers free, online screening that lets you know which programs you may be eligible to use.
Considerations
Don't give up on your search for grants for home improvement. Check with community organizations as sources for home improvement grants. Churches and local civic groups may have grants available to improve their neighborhoods.
The Rural Housing Service has Housing Preservation Grants available through "qualified public agencies, private non-profit organizations, which may include but not be limited to faith-based and community organizations, and other eligible entities." This program could also assist rental property owners and cooperative housing complexes in making repairs as long as the housing is available to low- and very low-income people.
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