There are grants available to help repair your home.
For many people living on small or fixed incomes, home repairs fall under the "luxury spending" category, and neglecting to make repairs over time can make a house unlivable. Senior citizens or handicapped individuals also may need their homes adapted to accommodate their special needs. Home-repair grant funding originates mainly from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department or the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Department.
Instructions
1. Contact your local city or county housing office for available aid programs. The Federal HUD program provides funds for the Community Development Block Grant Program, which allocates grant money to several different programs in various states, at local levels, to award grants and loan guarantees. Investigate all of the details for each program. Even though they are called grant programs, many of the assistance programs are actually loans, but qualified applicants do have a few true grant programs available to them.
2. Check with your local energy company for government grants in the form of subsidies. For example, Illinois offers financial subsidies to residential, commercial and industrial customers in exchange for the installation of new, energy-efficient equipment. The Illinois Department of Commerce advises consumers to contact their local power provider for information on these subsidies.
3. Review the applicable grants available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development website at Rurdev.usda.gov. These include repair and improvement grants for very low-income homeowners, for issues such as the removal of safety or health hazards and the modernization of the home. Homeowners in certain areas may qualify for grants to pay for water and waste-water hookups, as long as they meet low-income guidelines. The website lists contact details for rural development offices by city, area and state. Interested parties must contact the office to request an application.
4. Obtain, complete and submit your applications. Be aware that the process might take time and you could be required to provide documentation of your age, disabilities, energy-saving equipment purchases or non-profit status in the case of organizations seeking funding to provide needy, low-income families with home-building or repair assistance.
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