Get a grant to adapt your home.
Several federal agencies provide grants and low-interest loans to help homeowners make their properties handicap accessible. Veterans can go on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website and download an application for a specially adapted housing grant and submit it to a regional VA loan center. Applicants for other programs can contact a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development-approved housing counselor to find out what programs are available in their area. The counselor can also help you determine if you qualify for help.
Specially Adapted Housing Grant
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides grants to veterans who have service-related injuries through its Specially Adapted Housing Program. The veteran can qualify to obtain a grant up to $63,780 to make a home more accessible. To qualify for help, the veteran must have suffered the loss of either both arms or both legs, blindness in both eyes or severe burn injuries. The money can be used to construct a specially adapted home, purchase an existing home with adaptations, or adapt a home that is already owned.
Special Housing Adaptations Grant
The VA offers another grant up to $12,756 for veterans with service-related injuries. To qualify for help, the veteran must have suffered blindness in both eyes, loss of hand usage or severe burns that have caused permanent disability. The money can be used to adapt a home or purchase a home that will be adapted. Typical adaptations include special lighting, sliding doors, hand rails or security and intercom systems. Veterans with a hydrotherapy prescription or prescribed workout regimen can have a swimming pool installed on the property.
USDA Rural Repair Grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides home repair grants to very low-income seniors over the age of 62. A grant of $7,500 is provided to homeowners who cannot afford to repay a loan. These repair grants can be used to correct health and safety concerns, or modernize the home which may include handicap accessibility. The property must be located in a USDA-designated rural area of the country. The homeowner's income cannot exceed 50 percent of the area's median income.
203K Loan Program
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development insures low-cost rehabilitation loans to make a home handicap accessible. The "Streamline (K)" Limited Repair Program, or 203K mortgage, can be used to refinance existing liens against a property and to rehabilitate the home. The home must need a minimum of $5,000 in repairs to qualify for a 203K loan. The repairs must be completed within six months of receiving the rehabilitation loan. Typical improvements that can be financed include widening doors for wheelchair access or installing a ramp.
Tags: qualify help, adapt home, Adapted Housing, blindness both, blindness both eyes
