Preservation Funding for Homeowners

Website: rd.usda.gov

• Section 502 loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. Funds can be used to build, repair, renovate, or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including providing water and sewage facilities.
• Applicants for direct loans from Housing and Community Facilities Programs must have very low or low incomes. Families must be without adequate housing, but be able to afford the mortgage payments. Applicants must be unable to obtain credit elsewhere, yet have reasonable credit histories.
• Loans are for up to 33 years, or 38 years for those with incomes below 60% of area median income and who cannot afford 33-year terms.

Website: rd.usda.gov

• The Very Low-Income Housing Repair program (Section 504) provides loans and grants to very low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their dwellings or to the elderly to remove health and safety hazards.
• To obtain a loan, homeowner-occupants must be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere and must have very low incomes. They must need to make repairs and improvements to make the dwelling safer and more sanitary or to the elderly to remove health and safety hazards. Grants are only available to homeowners who are 62 years old or older and cannot repay a loan.
• Loans of up to $20,000 and grants of up to $7,500 are available. Loans are for up to 20 years at 1% interest. Loans and grants can be combined for up to $27,500 in assistance.

Website: www.hud.gov

• Section 203(k) program is HUD’s primary program for the rehabilitation and repair of single family properties, and is a tool for community and neighborhood revitalization and for expanding homeownership opportunities.
• Flexible loan program helps developers, investors, and families at all income levels buy and restore properties in urban and rural historic districts. The program operates through FHA-approved lending institutions, and the loans are insured by FHA. The 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program helps preservationists deal with problems such as appraisal barriers, the high cost of second mortgages, and prohibitive down payment and closing costs.
• Unlike most mortgage programs, the 203(k) is available to potential homeowners before work to the home is complete. To provide funds for the rehabilitation, the mortgage amount is based on the projected value of the property with the work completed, taking into account the cost of the work.

Website: www.hud.gov

• The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. Funds are primarily used to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.
• Program areas include grants to entitlement communities, which include cities with populations of at least 50,000 and urban counties with populations of at least 200,000; disaster recovery assistance; the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which offers grants to communities hardest hit by foreclosures and delinquencies to purchase, rehabilitate, or redevelop homes and stabilize neighborhoods; improving living conditions for colonias residents; and Brownfields Economic Development Initiative. Non-entitlement communities may apply through the Texas Department of Agriculture (see Preservation Funding for Government Agencies).
• The CDBG program provides annual grants on a formula basis to 1,209 general units of local government and states.
• Homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits seeking CDBG funds should contact their local government.

Website: www.hud.gov

• The FHA Title 1 Property Improvement Loan may be used for improvements to the interior or exterior of a home and is an option for homeowners who have limited equity in their home.
• The loan can cover architectural and engineering costs, building permit fees, title examination costs, appraisal fees and inspection fees. The loan may be used for improvements that make a home more livable and useful.
• The maximum amount for a single-family property improvement loan is $25,000 for a maximum term of 20 years.
• Improvements can be made in a do-it-yourself process, or a contractor or dealer may complete the work.
• Banks and other qualified lenders make the loans and the FHA insures the lender.
• To find an FHA approved lender in your area call a HUD Customer Service Center.

Website: www.hud.gov

• The purpose of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is to expand the supply of decent, safe, affordable housing and strengthen public-private housing partnerships between units of general local governments, public housing authorities, nonprofits, and for-profit entities.
• The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) administers the HOME Program on behalf of the State of Texas, primarily in rural parts of the state. Cities may receive HOME funds directly from HUD.
• HOME supports a variety of activities including rehabilitation of existing houses and disaster relief.