Home repair funds available from USDA rural development

USDA Rural Development has a program available to assist homeowners with repairs. Many households in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Perry counties have benefited with this assistance. Funds have been provided for items such as roof repair or replacement, installation of new heating systems, siding replacement, providing sanitary water and waste disposal systems (septic tanks or lagoons), installing insulation, remodeling and a variety of other renovations.

For families or individuals with low incomes, Rural Development makes loans at a 1 percent interest rate for repairs, to improve or modernize a home, make it safer or more sanitary, or to remove health hazards. Repairs to homes under the loan program can include new carpet, vinyl siding and other remodeling-type improvements. The maximum loan amount for this program is $20,000 with a repayment term not to exceed 20 years. These loans are limited to households whose income falls below 50 percent of the area's median income. For example, a family of four can have an adjusted household income up to about $22,400 in Bollinger County, $28,200 in Cape Girardeau County and $26,850 in Perry County to qualify for this program.

For applicants 62 years of age or older who have a low income and do not have repayment ability for a loan, grants may be available. Grant funds can be used to remove health or safety hazards or to remodel dwellings to make them accessible to household members with disabilities. Grants have a lifetime limit of $7,500. These grants are sometimes combined with loans to increase the amount available for repairs.

The most common types of repairs financed by this program include fixing or replacing roofs, modernizing heating and wiring systems, building wheelchair ramps and making bathrooms more accessible to persons with disabilities. You can also apply for funds to install insulation and storm windows or put in a septic system.

To be eligible for assistance through these programs, applicants must meet income limits, be unable to obtain the requested assistance through other sources, have adequate repayment ability in situations involving a loan request, have an acceptable credit history and have the legal capacity to incur the obligation.

For more information about homeownership financing or any other USDA Rural Development program, visit the home page at www.rurdev.usda.gov/mo/, contact Randal D. Friend, Rural Development manager, at randal.friend@mo.usda.gov, visit the office at 480 W. Jackson Trails in Jackson or call 243-3158, extension 4.