There is a lot of competition for home improvement government grants.
Home improvements go hand in hand with home ownership. Improvements and repairs range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on the scope of the project. Yet not all homeowners can afford to take on the added financial burden that goes along with costly improvements. In these cases, the public has access to grant programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and income tax credits. However, grant funding is limited to specific circumstances, specific individuals and available funding.
USDA Grants
The USDA Rural Repair and Rehabilitation Loans and Grant program offers a very-low-income housing-repair-and-upgrade grant program. This program offers a maximum grant of $7,500 to needy homeowners meeting USDA guidelines and requirements.
In order to qualify, the homeowner must live in a rural area, be 62 years of age or older, meet the income guidelines and only use the funds for a primary residence; secondary and vacation homes are excluded. The USDA program is the only true grant program currently available in 2011 according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
FEMA Assistance
FEMA assists victims of natural disasters. FEMA provides grants to residents needing to repair or replace a loss of a home as a subsidy to homeowner's insurance coverage. In order to qualify for FEMA assistance, you must live in an area declared a disaster by the president of the United States, be a United States citizen, be unable to live in your home (due to damage), and have accepted the full amount of coverage from your insurance company for your loss.
Tax Credits and Rebates
Although the tax credits and rebates available from the Internal Revenue Service are not exactly grant funding, they do offset consumer expense when it comes to home improvements. The U.S. Department of Energy offers tax credits for home improvements when it comes to upgrading a property for energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources -- as opposed to fossil fuels. Tax credits range from 10 to 30 percent of the improvement cost and cover items such as stoves, air conditioning, insulation, roofs, water heaters, windows, doors, heat pumps and solar energy upgrades.
Considerations
Even though email advertisements and websites claim to have the secret keys to "unlock" free government grant money for homebuying and home improvement, you should seek reliable information from sources such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development to distinguish real opportunities from scams.
If grant money is available, it is generally given on a first-come, first-served basis and only to those displaying severe financial hardship. As an alternative to grant funding, property owners can take out a home equity loan for improvements and still have the benefit of writing the interest of the loan off on tax returns, in addition to taking advantage of available tax credits for improvements.
Tags: grant funding, United States, Department Housing, Department Housing Urban, grant money