Harrisburg, PA- Homeowners in rural areas who need repairs to their homes but can’t afford regular loans may be eligible for participation in USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants Program.
Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants, also known as the Section 504 Home Repair Program, aims to provide loans for very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes. A 504 loan can reach a maximum of $20,000 at a fixed interest rate of 1%. The 504 Program also provides grants, which can be worth a maximum of $7,500 and may only be issued to eligible seniors aged 62 and older, and may only be used for the removal of health and safety hazards.
In order to qualify for a 504 loan, an applicant must be the homeowner and occupy the house, be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere, and have a family income below 50% of the area’s median income. For grants, the only qualification is that an applicant must be 62 years of age or older and must be unable to repay a repair loan.
Applications for this program are taken year-round. For more information on the 504 Home Repair Program call (717) 237-2266. For more information on the other programs Rural Development has to offer in Pennsylvania visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/pa.
