How To Apply For Home Improvement Grants For Home Repairs
It would be nice if there were options for homeowners who want to take on home improvement projects and get “free” funding to bankroll those upgrades. Fortunately, home improvement grants exist and are a a viable option for those who know where to look, meet the eligibility requirements, and follow the guidelines.
Without further ado, let’s get into it and see if your home repairs qualify for a home improvement grant!
Eligibility
Unlike home loans, which involve a profit for the lender, grants are more difficult to secure. The reason is they don’t need to be paid back, and there’s no profit for the grant administrator. So, the application process can be complicated. In part, this is because it’s important to ensure the applicants really want and need the grant funding — enough to navigate some red tape.
Each grant will have specific eligibility requirements. Common ones are income level, property type, location, and more. Let’s break down the reasons behind the most common qualifiers:
Income level
While there are varying income level qualifiers for each grant, here are the main reasons that this is a common requirement:
- The main reason for income caps on home improvement grants is to prevent people from applying who have disposable income to make home improvements but choose to spend it elsewhere. For example, you probably wouldn’t consider someone with a six-figure income who neglects their main residence in preference of having a pristine lake home, boat, and multiple vacations each year as worthy of a home improvement grant.
- Home improvement grants are meant for low-income individuals or families to create a safe, healthy, and warm home.
- Some grants will go as far as to determine where your income goes. For example, families with significant medical bills may be eligible for certain grants that consider these things. Most of us know all too well that medical bills can mean that other things, like home improvement, can fall by the wayside.
Property type
You’ll find all kinds of grants for different property types, but these are the popular ones:
- Multi-family housing. In areas where housing is at a minimum, there are often home improvement grants for those looking to renovate or repair high-density housing, like duplexes, fourplexes, and apartment buildings. You can often find this in urban centers, but it can also be smaller towns struggling to catch up with a booming industry.
- Affordable housing. Homeowners that live in low-income areas, particularly if they offer an affordable rental suite, are often eligible for home improvement grants. What is considered to be “low-income” will vary based on your region. For example, in a city like New York, where average rental costs for a one-bedroom apartment are over $3,700, what’s considered low-income will differ from a city like Akron, Ohio, where the same type of rental goes for $640 on average.
- Community housing. With the cost of living always on the rise and many families needing to have both partners working, community living has been gaining in popularity. Community living generally involves each household living in a building, taking on things like cooking meals, doing chores, and helping with childcare for all the families in the community.
The idea is that this takes the burden of doing everything off of each family, allowing for a less busy, stressful lifestyle. Home improvement grants specifically for community housing can be found, their availability depends on the state or municipality you are in.
- Heritage buildings. Many local and state governments place a high value on preserving heritage buildings and will offer grants to keep these historical gems in tip-top shape.
A potential downside of many of these grants is that they often come with restrictions that are aimed at preserving the historical accuracy of the building. Rules around paint colors, flooring types, etc., aren’t uncommon to find attached to this type of home improvement grant.
Location
You might wonder why location makes the list of common grant qualifiers, but below are some compelling reasons.
- Rehabilitation of dilapidated areas. If a community or area becomes rundown, real estate prices drop, and the overall desirability of a town or city can be negatively impacted. In this case, local or state governments may offer home improvement grants to encourage current residents and new owners to invest in their property, bringing new life back to the area.
- Giving new life to dying towns. It might seem wild, but there are an estimated 3,800 abandoned towns across the US today. Towns can become abandoned for many reasons, but in all cases, it means that a lot of resources and taxpayer money have been lost.
To prevent this from happening, governments will give grants to try to inject money into certain places that are seeing a downturn. In many cases, this provides a much-needed revitalization for the town to bring in new businesses and residents.
- Encouraging development in remote areas. In an effort to ease overpopulation in urban centers, many state governments partner with remote municipalities to offer home improvement grants with the goal of inspiring people to move out of cities.
Application process
The application process for each grant will be different. Some are relatively straightforward, compared to others which require detailed information and even a personal essay explaining why you deserve to win that grant funding. The larger the grant, the more in-depth the application requirements tend to be, but there are some common requirements that we’ll go over below.
- Proof of ownership — Almost without question, you’ll be required to provide proof of ownership for the property you’re applying for. The easiest way to do this is to get a copy of your title deed or grant deed from your local land administrator’s office. Another option is to provide copies of your purchase documents.
- Income — Proof of income is often required, and there are a few different ways that you may be asked to show this. Pay stubs are a common way to show proof of income, but you may also be asked for bank statements, tax returns, W2 forms, or 1099 forms.
- Financial information — You may be asked to disclose information on investments that you have, which means you’ll need to ask your bank for an investment statement.
- Detailed plans — Most grant providers will want to know the specifics of what you’ll do should you win the grant. This can be construction plans, landscaping plans, or a combination of both, and more. In this case, no detail is too small!
- Estimates for the repairs — Not all grants are a fixed amount. Some will vary based on the cost of repairs or improvements that you want to make. It’s important to provide quotes from professionals, not just ballpark estimates. For example, if you need to replace old lead piping, you’ll want to have a contractor come in and give you a full quote, including all needed trades, materials, and labor.
Remember to carefully research all the requirements for each grant you want to apply for and gather all the things you’ll need before you begin the application. Some grant providers will ignore incomplete applications, while others may give you an opportunity to fill in missing pieces. Nonetheless, you don’t want to miss an application deadline because you can’t get a quote from a contractor on time!
Purpose of repairs
Another key element to add to your home improvement grant application is the ‘why.’ Grant reviewers want to know the reason that the repairs made with their funding will improve the safety or quality of life in your household.
Maybe you want to fix the front of your home, and you’ve found that you’ll need to hire a contractor to remove the old posts, pour new cement footings, and install the new material. It’s important to include that your front steps aren’t just dilapidated but also unsafe for your family, mail carriers, guests, and anyone who comes to your home.
Competition
Home improvement grants are a lesser-known resource, but you’ll still have some competition for them. Try not to count your grants before they’re won (as they say), but still take care and time to submit a solid application.
As a general rule, the more niche grants you can find, the less competitio
n and, therefore, a better chance to win. While there can be some hearty competition, there are also tons of grants that are so tough to find that they get hardly any applicants. Throw on your Sherlock Holmes hat, and get digging!
Deadlines
Grant deadlines are notoriously inflexible, so be absolutely sure that you know the exact deadline and try to submit well in advance. If you’re going to be down to the wire, make sure to take note of the time zone that the deadline is using. Often they’ll be the same timezone that you’re in, but digital platforms may use a different timezone.
The last thing you want is to submit your home improvement grant application at 11:58 pm, only to find that the application is two time zones ahead of you!
Ongoing maintenance
Some home improvement grants will have a mandatory section on maintenance of the work done. Grant providers want to know that their money isn’t going toward a repair that will slowly decline into poor condition again, so including that information, even if it isn’t required, is a great idea.
Returning to our example of replacing the front steps on your home — a good idea would be to include things like regular cleaning and snow removal and a yearly application of paint or stain to maintain the condition of the wood.
Other funding sources
Home improvement grants are not the only resources available to give you a boost on your home repairs. Here are a few other options that can help you fund your home repairs and get your home in tip-top shape again:
- Low-interest loans — If grant funding does not quite get you all the way to your home repair goals, you can consider supplementing the additional amount with a low-interest loan.
- Tax credits — Like home improvement grants, tax credits or rebates for home improvement aren’t always the easiest to find. If you’re not a tax guru or don’t have the time to fall down an online tax credit rabbit hole, we suggest going to a tax professional that has experience with tax credits related to home improvement. You’ll have to pay for the service, but it could likely result in sizeable tax credits.
- Other programs — Private companies will sometimes offer discounted materials or even give away packages of building materials to low-income families as a way to give back to the community. You will have to keep your eyes peeled for these opportunities since you never know when they might pop up!
Reputable organizations
If you know where to look, you can find federal, local, and state government grants (meaning you don’t need to pay them back) for home improvement projects.
Most home improvement grants will come through a federal, state, or local government office. That’s not to say that there aren’t other legitimate grant providers, but do some extra research on non-government organizations offering grants.
Unless you can verify the authenticity of an organization, never pay to submit a grant application. Most grants do not have an application fee, so there’s a good chance that if an organization asks for money upfront, it is a scam.
Home improvement grants are a wonderful way to make those much-needed repairs to your home without having to sacrifice essentials in order to put the funds together. Keep in mind that many grants are tough to find, so you might have to go on a grant-finding Easter egg hunt to find the ones that you’re eligible for. When you do, though, the result can be well worth the time spent. With careful research and diligence in completing your applications, you could make those repairs sooner than you think.
