If you are starting to feel like Cary Grant in “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” or Tom Hanks in “The Money Pit” you are not alone. Experts say that the average homeowner should expect to spend at least 1 percent of his home’s value each year on repairs and general maintenance. The older you get the more difficult this becomes as the house gets older and needs more work, and you get older and can handle less of that work yourself.
If you are having trouble keeping up with needed home repairs, you may want to consider applying for the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s Single Family Rehabilitation Program. The program finances major repairs for North Carolina homeowners who are elderly or have disabilities and whose incomes are below 80% of the median for their area.
Assistance is provided through local governments or nonprofit agencies that partner with the state’s Housing Finance Agency. The local organizations determine if you are eligible and if so, contract for and supervise the work. If you are approved, you could receive assistance in the form of an interest-free, deferred loan, forgiven at $3,000 a year, to pay for necessary repairs.
If you need help making accessibility modifications to your home that will allow you to live there safely after a significant illness or injury there are a couple of other programs the Housing Finance Agency runs that you may be eligible for.
The Urgent Repair Program finances emergency home repairs for North Carolina homeowners who are elderly or have special needs and whose incomes are below 50% of the median for their area. Emergency repairs correct housing conditions that threaten your life or safety, such as failing septic systems, dangerous heating systems or rotten floors. The program can also pay for accessibility modifications that allow you to remain in your home after an injury or serious illness.
If your area of the state is not served by an organization that participates in the Urgent Repair Program, you may be eligible to receive help from the Displacement Prevention Partnership, which funds necessary home modifications through local offices of the Independent Living Rehabilitation Program, which is part of the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
If any of these programs sound like something that you could benefit from, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Housing Finance Agency to get additional information. However, if you rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid, do be cautious. You don’t want to accept any funds that might push you over the income limits for benefit programs you rely on.
If you need assistance applying or remaining eligible for SSI or Medicaid, please consider scheduling a free initial consultation with our office. We regularly work with seniors who need help arranging their affairs so that they can receive the benefits they need and deserve.