Town Offers No-Interest Loans

For Low-Income Home Rehabilitation

By Andrew Gorosko

The town is offering no-interest home improvement loans to residents who meet the low-income eligibility requirements of the town’s housing rehabilitation program.

Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s director of community development, said the town’s home rehabilitation program contains a balance of approximately $43,000, a sum, that depending upon the level of financial aid needed by program participants, may be used to help three or four families improve their homes.

Under the terms of the flexible loan program, a no-interest loan is made to the participating family, which pays the loan principal back to the town across time. The town places a lien on the property to ensure the money is eventually repaid.

In the past, program funding has been used for projects such as electrical upgrades, new roofs, septic system repairs, sanitary sewer connections, new furnaces, plumbing work, new kitchens, water well drilling, and energy conservation measures, such as storm window installation, Ms Stocker said.

So far, the rehabilitation program has improved about 25 homes. In earlier phases of the program, grant funding had been available, Ms Stocker said.

 Several senior citizens have taken advantage of the housing rehabilitation program in the past, she added. Home improvement projects have been done in all parts of town, she said.

The town is flexible in administering the loan program, Ms Stocker said, noting that the conditions of the loan agreement depend on the individual circumstances of participants. The level of funding available depends upon the needs of participants, she said. In the past, loan amounts typically have ranged from $5,000 to $10,000, she said. A $1,000 loan is the minimum amount.

The loans are intended to resolve problems that pose health, safety, and welfare issues to program participants.

Loan funding is intended to cover residential improvements, not maintenance, Ms Stocker said.

Applications for loan funding are available from the selectmen’s office and the community development office in Edmond Town Hall. The applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the current program funds are spent, applications will be kept on a waiting list until more funding becomes available to the town.

L. Wagner and Associates, Inc., will assist the town in administering the program. A home rehabilitation specialist will work with home owners to determine the extent of repairs needed, establish a budget for the project, and help hire a contractor to do the work.

To qualify for the loan program, participants must meet certain income limits and also should be prepared to assume some of the repair costs. The maximum allowable annual household income for participation varies, based on family size. The maximum income levels are: one person, $35,150; two people, $40,150; three people, $45,200; four people, $50,200; five people, $54,200.

People interested in participating in the loan program may contact Ms Stocker at 270-4271.