Through a variety of home improvement loan programs, the URA is seeking to help as many people as possible in making repairs efficient and affordable.
Jenny Kohnfelder, manager of consumer programs, says one of the URA’s goals is to offer homeowners programs they can use as soon as they’ve purchase a home.
The
Home Improvement Loan Program, for example, has no equity requirements, meaning new homeowners can apply for that program the very next day, immediately after purchasing a home.
Through this program, homeowners are able to hire their own contractor, or even do the work themselves. If they chose the do-it-yourself route, the loan would only cover materials, not labor. The program has a 5.99% interest rate, and a $15,000 limit.
For the HIRP, there are income restrictions based on neighborhoods. But if a home is within a Target Neighborhood, no income restrictions apply.
Target Neighborhoods are determined based on Census and IRS data, Kohnfelder says.
“There are no income guidelines in those areas because we want to encourage people to move into these neighborhoods that are suffering a little bit,” Kohnfelder says.
And if a homeowner does not meet the requirements for the HILP loan, Pennsylvania's
Keystone Renovation & Repair Program addresses income restrictions, where household income can be as high as $98,550. The minimum loan amout is $2,500, and the maximum is $35,000. This program also requires little to no equity for eligibility.
Through the Keystone R&R program, the URA will provide technical assistance with rehabilitation work, finalize a write-up, and will arrange contractors to competitively bid on the work, if the homeowner does not already have one.
And the Pittsburgh Home Rehabilitation Program, which Kohnfelder says is perhaps the URA’s best, offers a 0% interest rate. Although under that program, a two-family household income cannot exceed $41,000.
Kohnfelder says the URA offers these various programs so that as many people with different incomes can take part in home restoration.
For more detailed information on the URA’s loan programs, visit their
website here.
Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Jenny Kohnfelder