The goal of the city’s housing rehabilitation program is to help preserve existing homes within Vancouver
VANCOUVER — Is your home in need of repairs that you just can’t afford? If you are an eligible low-income homeowner living within the Vancouver city limits, the city of Vancouver may be able to help you out with a no-payment loan for basic home repairs to things like roofs, foundations, heating systems, electrical systems, plumbing and more.
The goal of the city’s housing rehabilitation program is to help preserve existing homes within Vancouver. It’s a 3 percent simple interest loan that does not require monthly payments. The loan is paid back when you refinance your home, when the title transfers to another owner, or when you no longer live in the home.
The funding for the loans comes from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds.
For repairs to a single-family home, the city offers loans of approximately $25,000 for repairs and accessibility improvements. To qualify, the owner’s income cannot exceed 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). For a one-person household, that would be $49,250/year. For a two-person household, that would be $56,250/year.
To qualify, owners must also meet the following asset limits:
- No investment property
- No more than $25,000 in liquid assets (cash, saving accounts, money market accounts, etc.)
- No more than $250,000 in non-liquid assets (retirement accounts, 401K, annuities, etc.)
- Home equity does not exceed $200,000
General renovation projects, like updating your kitchen or bathroom or building a new deck, do not qualify. But if a water leak has warped the floors in your kitchen, your existing deck is unstable, or the exterior of your home has started to deteriorate, the city’s housing rehabilitation program can help you get those problems fixed.
The city accepts applications for housing rehabilitation loans throughout the year. To begin the application process, contact Teresa Munn at the Lighthouse Resource Center at (360) 690-4496 Ext. 101, or Teresa@homecen.org.
To learn more about the program, visit www.cityofvancouver.us/HousingRehab.
Information provided by city of Vancouver.
