Housing Grants
Housing grants provide an alternative for low-income families to secure the funds needed for obtaining housing. This can be for purchasing a home, buying rental property for housing income, making major renovations on existing properties, or to receive assistance when in danger of losing your home through foreclosure. Even if you have been turned down by a bank for your home loan, you may still qualify for one of the home grants made available via this program.
How Do NIH Housing Grants Work?
There can be significant differences in the amount of funding available for any given program from one year to the next, so it’s always worth checking back periodically, to find out if more funds are being made available. These grants are literally free money from the NIH foundation which you will not have to pay back, so if you qualify, it can be a financially life-changing event for you and your family.
Who Is Eligible For NIH Housing Grants?
As previously mentioned, housing grant programs are primarily directed at low-income families who might not be approved by a bank for funding, and among this group, many different sets of circumstances are possible. First-time homeowners as well as previous homeowners may be eligible, and family size is not a consideration – applicants can be single, married, or married with children. Eligibility is not based on credit rating or credit history, so those with a less than stellar financial past are not necessarily excluded from consideration.
What Kinds Of Home Grants Are Available?
A wide variety of home grants are available, and they can be arranged literally at any location in the country, whether you want to buy into an urban area or a rural one. Grants are available for purchasing into senior-citizen communities, mobile or manufactured home parks, apartment buildings, or recreational vehicle parks. There are a number of grants available for purchasing commercial property, for land development, and for rental housing projects. The kind of home you’re hoping to buy can be either from new construction, or it can be an existing home with a long history in a given neighborhood.
What Other Purposes Can Home Grants Be Used For?
Although buying a home is the most popular reason to apply for a housing grant, it is certainly not the only one. Some grants are awarded for completely refurbishing a home heating or cooling system, or to install a brand new furnace to replace a tired old one. Some older homes which were built before current standards were in effect for insulation, electrical wiring, plumbing, or roofing, might need major overhauls to make them more habitable, and more energy-efficient.
Applicants in the past have also sought home grants for use in repairing their dwellings after natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. In situations like these, it is sometimes necessary to completely rebuild or to embark on comprehensive repairs to make the home habitable once again. There have traditionally been very few restrictions applied against how housing grant funds must be used, so most home renovation projects are fair game.