The electric feeling doesn’t wear off

•September 2, 2015•

By Colleen Callahan
USDA Rural Housing Service Administrator Tony Hernandez & USDA IL Rural Development Director

Some say the electric feeling of buying and moving into your own home never wears off. When you own the floors you’re standing on, the walls surrounding you and the roof over your head, you also own great satisfaction from the hard work that resulted in your home becoming yours.

Yet, just as it was hard work to achieve the American Dream of homeownership, being responsible for maintaining and, inevitably, repairing your own home can be just as much hard work. USDA Rural Development’s Home Repair Program is an affordable way to keep your home safe, accessible and energy efficient.

The program provides very-low income rural homeowners with a one percent-interest fixed-rate loan of up to $20,000 for essential things such as leaky roof repairs, improving accessibility, or even upgrades to heating and cooling systems to make a home more energy efficient. Seniors age 62 and older, who cannot qualify for a loan, may be eligible for a grant of up to $7,500, or a loan and grant combination to make needed repairs and improvements.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.