Home Repair/Modification Programs for Elderly Homeowners (Hud-1408-cpd, August 1993)

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Elderly homeowners have special needs.

As they age, these homeowners often find that they need to make modifications to their homes in order to enable them to continue living in an independent, yet safe and functional environment.

This guidebook focuses on the use of HOME funds to assist low-income elderly homeowners with necessary home repairs or modifications.

There are several ways in which participating jurisdictions may provide direct assistance to eligible elderly homeowners.

They may use direct grants, or establish loan programs.

Loan programs themselves can take many forms: they may rely on deferred payment loans, in which case the principal would not have to be repaid until an event like the sale of the property and would be contingent upon the net proceeds of sale, or low-interest amortized loans, through which HOME funds will be recaptured for reuse in the future.

This guide discusses the different requirements and considerations associated with these program structures.

It also surveys potential funding sources and types of financial assistance, various types of organization structures for home maintenance and repair programs, and typical client needs.

It then profiles several existing programs to provide illustrations of different types of program design.

Finally, this guide provides sample forms that jurisdictions may find helpful in developing administrative procedures to implement their own programs.