BRATTLEBORO — Windham & Windsor Housing Trust recently announced that they will be adding a $2,500 grant to all Green Mountain Home Repair loans. These are low-cost loans with flexible guidelines to help income-eligible people make necessary home repairs.
According to a news release, this feature was added because of a growing need among the loan program participants whose repair projects were more extensive than they anticipated.
“So many times a small repair job can turn into a large, costly project.” said Housing Trust Repair Specialist Jerry Freeman. “This can be really difficult when folks are on a tight budget.”
Freeman explained that a small leak can eventually lead to mold damage if left unattended. Replacement of a hot water heater could lead to electrical rewiring.
“I see these kinds of problems all the time,” Freeman said. “Vermont has some really old houses that often need to be brought to code.”
“This is sort of GMHR 2.0,” said Housing Trust Director of Home Ownership Bruce Whitney. “We were seeing that the loans people needed were larger than what they could afford to pay back. This way, if the project costs $4,000, they only need to pay back $1,500 of that.”
In order to qualify, an applicant's household income needs to be no more than 80 percent of their county's median household income. In Windham County, that's $40,250 for a household of one; $46,000 for two; $51,750 for three; $57,500 for four; and $62,100 for five.
Landlords can also qualify for the grant as long as either their income or their tenants' household incomes qualify.
An applicant's information is taken over the phone. Qualified applicants will then get a home visit from one of the Housing Trust's repair specialists to determine the scope and priority of the work needed.
The program is available to people who live in Windham or Windsor counties through the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. To find out more, call 802-246-2116 or visit www.homemattershere.org.