Find The Best Housing Grants For You

Need to find a way to fix up your home on a budget? Get a housing grant and get your renovations started today.

Housing grants are a brilliant way to finance updates to a current house. Typically, there are three ways to pay for housing changes: out-of-pocket, loans, and grants. If you pay for a house update via out-of-pocket payment or loan, you incur those payments by paying upfront or over time to the lender, respectively. A grant is money that is paid to you to reduce the amount of the overall cost. And, you do not have to pay back a grant.

Finding a housing grant is a worthwhile endeavor because of the financial benefit you receive as the homeowner. At times, grants do not cover the whole cost of the housing update, so this reduces the amount owed by you. If you must cover the amount that is not covered by the grant by out-of-pocket payment or a loan, finding a grant is a smart option to consider.

What is a Housing Grant?

Housing grants are not to be confused with a grant towards the purchase of a future house. Those types of grants are benefits given to individuals to cover costs such as rent or mortgage payments. If you already own a house and looking to benefit your existing house, a housing grant may be an option that would benefit you.

The funding for housing grants is often provided to non-profit organizations that then oversee the granting of these funds. The non-profit will then assess the different situations to help administer the funds in the most needed areas.

Benefits of a Housing Grant

Housing grants can benefit homeowners if they meet certain criteria. Housing grants are beneficial to the governing agencies providing these funds because they bring beneficial improvements to the housing that is needed by many individuals.

Improvements that are often available through these types of grants include:

• Energy-saving technologies.

• Creation of affordable housing.

• Maintaining safe and clean affordable housing.

Types of Housing Grants

Knowing the benefits of housing grants available to you is important, but it is equally important to know the types of housing grants that are available to you. Housing grants can differ depending on the area in which you live, so to find a greater list of potential housing grants, look online locally for additional options.

Here are examples of housing grants that may be available to you:

• HOPWA Permanent Supportive Housing Renewal and Replacement Grant.

• Veterans Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Pilot Program.

• Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) program.

• Fair Housing Organization Initiative (FHOI) Program.

• Education and Outreach (EOI) Tester Trainer.

Additionally, the Rural Development Department under the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) help administer a lot of the funding for housing grants. These departments may be able to assist you in gaining grant funds. As grants are often distributed to non-profit organizations, they may direct you to the organizations that administer the funds. Although, reaching out to these organizations is a great place to start in your grant funding research.

Will You Be Denied for a Grant?

Grants are only available to those who meet certain criteria, meaning that not everyone who applies for a grant will receive the funding from these programs. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has an extensive list of available grants so if you do not qualify for one type of grant, you may qualify for another. Speaking with your local government office, looking at the government website or local non-profit agencies may help you determine if there is a grant that is available to you.

Are There Grants Available for People to Purchase a House?

Grants are available to those who are looking to purchase a house. Just as you need to qualify for a housing grant, qualifying for a grant to help towards purchasing a home is required, as well. According to the 2015 budget from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 3.5 million homeowners received financial assistance in the last five years. Most of the list below are regulated and administered by the federal government through the states. This means that the federal government gives the states funding toward these programs and then the state determines how it will manage and distribute the funding. States are allowed to add in some additional qualification criteria, so make sure you check both the federal and state requirements for any housing grant you are interested in.

Here are some grants that are available that you may qualify for:

• First-time homebuyer program.

• Veteran home grants.

• Officer/Teacher good neighbor program.

• Mortgage principal reduction.

• Foreclosure help.

• Federal rental assistance programs.

How Do You Apply for a Housing Grant?

There are numerous ways to apply for a housing grant. You can contact local non-profits that provide grants and discuss with them whether you qualify. You can contact the VA, or the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

One of the most convenient ways to apply for a housing grant is to do so online. You can apply through the government websites that provide grants, and you can go to the websites of the non-profits who administer funding.