Grants help residents become homeowners!

Residents are benefiting from a federal program to help save neighborhoods -- and make home ownership a reality for many for the first time!

Though time is running out for these areas to spend millions of federal stimulus dollars buying and renovating abandoned and foreclosed homes in neighborhoods hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Some cities are buying foreclosed properties and fixing them up to sell or rent.

Others are providing grants to low- and moderate-income home buyers to use for down payments and repairs on foreclosed homes they purchase.

Either way, the ultimate goal is the same: to save neighborhoods from a glut of neglected, foreclosed homes, condos and town houses; put more property tax dollars in government coffers; and make home ownership a reality for people who may be buying for the first time.

About five months remain for the county and cities to dole out their shares of federal aid from a program which is an offshoot of a previous government grant program.

The federal government gave U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development money to help communities deal with the rising number of foreclosed vacant properties.
The money trickled down to states, counties and cities. Any money not committed by the end of August goes back into federal coffers unless Congress extends the program! That spend it or lose it aspect has local housing officials scrambling to wrap up everything on time.

"We're on a short time frame but our goal is still to help as many people as we can and spend all of the money we were given," said a spokesperson for the program. So far the agency has assisted in the purchase of at least 61 properties with another 26 under contract waiting to close.

With foreclosure rates among the nation's highest, the need to turn around blighted neighborhoods is crucial, officials have said. Nationally, the federal government set aside about $4 billion for this free government grant program, but only a third of the 300 local governments that received grants have made a dent in them, according to HUD.

Part of the problem has been that investors with fistfuls of cash scoop up foreclosed properties before buyers in the program have a chance to get them.
Earlier this month, HUD eased the program's rules to allow homes in mortgage default and uninhabitable homes with lingering code violations to be purchased instead of having to wait for the foreclosure to go through, which can take months.

To qualify for this financial assistance program, the home, condo, town house or villa must be in the target area designated by that city; it must be a foreclosed property or one in the process of foreclosure; and a buyer must attend a home-buyer counseling course paid for by the program before purchasing a home.

In addition, buyers can earn no more than 120 % of the specific areas' annual median income to be considered for a financial grant.

Some properties will be reserved for families earning as little as $38,250 and individuals making $26,800.

The down payment and repair assistance comes in the form of a forgivable no-interest loan that doesn't have to be paid back as long as the buyer lives in the house for a certain number of years, which varies by city. The range is typically between five and 15 years. Cities vary in the amount of money they offer for down payments and repairs. Some cities set a maximum purchase price for a home to be eligible for a grant, say at $250,000, but other cities don't have that limit.

For one lucky recipient buying a town house would have been impossible without a big boost from the city. The 45-year-old mother and her teenage daughter moved into a town house in September. The city gave her $25,000 for a down payment to buy the foreclosed property, which sold for its listing price of $94,900. The single mother
figures she is saving $400 a month by owning instead of renting. She said the program is a lifesaver! "There's no way I could have put the traditional 10 percent down and qualified to own this place on my own," she said.

She is also hoping to receive grant money for renovations. Before she moved in, she had to buy appliances, light fixtures, an air-conditioning compressor and paint.

Recently, one area increased the amount of their purchase assistance and expanded its target area to cover almost the entire city. Low-income households can now qualify for a maximum of $50,000 for a down payment and repairs, double the previous amount of $25,000, which is available to moderate and middle-income households.

Among the biggest challenges for low- to moderate-income buyers in the government program is increasing competition from private investors.

Says another prospective buyer, "We could never afford to buy a house now without this help. The married couple now rents a small apartment and considers now a great time to buy because prices are down, the market is still flooded with homes for sale and interest rates are still low but nudging higher.

Getting a federal tax credit is another incentive for buyers in the program. First-time buyers can get a tax credit of up to $8,000, and existing homeowners up to $6,500.

There is also another program that has $2.3 million to spend on purchase assistance and repairs!

Grants For Homes And Home Repairs!

So many people seem to be looking for grants for homes and home repair, please take note of this excerpt:

"There are literally hundreds of free money programs for people to fix up their home. The government has free grant money to make your home more energy efficient, grants for seniors and those with disabilities to fix up their homes, and forgivable loans (the same as free money) if you buy a home that needs to be fixed up. There are many agencies and hundreds of local and non-profit groups that provide this free money for home fix-upfree money for home fix-up.

There is also an assistance program that is offered by utility and gas companies in many states. This organization, and the aid they will give provides energy assistance funds to families and individuals in need of help. In addition, the program will offer additional aid, such as help for paying medical bills, rent or housing costs, and more. You should check your state's website to see if this program is available in your own area!

You should also be aware that many localities receive grant money to buy vacant and foreclosed properties in their own local areas so that they can then rent and sell those properties at a reduced cost to low-incomed people.

There's even a grant program to help Jewish families relocate!

There are countless programs available out there that can help with some of your home repairs and there are a few programs where you may even be able to get a home for free but please bear in mind that you really have to research this kind of information!

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Grants For

Financial Emergencies!

There is an organization that can help you with paying an emergency bill such as sending a payment to a creditor for an expense for a relatively small, emergency expense which the individual or family could not have anticipated or prepared for.

The goal of this grant program is to prevent an otherwise self-sufficient individual or family from entering the cycle of poverty as a result of the financial burden posed by a relatively small emergency expense.

You can request a grant if:

• You have encountered a short-term emergency expense that must be paid if you are to remain self-sufficient, but that you do not have the means to afford without assistance. For example, a person who lives in an area that does not have access to public transportation and needs help to repair the car that keeps him or her working working would be an excellent candidate for this kind of grant
  
  
• You need help to afford a single, regularly-scheduled expense (your rent, for example) because of a short-term, emergency situation that has temporarily reduced your income. For example, a person who normally can afford to pay his or her rent but lost 10 days pay due to an injury would be an excellent candidiate for this grant program

In order to qualify for this grant:

1. At least one member of your household must be currently employed on a full-time basis
   
   
2. Your household's single largest source of income must be income earned from work
   
   
3. Your household's total earned income must equal at least the cost of your monthly rental or mortgage plus $250, but not more than the cost of your monthly rental or mortgage plus $2500.00
   
   
4. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid on your behalf, directly to a vendor
   
   
5. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid in full for no more than the maximum grant for which your household qualifies

Please Note: These grants cannot be used to remit payment for regular expenses that an applicant can no longer afford due to a long-term reduction in income. For example, an applicant that has suffered a long-term reduction in income and, as a result, can no longer afford to remit payment for his or her monthly housing cost, car payment, or utilities would not be a good candidate for this grant program.

Also if you need assistance to afford a small, irregular expense which would substantially improve the quality of your life, but which you cannot afford without assistance due to your fixed income you should also apply for this type of grant.

If you have any questions about this grant or grant program or about the eligibility criteria, you are encouraged to contact the organization before completing an application. The organization says that it will respond to your question(s) as quickly as they can.

"Are there any grant programs that will help me buy a house?" There are plenty of government grant programs that will help you to buy a home by helping to pay money towards your down payment and closing costs. However there is no government grant program that I know of as of yet that will pay for the entire purchase of a house..... There is only one exception that I have on file that I know of...... There is a grant program that provides free homes to veteransveterans. These homes are provided free of any mortgages! But please bear in mind that this is not a government grant program. This is a program being provided by an organization outside of the government and in order to qualify to apply for this program you do have to be a veteran!

Australia - Grants For First Time Homebuyers.....

In Australia, there are grants available for first time home buyers! Here is an excerpt:


Demand for home loans is being stoked by the government’s decision to triple a grant to first-time buyers of new homes to A$21,000 ($16,600) and by a record 4.25 percentage points of cuts to the benchmark interest rate between September and April.

Local Businesses Can Receive Grant Money For Improvements! A local start-up business received a 2 year government grant worth $3.5 Million Dollars. This business is a very good example of a non-profit including a for-profit aspect to their organization so that they are able to receive BOTH grants for nonprofit AND for-profit businesses! This business will provide energy audits for both local area businesses, residential properties and schools! As a matter of fact part of the grant money will be used for energy audits on public and private elementary schools in the local area. The business hopes to do 10 school audits in the first six months, and 60 in the grant's two-year span. Additionally, preparations are being made for a second round of applications for an energy conservation grant program. The program provides free energy audits for businesses in the district, and matching grants of up to $20,000 for the actual energy improvements. There was an unexpectedly high demand in the first round of applications when the grant program received twice as many applications than was expected -probably because of the apllicants' desire to save money. The plan is to send solicitations to about 20 companies that have expressed interest in being auditors in the program. Last year, the program had four companies doing the audits. Also another program is rolling out permanent customer incentives of up to $1,500 for improvements recommended by energy auditors. Depending on what the audit calls for, there will be additional incentives for those types of improvements.

Government

Grant Programs

Seeking Minorities

Who Want To

Start Their Own

Businesses!

The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched a campaign to help minority businesses access government grant funding programs! Commerce Secretary Gary Locke held a conference call with reporters to spread the word about the ways the department will reach out and educate minority business people on how they can take advantage of the
hundreds of billions of dollars available in the stimulus package. According to the Commerce Secretary, "This administration has made it very clear that they want minority business to be aware of the opportunities and for us at Commerce to really make sure they get a fair share of these contracting opportunities."

For American Indian business owners, that means opportunities for grants and contracts above and beyond the almost $3 billion set aside for improvements in Indian health care, education, roads and bridges, water, public safety and housing.

The number of minority businesses has grown over the past four years from 300,000 to almost four million, generating $661 billion in annual revenues and employing more than four million people.

Here is an outline to a number of initiatives and resources aimed at helping minority businesses as far as getting government stimulus money goes:

• The first initiative is the "one-stop shopping" web site that lists all federal grants and contract opportunities for businesses of all sizes.
  
  
• More details on grants are available at a web site that lists more than 1,000 federal grant programs totaling $500 billion annually.
  
  
• The federal government is going to be looking for minority businesses to participate in these grant processes.
  
  
• Another existing initiative is within the Commerce Department. It is the only agency created specifically to help minority firms; last year it helped minority companies obtain $2 billion dollars in contracts.
  
  
• A new initiative is a series of workshops that will be held all over the country so minority business owners don't have to spend time and money traveling to Washington for information.
  
  
• Broadband workshops have been scheduled in Boston, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Memphis, Tenn.; Lonoke, Ark.; Birmingham, Ala.; Billings, Mont.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Los Angeles, Calif. More information on these workshops can be found at their website. These workshops will aim specifically to inform companies about contracting opportunities specifically with the Commerce Department's initiative to bring broadband Internet access to more Americans.
  
  The department will be dispersing some $4.7 billion in broadband grants to nonprofits, cities, states and public-private partnerships. The grants will be used to create and enhance the infrastructure of broadband service -- digging trenches, installing fiber optic and other equipment, and again the department will be looking for the participation of minority firms in determining which projects will be funded.
  
  
• Other workshops are held at events and conferences at the local level to reach minority entrepreneurs and educate them about the procurement process specifically related to these government grant programs. More information about local centers and services can be found at their website.

The outreach is already underway. Last month, the department hosted a major national summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss best practices in business development programs and services to increase the growth and development of minority businesses. In addition, there were discussions about grant and contract opportunities that exist within the federal government and the best way to provide this information to minority businesses.

Wade emphasized the administration and department's "tremendous commitment" to making sure minority businesses have easy access to the funding opportunities and to implementing "a very robust plan" across the country to fulfill that commitment.

"Minority businesses are absolutely vital to the American economic recovery and we want to make sure they have a fair share of the opportunities."

Locke confirmed that the available resources are in addition to the specific set aside for Indian country.

"We're talking about several hundred billions of dollars of projects all across America, whether it's repairing (a) ship, whether it's developing devices for the smart grid, whether it's dollars that go to one state for bridge repair and road constructions," Locke said. "We're looking at all these contracting opportunities and we want to make sure that minority businesses, including Native American businesses, have the opportunities to compete and get contracts under all of these programs."