As a Minnesota resident, you have access to loans and grants for home repair regardless of the city or county you live in.
Like every other type of financial aid, there may be qualifications that you will need to meet depending on your situation.
It can be a bit of a challenge (and headache!) to research, contact and qualify for funds.
Primarily, the funds are available for families who are low-income, disabled, veterans, senior citizens who are low income, and single parents who are low-income.
That said, Minnesota offers many programs for home improvement throughout the state that homeowners can qualify for.
We’ll dig into the process of finding, determining if you’re eligible and applying for possible funds to help out with your MN home.
Getting Aid
Many organizations and administrations like the Home Investment Partnership Program and Community Development Block Grant Program provide aid.
On the state level, as a resident of Minnesota, many forms of support are available to you if you have had your property for a while or are a new homeowner.
When it comes to private organizations offering aid with house repair, Habitat for Humanity comes to mind.
The non-profit provides more than 30 Minnesota locations that provide home improvement through the use of free material and volunteers.
By visiting Minnesota’s Habitat for Humanity, you can find the office closest to you and get in touch with them to discuss your needs and how you would qualify.
Government Grants for Home Repairs
Obtaining MN home repair grants is not a straightforward process where you simply ask for money and it gets provided.
In fact, the process of obtaining a grant for home repair requires you to meet criteria and have all of the documents along with the application by a specified date and time.
The grants available all differ and will be dependent upon the your age, income, the property’s location, and repair type needed.
If you are a homeowner with low income, are a veteran, have children, are a senior citizen, or disabled, you will be first in line for free home repair grants in Minnesota after submitting an application.
When it comes to funding, the reasons need to be legitimate and deemed an emergency or instances that will improve upon code violations.
To get started, you can search several federal and state agencies who offer grants such as:
The Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants in Minnesota
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Rural Development, which is often referred to as the Section 504 Home Repair program, provides funds for your home so that you have an opportunity to modernize, improve, or to make home repairs.
It also provides grants for the elderly who are very low-income in order to have hazards and health concerns removed.
The application process begins after qualifying. In order to become qualified, the applicant must:
- Be living in the home and the homeowner
- Be unable to obtain a home repair loan on your own
- Have an income that is no higher than the low limit set by your state
- Be 62 years of age for the grant due to inability to repay the loan
Once you qualify, you would download, print, and fill out the appropriate forms below:
- Form RD 410-4, Uniform Residential Loan Application
- Form RD 3550-1, Request for Information
- Form RD 3550-4, Employment and Asset Certification
- All application items listed in Attachment 12-E checklist
Once completely filled out, you would take the form to your local Rural Development office for submission.
To get more information about the Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants in Minnesota, get in touch with them here.
Minnesota Fix Up Home Improvement Loan Program
No matter what the funds get used for, applying for home repair grants in Minnesota just got easier with the Fix Up Home Improvement Loan.
This loan easily gets your home projects financed.
The Fix Up loan has a low interest rate and a longer duration for repayment, which can be as long as 20 years.
This longer payment plan allows payments to become affordable.
Here are the program features and application process:
- Minimum loan amount starting at $2,000
- Loans are available as secured or unsecured
- No necessary home equity
- No limit on income
- Choose work method
- No penalty for prepayment
- Get current projects financed
In order to obtain more information about the Minnesota Fix Up Home Improvement Loan Program, contact them today by visiting here.
Minnesota Weatherization Assistance Program
Under this program, it’s designed to keep energy costs low by incorporating energy efficiency.
You need to remember that this program is not designed for home improvement and will not pay for any new windows, although minor repairs may get covered.
It is federally funded by the U.S Dept. of Energy. In order to qualify, you need to be a Minnesota resident and have low-income, be a senior citizen, disabled, or have children.
The homeowner or renter are able to apply.
The grant consists of a local agency network made up of local and state government, community action, nonprofits, and housing authorities.
In order to apply through your local office, please first visit the consumer web page here for more information.
The Multifamily Funding and Financing through Minnesota Housing
The Minnesota Housing offers a multifamily funding and financing program that allows a multifamily to apply for funding.
The availability is dependent upon financing type.
To get started with the application process, you need to submit the Technical Assistance Request Form.
Once submitted, a representative from Minnesota Housing will be in contact to go over your funding needs.
Visit them now by clicking here.
Hearts and Hammers
Through the Hearts and Hammers organization, senior citizens are able to obtain help with completing home projects and repairs.
Repairs can include repairing or replacing home siding, trim, doors, windows, painting, caulking, and many others.
To find out more information and on how to apply, visit their website here.
Minnesota Homeownership Center – Home Rehab and Repair Matrix
For homeowners with low income, there are opportunities for applicants to receive funding.
This funding is often received through the Minnesota Homeownership Center through its Home Rehab and Repair Matrix.
This program includes general repair, emergency repairs, lead hazard, and energy efficiency.
The matrix offers its grants and loans in specific cities and counties throughout Minnesota.
To find out more information, visit them today by clicking here.
Washington County SST and Well Low Interest Loan Program
Residents are able to apply and use grant money in order to repair their home and improve the home’s condition.
You can use these funds for the hookup of water and sewer, and improvement of wells.
Washington administers the SST and Well loan and grant program in partnership with the Community Development Agency.
- Features of the program involve a rolling basis for applications and a $225 application fee.
- Three options for repayment
- No restrictions on assets or income
- Entire repayment prior to selling of the property
- Landowner must reside on the property
In order to submit an application, you must create a new user account in order to reach the Financial Application Portal. Once an account gets created, all documents will then get submitted.
To get started, click here now.
Dokatoa County Home Improvement Loan Program
Through the home improvement loan program, your home can get improved upon and repaired through home renovation grants in MN.
A few of the projects that can take place include roof repair, plumbing repair, insulation, and furnace installation and replacement.
The funds are 0% interest, require no payments, and are repaid once the home gets sold.
In order to apply, you obtain an application from the website and submit it to CDA after you fill it out completely.
Visit here for more information and to obtain the application.
How to Obtain Minnesota Solar Grants
During key stretches of the year there is an abundant amount of sunshine in the state of Minnesota, and the use of solar power is highly encouraged.
Because of this encouragement, you should definitely look towards solar power as your source of renewable energy.
There are many programs in Minnesota that provide you and businesses with renewable incentives that assist in enhancing the state’s growth and development.
By going solar, you are doing your part in decreasing emissions and thus keeping your energy bills lower.
The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit
Under the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, it is a policy that aids homeowners by providing a tax credit up to 26% of the cost for the solar energy system when claimed on your income tax liability.
This credit is for solar energy systems installed on both commercial and residential properties.
The installation of solar panels has an average cost that can be as high as $17,000.
Per watt usage can be as high as $3.55. You can apply for this tax credit after your solar panel installation.
The criteria necessary for you to take advantage of the credit is as follows:
- Your system must be at the primary U.S. residence. If it is community based, the generated energy gets credited against and the consumption of electricity can not get exceeded.
- You own the solar (energy) system
- The system installed is brand new as the tax credit claim is good for the system’s initial installation
The state of Minnesota provides an exemption for sales tax once solar panel installation gets completed, so you can save without paying sales tax while purchasing your system.
In order to find out more about this solar tax credit, visit here now.
Renewable Development Fund
Under the state’s Renewable Development Fund, you are offered a payment each year by Xcel Energy that gets based on the production of energy by their framework.
$0.08 per kWh gets paid for production of solar power on a yearly basis and lasts for 10 years.
To take advantage of this, click here.
SolarSense
Another option to take advantage of is SolarSense, that Minnesota Power provides.
Under this program, rebates are paid to offset the installation price and allow the entire solar energy option to remain viable.
The SolarSense program can get used by those of you who have installed a solar PV system.
The amount of rebate gets determined by the amount of energy consumption expected in the future.
In order for you to qualify, you must be a customer of Minnesota Power who have installed a solar system to the grid.
Find out more here now!
Further Tips to Consider for Finding MN Grants
If you feel like you have exhausted your resources and need to get action quickly, then contacting your state representative will be a good idea.
The state of Minnesota has several representatives who can assist you in your search for federal housing repair grants.
Rep. Alice Hausman
Minnesota Rep. Alice Hausman is looking to provide new statewide grant programs focusing on housing development and housing rehabilitation.
Remain Encouraged
You may feel frustrated in your search for grant money to fix up your home.
But you should feel encouraged because sometimes the process can be slow.
However slow it may seem, you will eventually obtain the funding you seek.
Be Innovative
By having an innovative plan, the decision makers for grant disbursement will see the money being used for a good cause.
In conclusion, being able to find, apply, and utilize a home repair grant in Minnesota is a great advantage to have.
As a homeowner, you have many financial resources at your fingertips so that your home repair project gets completed without any issues.