Home Renovation Grants For Veterans

Home improvement jobs can be costly and time consuming. Fortunately for veterans, the US government and a few private organizations offer grants and aid to help them with their home modification projects. 

There are many helpful programs that the American government offers back to veterans but many veterans are unaware of these programs and grants. Home renovation grants are one of these government backed programs that many veterans are unaware of. 

These grants can help you to improve your home and quality of life. The sad thing is that many veterans just don’t know about what is being offered to them. If you have a home and you’ve been thinking about upgrading it, then you can take advantage of one or several of these grants. They will help you to feel better in your surroundings and give you the convenience and nice aesthetics that you deserve.

Single-Family Housing Repair Program

This program is offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Division. Basically, it has a few restrictions though. For one, a person needs to be above 62 to apply. Additionally, the maximum amount of money is $7500. 

People in this program must be low-income. In fact, the person has to have 50% lower than the median income for the area. Additionally, the person must be unable to get other funding and not be able to pay back a loan. 

Basically, this is a good grant if someone needs some minor repairs and is getting older but wants to live in the home or fix it up before selling.

Specially Adapted Housing Grant (SAH)

This is a special grant for people that have been physically disabled by the war. The grant is quite a substantial amount of money at $67,555. Most of the veterans who have this grant are in wheelchairs. 

They are able to then live more comfortably in their homes as it is possible to get around it more easily. One example of a reno could be a stairlift to get the wheelchair to the upstairs or a ramp to be able to wheel into the house. Those who apply for this can also apply for the Home Improvement and Structural Adaptation Grant.

Home Improvement and Structural Adaptation Grant 

These grants vary with the veteran’s amount of service. The grants can be from $1200 to $6800, so they are just small grants to do some minor adjustments. These can be used to upgrade the bathrooms or do any other number of renos such as electrical. They can even be for walkways or better kitchen appliances. 

One unique feature of this grant is that it is for people that have been disabled through life circumstances other than those related to their service. These changes though must be directly related to helping the disability. The veteran can also get the SAH or the SHA. 

Special Home Adaptation Grant (SHA)

This grant is up to $13,511. It will help people with permanent disabilities to be more mobile in their homes. This differs a bit from SAH because it is not as extensive. 

It may be for people whose disability is less severe than being confined to a wheelchair, such as someone who lost a limb. 

It may also accommodate a different type of disability, such as someone who is blind. Those who apply for this should also apply for the Home Improvement and Structural Adaptation Grant. 

Private Foundation Grants

The above grants are all given by the federal government. However, there are other grants that are out there. For example, there is the Admiral Roy F. Hoffmann Foundation. This is a grant of up to $8,000 for those people that were wounded during the war. 

Also, there is the HelpAmerica Foundation that focuses specifically on the issue of homelessness and veterans. If you do not currently have a home, but aspire to have one, this might be a good place to start. 

Also, any of the private foundation grants can be used to put a down payment on a home. If you are already getting a disability pension from the government, then you can use this to pay the mortgage. 

Home Depot Grant

The Home Depot is providing veterans with grants. They are renovating American Legion Posts. Not only is this organization giving money, but they are also offering volunteers to help to get the necessary renovations done. 

They can even get little things done such as winterizing a home. Any project that needs to be done qualifies. This can be better for veterans who might not be injured but who still need renovations done on their homes. 

They might just need a fan replaced or some ceiling tiles. The volunteers will do anything that makes the home better. They are offering this through the Home Depot Foundation. 

Other Avenues

There are still other avenues to turn to if you don’t qualify for any of the above. For example, a person can qualify for state programs. It’s always worth inquiring about via website or phone because every state is different. 

Additionally, a person can also look into charities, such as the Red Cross. One avenue that is not worth going down is a grant that makes people pay for an application. This sort of behavior gives a major red flag. 

Most people do not want to be paying out what little money they have to apply for home renovation grants. Also, these could be scams. There is no way of ensuring if you will ever get your money back, so it is best to stay away from all applications that have fees. 

Conclusion

There is so much to be said for people to be able to have a better life through home renovations. Sometimes, the veterans are disabled and actually need these modifications to be able to live in all parts of the home. 

Other times, it’s just the conveniences that make adjusting to a disability much easier. Also, there are grants that will help any veteran to renovate. Some grants are for all veterans but only are available to seniors. Whatever one’s circumstance, there is a wide range of grants to be applied for. 

The above list is comprehensive but by all means not exhaustive. A person should look into whatever works well for them and always rely on creativity to figure out possible additional avenues.

Lastly, there are government and privately funded grants offered to low-income families for solar panel installation.