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$1 Million Available To Help With Home Repairs

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By MICHAEL D. BATES, Hernando Today

Published: November 29, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Expensive home repairs can take a large chunk from people's budgets, especially those struggling to make ends meet.

Thanks to a new federal Community Development Block Grant, the money to pay for those repairs just got easier.

The county competed for and won its fourth CDBG grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is already getting applications for home improvement finance help from eligible homeowners.

Health and Human Services Director Jean Rags said she's received applications from 150 people and welcomes more.

The total amount of the grant is $750,000. The Hernando County Housing Authority has kicked in $250,000, bringing the total to $1 million.

Only low- to moderate-income homeowners who meet certain guidelines are eligible to get assistance for repairing their roofs, heating systems, plumbing and electrical systems and other code-related items.

Rags said the grant serves to help people spruce up their homes as well as revitalize neighborhoods and prevent urban blight and slums from forming.

To be eligible, applicants must either own their home or be in the process of buying one. They must fall into the following total household income categories: one person, below $30,450; two people, $34,800; three people, $39,150; four people, $43,500; five people, $47,000; six people, $50,450; seven people, $53,950; eight people, $57,400.

Rags said this is the fourth CBDG grant awarded to Hernando County for rehabilitation purposes. The last one was in 2005.

If Hernando County doesn't compete for the money, it goes to other communities that apply, she said.

The median household income in Hernando County is $40,347, according to the Bureau of Economic & Business Research.

That means the grant should apply to scores of local people, Rags said.

For more information, call (866) 484-1975, or visit the Hernando County Courthouse, 20 North Main St. in Brooksville.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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