$8M in no-interest loans set for low-income homeowners

Low-income Detroit households and those in neighborhoods with high poverty rates will be eligible for $8 million in no-interest loans for home improvements such as repairing roofs, replacing windows and fixing plumbing, Mayor Mike Duggan announced Tuesday.

The Duggan administration partnered with Local Initiatives Support Corp., a nonprofit that helps bring together resources to revitalize distressed neighborhoods, along with Bank of America to launch the program. It will allow income-eligible homeowners access to loans between $5,000 and $25,000 for home repairs and improvements, with borrowers having to pay back only the amount they borrow, interest-free.

The loans are targeted at homeowners who earn up to 80% of a median income of $54,150 for a family of four, or $37,950 for a single person, as well as targeted low-income areas of the city where all homeowners are eligible regardless of income. Duggan said the program will help tackle blight while also giving a loan option to homeowners who want to stay and invest in their houses but can't get traditional financing because the city's property values deteriorated so deeply during the national recession.

"Establishing this loan fund will generate a wave of home improvement work across the city that will raise property values and strengthen neighborhoods," Duggan said, adding that his administration worked closely with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure access to loans to as many Detroiters as possible.

Funding will come from $4 million in community development block grant funds from HUD and $4 million from Bank of America. LISC will use that money to provide the loans to qualified homeowners. The Duggan administration said it has partnered with more than a dozen local community nonprofit groups — including Bridging Communities, Jefferson East Inc. and U Snap Bac, to help with outreach and to assist homeowners file necessary intake forms and applications.

"The impact of this program will go well beyond the walls of the houses it helps repair," LISC president and CEO Michael Rubinger said in a statement. "We are building a case for investing in homes, businesses, schools and parks in Detroit neighborhoods – even in places that might appear too risky for conventional financing models. And we're doing it while lifting property values for hardworking families that are committed to Detroit's future."

Loans must be repaid in 10 years and be used on eligible projects including correcting health or safety hazards; electrical and plumbing repairs; furnace or roof replacement; porch and structural repairs, and door and window replacement, restoration or maintenance.

Information on how to get zero-interest home-repair loans is available at www.DetroitHomeLoans.or or by calling 2-1-1 to speak to intake coordinators.

Intake centers will be set up at 14 locations citywide, and Detroit has scheduled information sessions at five locations:

Tonight, 6-7 p.m., Samaritan Center, 5555 Conner. Thursday, 6-7 p.m., Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers, and Patton Park Rec Center, 2300 Woodmere. Saturday , 11 a.m.-noon, Don Bosco Hall, 19321 W. Chicago, and at Heilmann Rec Center, 19601 Crusade.