Many homeowners do not realize that Community Development Block Grant funds are available to help make repairs to their homes. The CDBG Home Repair Program, administered by Chippewa County Housing Authority, ouers loans at no interest to in come eligible homeowners for necessary repairs. Income limits vary by County. Loans are available for properties located in the West Central Wisconsin Housing Region which includes: Barron, Buualo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk and St. Croix Counties. Properties located in the City of Eau Claire are not eligible.

There is no interest on the loan and there are no monthly payments. The homeowner/ estate pays back only what they borrowed when they no longer occupy the home as their primary place of residence (sell or move out of the home). The loans are available for necessary home repairs including, but not limited to: replacing siding, windows, doors, furnaces water/sewer laterals from the curb to the house, replacing septic systems and wells, upgrading plumbing, heating and electric systems, installing insulation, repairing foundations, and making a home accessible for a member who has a disability. Funds cannot be used for general remodeling such as updating decor. The loan must be approved prior to the work being started; we cannot reimburse a family for work already completed. Repairs to mobile homes are eligible if the owner also owns the land beneath the mobile home. Mobile homes in mobile home parks are not eligible.

One Pierce County resident stated “The program was great, so helpful. It made my life so much more mobile because I would not be able to get in and out of my home without the ramp. Thank you!”

To apply for the program or obtain more information email [email protected] chippewa.wi.us or contact Laura Rushmann at 715-726-7801.

Household income limits for the program apply. In Pierce and St. Croix County, the income limit for a one-person household is $62,600, two-person $71,500, three-person is $80,500 and four-person is $89,400.

Submitted by Chippewa County Housing Authority