Assistance With Home Repairs

Every time we turn around, it seems, prices of every day items increase.  We keep a wary eye on the Shell station nearby.  It’s a good day or bad day based on the gasoline price sign. We also know that heating our homes can be expensive.  We have oil heat and filling the tank can put a hole in our budget.  A cord of wood is expensive.  Lucky you if you heat with natural gas. 

Are you heating your home or is the heat leaking outside and the cold air of winter seeping in.  Fortunately in Oregon, as in many states across the country, you can get an energy audit of your home to see if there are ways to save on heating and air conditioning. For example, in New Jersey there’s The Energy Team, a leading independent energy efficiency expert, who offers energy audits, weatherization and insulation services, LED lighting, solar water heating and solar electric solutions, and water conservation plans.

Many people in this current economic environment might have trouble coming up with the money to spend on energy efficiency.  In Oregon there are all sorts of tax credit programs from local utilities that kick in once you’ve made improvements. However, the Federal Government has grants available if you qualify for assistance with home repairs.

A home repair grant is given to homeowners to make necessary repairs or to make the home safe for living. The grants may be used for bringing the electrical wiring up to code, or energy saving upgrades like insulation or storm windows. Home repair grants are generally reserved for people who can't qualify for a personal loan or a home equity line of credit due to low income, bad credit history, age or other factors.

The great thing about grants: they don’t have to be paid back and the money comes from  all of us taxpayers.Might as well get some of our dollars back!