Low-Interest Rehab Loans Are Back!
HIP Loan Program Leveraged $35 Million in Bank Loans since 2002
(May 27, 2008) -- The Hamilton County Commission will vote Wednesday to re-instate the Home Improvement Program (HIP), which provides low interest construction loans in Hamilton County. The HIP program is an initiative of Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune to improve the County’s housing stock.
“In an urban, built out county, fixing up our ageing housing stock and making it more attractive to buyers is critical. HIP allows Hamilton County’s housing to compete with newer communities,” Portune said. “This is the only housing rehab program where people with middle class incomes can qualify.”
HIP was launched in 2002. Since that time, 2,061 loans have been closed, leveraging almost $35 million in private funding to fix up the aging housing stock in the county. HIP was suspended January 1, 2008.
The HIP program allows Hamilton County homeowners to borrow up to $50,000 to repair or re-model their homes or rental property at interest rates 3 percent below the lowest rate a bank would normally offer. The program also allows small businesses to renovate their property making it more accessible or business-ready.
Loans may be used for remodeling bathrooms, decks, kitchens, plumbing, ceilings and walls, garages, landscaping, room additions, central air and furnaces, gutters and roofs, painting and carpeting, sliding windows and doors.
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