Aging in Place
What is Aging in Place?
Habitat is dedicated to help elderly persons preserve their independence by providing ‘Critical Repairs’ to their house so they can safely stay in their home longer than they might have been able to without the repairs.
Some of the critical repairs that our Habitat provides may be simple or safety-related, such as installing grab bars throughout the home where needed, making sure doorways are wheel-chair accessible, building ramps, making the rooms wheelchair accessible, fixing leaking roofs, crawl spaces, chimneys or basements, bringing laundry areas into or onto the main living area, installing insulation, replacing windows, etc.
The Aging in Place program is not always available in every situation! Habitat does not perform cosmetic work, (like painting cupboards, security window bars, etc.), instead we make the home more user friendly and safe for our elderly population.
Aging in Place is limited by:
1) The age of the homeowner(s)
2) The income of the occupant(s)
3) The value of the home, and whether it is a single detached home
4) The homeowner cannot own other properties
5) The mortgage and property taxes need to be paid and current
6) There cannot be any liens on the home
7) Homeowner’s name must be on the deed
8) Homeowner’s must complete the entire application and all homeowner’s signatures must be on the document
9) A current homeowner insurance policy should be in place
To qualify, residents must complete and sign an application. A site visit will be scheduled with the homeowner once all information on the application is verified. This can take up to 30 days to complete. If the project is grant driven, tight time-frames must be adhered to and only a limited number of applicants will be selected on a first-qualified, first-selected basis.
During the site visit, repair work needed is verified and a project plan is developed. Some of the work may be as simple as installing grab bars or a toilet riser, and other jobs may be more complex if they involve electricity, heating or plumbing which will require licensed contractors.
Habitat will negotiate with vendors for materials and sometimes labor, or retain volunteers to work alongside our builder to complete the work. Once the plan has been placed together, Habitat will review the plan with the homeowner, set a date, and sign an agreement with the homeowner on the scope of the project and the costs.
Other times there may be funding available and Otsego-Antrim Habitat will pay all costs for materials and any non-volunteer labor costs as a GRANT to you. In return, a restriction or lien will be placed on the deed of your home for five years. This means that in the event that you move from your home within the 5-year period, you would need to repay the grant at a rate of 20% per year. If you continue to live in the home, after five years the grant is forgiven. You will be required to pay the recording fee’s to cover the cost of recording the deed restriction at Otsego County Register of Deeds. Any person listed on the deed, mortgage and note, must sign any and all documents required with this project.
The Grant repayment scale works like this:
> Up to 1 year 100%.
> 1-2 years 80%,
> 2-3 years 60%,
> 3-4 years 40% and
> 4-5 years 20% and
> after 5 years the balance is paid.
When all the work has been completed, Habitat will perform a site inspection to verify the work is accordance with local regulations and that the homeowner is satisfied with the results. If the building department needs to inspect, they also will conduct an inspection. The homeowner will then sign a certificate of completion, and can expect a program survey to be mailed to them within a couple of months. We appreciate your responses on the survey because it helps us measure program impact and make improvements where needed.
All decisions regarding the provision of program services are made without regard to the race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or disability of an applicant, their household members or the surrounding community. Decisions regarding awards of repair or subcontract work are made without regard to the race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or disability of the owners or employees of the business. Bid opportunities for repair and subcontract work under the Otsego-Antrim Habitat for Humanity program are being affirmatively advertised.