Program offers affordable loans for mobile home repairs

MISSOULA, Mont. ? The Montana & Idaho Community Development Corporation (MICDC) is excited to announce the rollout of its new, affordable Mobile Home Improvement Loan Program. The program aims to help people who live in mobile homes make improvements to their home without taking on high-interest debt. Laila Huson of Missoula was the first to be approved for the new loan program. Her $3,200 loan will enable her to get a new roof on the home she shares with her young sons.

?Every year, we go up on the roof to try to seal the leaks, but it?s an aluminum roof ? with the hot and cold expanding and contracting, it?s a regular problem,? Laila said. ?Most places where I could get a loan would charge a 36% interest rate and require me to use my car as collateral. If I missed a payment due to illness, I could lose my only means of transportation.?

?Most people would feel like this is a situation with a requirement for collateral or an outrageous interest rate,? Laila said. ?When I first heard about it (the Mobile Home Improvement Loan), I didn?t believe it. But this is not hype ? they (MICDC) are there to help.?

Mobile home owners have a significantly harder time finding financing for home repairs, which can lead to uncomfortable and unhealthy living conditions. The Mobile Home Improvement Loans can be used by mobile home owners for almost any home repair or upgrade. MICDC has applications pending from homeowners for winterization, heating and cooling, flooring, new windows and energy-efficiency upgrades. The loans can also be used by mobile home communities for improvements such as playgrounds, lighting, signage and landscaping.

The amount the borrower pays monthly is on a sliding scale and based on the borrowers? monthly income and expenses. Mobile Home Improvement Loans are available to residents of mobile home communities in Montana and Idaho.

?We are excited to provide low-cost loans to help residents of mobile home communities make their homes nicer and more livable,? said Dave Glaser, President of MICDC. ?By providing this funding, we are helping people solve health and safety challenges that would otherwise go unaddressed.?

MICDC launched the Mobile Home Improvement Loan program in response to needs it saw while providing financing for other communities. MICDC has worked with NeighborWorks Montana to help three mobile home communities establish resident-owned communities (ROCs) and finance the acquisition of the land under their homes. This gives the residents long-term security and control over maintenance needs for a safe, healthy community. When MICDC entered these communities, however, it found other problems that were not being addressed.

?When we work with a community to finance a ROC loan, it always uncovers community infrastructure problems like unsafe playgrounds and water systems, as well as individual homeowner needs like leaky roofs and broken windows,? said Catherine Jones, Development Director at MICDC. ?We decided that in addition to helping mobile home communities form ROCs and buy the land, we?d seek funding to help them address other issues related to health, safety and well-being.?

To apply for a Mobile Home Improvement Loan for an individual mobile home or a mobile home community, contact Julie Ehlers at 844-728-9234 ext. 225.

Montana & Idaho Community Development Corporation
The Montana & Idaho Community Development Corporation (MICDC) provides consulting services and financing to entrepreneurs and small business owners across Montana and Idaho, as well as affordable housing solutions in Montana. MICDC was one of the first Community Development Finance Institutions in the country to be certified by the U.S. Treasury, and its powerful New Markets Tax Credit Program has brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Montana and Idaho and created thousands of jobs. Since its start in 1986, the nonprofit MICDC has grown to over $400 million in loans under management, with offices in Missoula, Bozeman and Boise. Learn more at http://mtcdc.org/.