The Repair Program
Restoring Hope for Safe, Comfortable Homes
The Home Repair Program at Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity makes essential repairs to owner-occupied homes. This helps preserve the home’s value and allows families in New Hanover, Pender, and Duplin Counties to remain in the homes that they have owned, often for many years.
What started as an effort to repair homes after Hurricane Florence blossomed into a permanent program that assists lower-income homeowners with necessary critical repairs.
Our offices are open 9:00 am – 4:00 pm with appointments available outside of these hours. If you have questions, need assistance filling out the application, or would like to come in outside of our office hours, please call (910) 762-4744 ext. 100.
Common Repair Services
Homes are assessed for risks to health, safety, and the viability of the home as a long-term asset for the family. Many repairs are completed for homeowners who are Seniors or have disabilities.
Common repairs include:
- Repair of kitchen and bathrooms
- Flooring and drywall replacement
- Addressing plumbing and electrical issues
- HVAC repair and replacement
- Ramps, grab bars and aging in place modifications
- Roofing
- Storm recovery
Qualifications
Eligibility
To qualify for our Home Repair Program, applicants must meet the following:
Need for our Program:
- Your home must have critical needs for repairs that put your health or safety at risk.
- You must be unable to afford and/or perform the home repairs yourself.
- Residency
- The home must be located in New Hanover, Pender, or Duplin County.
- Ownership and Primary Residence:
- The applicant must have lived in the same home for at least five years (exceptions may apply if temporarily displaced due to repair needs).
- The applicant cannot own any additional residential property.
- The applicant(s) must be the legal owner listed on the current recorded deed. All owners must be included on the application (as well as all regular occupants of the home).
- If ownership has changed due to the death of a spouse or family member, the applicant must provide documentation verifying legal ownership or a legally recognized right to occupy the home. Acceptable documentation may include evidence of survivorship rights, a life estate, or a letter from an attorney identifying individuals with ownership interest in the property (e.g., heir property situations). This documentation is required to ensure all individuals with ownership interest are identified, included on the application, and available to sign program agreements.
- Intent to remain in the home:
- Applicants should intend to remain in the home for at least 12 months after repairs are completed.
- Property Standing:
- Property taxes and mortgage payments (if applicable) must be current. Because the Home Repair Program is intended to help you maintain your home as a long-term asset, applicants must demonstrate that their mortgage is in good standing. Habitat reserves the right to verify mortgage status at any point during participation in the program.
- Contribution to cost:
- We ask all applicants to contribute something toward the cost of repairs, based on what’s affordable for your household. (A credit check may be requested depending on your income to determine affordability; no minimum score is required.)
- Documentation:
- All required documents must be submitted with the application.
- Volunteer Support:
- Some repairs are completed by Habitat volunteers.
- Flood Zone:
- The home must be located in Zone X, also known as minimal-risk flood zone.
- Mobile/manufactured homes/trailers may be eligible for limited repairs and are reviewed case-by-case. For these homes, we can potentially help with roofs, decks, ramps, HVAC and hot water tanks.
- Historic District:
- Due to program limitations, repairs cannot be performed on homes located within the City of Wilmington’s designated Historic District at this time.
- Condos:
- Due to program limitations, repairs cannot be performed on condos at this time.
Partnership
Applicants are expected to actively participate in the process by:
- Signing a clearly defined repair agreement (Scope of Work)
- Being open to photos of the work and/or brief interviews for grant and outreach purposes
- Helping raise awareness by sharing flyers or referring to others when possible
- If other household members are present during repair activities and are able to assist, we ask that they lend a hand alongside our volunteers. We’ll provide any needed instruction. Note: We understand that many of the homeowners we serve are older adults or have physical limitations. Participation in repair work is not expected from individuals who are unable to safely do so.
Application Steps
Step 1: Turn in Application
To request an application be mailed to you, please call 910-762-4744 or email info@capefearhabitat.org. Please specify that you want a REPAIR application and provide your name, address, and phone number.
- Application Screened
- You may receive a phone call to clarify items on your application.
- You may receive an email or letter requesting additional documents.
- From the point of receiving your application you should hear from us within 30 days via phone call or letter.
Step 2: Application Review
- Public records will be checked to verify that you are current on your property taxes and mortgage, and that you are the owner on record and deed.
- Income will be reviewed for program eligibility
- Background checks will be run
- You may receive a request for more info to clarify results from these checks.
- If all is clear, you will be forwarded on to construction to schedule an assessment.
- At that point your assessment is typically completed within 30 days.
Step 3: Construction Assessment
- Our Construction Department will call to schedule an assessment. Staff will…
- Review structural damages, photograph the repair needs.
- They will not determine eligibility.
The construction department will aim to provide an estimated job cost for a recommendation or to deny the Home Repair request within two weeks of the assessment. However, additional time may be required in certain circumstances.
Be Ready To…
- Keep your appointment window (30-45 minutes).
- Have all pets confined.
- Identify all damages to staff.
- If at any point in the process your project is deemed ineligible, you will receive a letter of denial which will include referral information to other assistance agencies.
Step 4: Financial Review
- If the assessment confirms eligibility for our program, our finance department will determine an affordable payment plan for you to contribute to the estimated cost of Repairs on a sliding scale based on affordability. This may require additional documentation.
Step 5: Agreement Meeting
- This meeting is to discuss the Scope of Work, the cost of repairs, repayment plan, and possible lien, if applicable.
- You will only be asked to pay what you can afford, based on your financial situation as calculated by our Finance Team.
- If we need you to vacate the property for work to commence, or entirely or partially remove belongings, you will be told at this meeting. This will depend on the extent of the work.
- You may choose to take the agreement home to consider and sign within two weeks.
- Any lump sum payment would need to be remitted at this time or prior to work commencing. Checks can be made payable to Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity.
- If you agree to the terms and sign the agreement, you will move on to Step 6.
- You are under no obligation to use Habitat’s Repair program. Nothing will be charged to you until an Agreement is signed.
- Depending on the extent of the repair project, you may be asked to agree to a limited lien on your property.
Step 6: Work Begins
- Construction staff will contact you regarding scheduling. There may be a wait, depending on our repair case load.
- Our development department may contact you for photos of the project or to ask you a few questions in order to report to our donors or complete grant reports.
Step 7: Work Completed
- Staff will meet with you to complete a Certificate of Completion
Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity conducts business in accordance with Federal Fair Lending Laws.
Support our Repair Efforts
