Tag: home improvement loan rates

The Burlington County Commissioners have approved changes to a County program that assists low- and moderate-income residents with critical home repairs.

The Burlington County Home Improvement Loan Program provides zero-interest deferred payment loans to income-eligible homeowners of up to $25,000 to make repairs or correct substandard conditions that might impact health and safety.

Previously residents who qualified for the loan were required to repay the full amount without interest whenever their home was sold or the residents moved. The change approved by the Commissioners allows the loans to be forgiven if the recipients continue to live in their home for a period of 10 years.

Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson said the change updates the program to make it more responsive to the hardships faced by low- and moderate-income households.

“Home ownership is considered one of the keys to building generational wealth and we want to do everything possible to help residents maintain safe and comfortable homes in Burlington County,” Hopson said. “Making our County’s home improvement loans forgivable after 10 years of residency provides a strong incentive for them to make needed repairs and improvements. It’s a responsive change that will help keep Burlington County communities vital and

Interest in big home improvement projects is waning. That’s one takeaway from Home Depot’s uninspired first-quarter results.

“The size of the projects are getting a bit smaller,” Home Depot (HD) CEO Ted Decker told analysts on the company’s first quarter earnings call Monday.

“It could be that project [are] being deferred or it could be that the project is being broken up into chunks,” Decker said. “Rather than doing an entire room or an entire basement, you start working it in smaller chunks and that clearly impacts items per basket in overall activity. “

On a yearly basis, customer transactions slid 4.8%, but came in better than Wall Street’s call for a 5.36% drop. Customers also spent less per ticket than anticipated, recording a 0.2% gain against expectations of a 2.63% boost in average ticket sizes.

Big-ticket transactions, or those over $1,000, were down 6.5% compared with the first quarter of last year. Customers also shied away from flooring, kitchen, and bath during the quarter, another potential signal that they are downsizing projects.

DIY customers also outperformed the professional sector as demand shifted toward smaller projects, Home Depot said.

That jibes with other research on remodeling.