More Help For Homeowners Harmed By Helene

Clinch-Powell RC&D, based in Rutledge, has been designated as the packager for two new USDA programs designed to help East Tennesseans whose homes were affected by Hurricane Helene. USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing Disaster Assistance Fund (DAF) Home Repair Grant Program and the 502 Home Replacement Program are both intended to help those whose homes were damaged, severely damaged or destroyed. Clinch-Powell will facilitate application for these grants or loans in 14 East Tennessee counties. Those counties include Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier, Greene, Hamblen, Grainger and Hawkins counties.

To be eligible for the Single Family Housing DAF Home Repair Grants, applicants must meet the following requirements:

 Are 18 years old or older;

 own and occupy the home, and are able to provide a document of ownership;

 have income that does not exceed the applicable low-income limit based on household size and county; and

 property is located within a Rural Development Single Family Housing rural area (visit the website https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/ for designated areas);

 the property must have sustained damage as a result of the Presidentially-declared disaster, Tropical Storm Helene in Tennessee, September 26, 2024.

To apply for home repair or home replacement funding, contact Hollie Sartin at Clinch-Powell’s Newport office, at 423-720-1956 or hollie@clinchpowell.net.

More information is listed below:

The maximum grant assistance available for the Home Repair Grant is $44,000. The funds may be used for disaster-related home repair expenses incurred prior to application, as long as the needed repair was caused directly or indirectly by Helene. Materials costs may be paid to the contractor upon receipt of a paid invoice, or directly to the supplier prior to site delivery.
Site preparation, and the cost of moving a manufactured home, may also be funded by the grant. Because homeowners may have been forced into temporary housing, applicants are not required to occupy the property they own until replacement housing is installed.
Repair costs that have been paid for out of pocket may be reimbursed with proof of costs, such as necessary receipts. Grant funds may not be awarded if other sources, such as insurance or FEMA, have provided funding for the same need resulting from the disaster.

Home Replacement

Those whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by Helene, leaving them either entirely without housing or with uninhabitable housing in one of the 14 counties listed, may be eligible for home replacement grant funding.
To be eligible, applicants’ income must not exceed the low-income limit based on household size and county, and they must seek housing within one of the 14 disaster counties. Washington County includes ineligible areas and it is recommended applicants check https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/ for designated rural areas.
Applicants may purchase homes that are existing, new, or build a new construction home. Up to 100 percent financing is available, with 33-to 38-year terms also available. Payment assistance is available to eligible applicants that may reduce mortgage payments to as low as a one-percent interest rate.
If an applicant has received funds for replacement housing from another source, such as insurance or FEMA, those funds may be required to be used towards the purchase of a DAF replacement home. 

Maximum income limits for households of one to four and five to eight individuals are shown in the table below:

County Name	Max income limit 1-4 people	Max income limit 5-8 people
Carter	$67,850	$89,600
Claiborne	$59,900	$79,100
Cocke	$59,900	$79,100
Grainger	$59,900	$79,100
Greene	$59,900	$79,100
Hamblen	$60,500	$79,900
Hancock	$59,900	$79,100
Hawkins	$61,350	$81,000
Jefferson	$60,500	$79,900
Johnson	$59,900	$79,100
Sevier	$64,000	$84,500
Sullivan	$61,350	$81,000
Unicoi	$67,850	$89,600
Washington	$67,850	$89,600