Philly homeowners can get help paying for repairs through a program that just celebrated more than $18M loaned to residents

Soon after Renee Blake bought her first house in Olney in 2019, her shower started leaking into the kitchen of the newly renovated home.

“As a new homeowner, I had already sunk a lot of my money” into the purchase, she said. She tried low-cost repairs, but nothing worked.

Blake learned that to fix the underlying problems, she would need to gut her bathroom. But she couldn’t afford to do that.

So last year, she applied for a home repair loan through Philadelphia’s Restore, Repair, Renew program, which gives city homeowners access to 10-year, low-interest loans ranging from $2,500 to $50,000. And she got a brand new bathroom.

Without the program, “I’m not sure what I could have done with this situation,” said Blake, 42.

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She shared her experience at a news conference Friday in which city officials celebrated the more than 600 homes that have been repaired and more than $18 million loaned so far through the program. The first loans closed in June 2019.

Homeowners can use the loans to address repairs related to health, safety, weatherization, accessibility, and quality of life.

David Thomas, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp., which created the program, said Restore, Repair, Renew was “designed to help people who have nowhere to turn” — those who make too much money to qualify for most assistance but who aren’t able to walk into a bank and get a loan.

Blake, who works in finance, said she’s grateful there’s a program to “help the middle class get a little help.”

Restore, Repair, Renew loans are key to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative, in which she aims to preserve 16,500 homes.

The program “is one of the menu of options that we need” to keep Philadelphia blocks intact and maintained, Parker said. The program helps residents stay and can encourage others to move into the city, she said.

“Just because Philadelphia’s housing stock is significant in its aging, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have good bones,” said Parker, who proposed the program when she was a City Council member.

Through Restore, Repair, Renew, homeowners have gotten an average loan of $30,480, according to the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. And borrowers are paying an average of $278 per month. The loans come with a 3% interest rate.

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To qualify for Restore, Repair, Renew, applicants must want to repair their primary residence, have a credit score of at least 580, and have home insurance.

They have to either be up-to-date on utility and tax payments or be in a payment plan with the city. And they can’t have open violations from the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections, or they must be fixing violations with anticipated repairs.

They also have to meet additional requirements by their lenders.

Applicants can have robust incomes. One person can make up to $100,300 per year, and a household of three can make up to $129,000.

So far, borrowers have had an average annual income of $56,525, according to the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp.

“There’s a whole host of folks who are challenged with home repairs,” Thomas said. “These homes are aging. Folks’ incomes are stagnant. Labor costs change.”

To apply for Restore, Repair, Renew, homeowners can contact the financial counseling nonprofit Clarifi at [email protected] or 215-866-5200.