In the current economic climate, many homeowners are choosing to fix up their homes, rather than considering a move. Home Repair Resource Center, a nonprofit organization right here in Cleveland Heights, offers a variety of loan and grant programs to help make home repairs more affordable and less of a worry, as these two recent examples demonstrate:

Last winter was very tough on roofs and gutters, with the heavy snow and ice buildup. This spring, a young woman with two small children met with one of our counselors regarding getting a loan to fix her roof. She was very worried about taking on an additional loan payment because she was already on a tight budget. She was pleased to find that she could qualify for several grant programs that reduced her loan payment by half. She was able to fix her roof and still have an affordable monthly payment.

An older gentleman came into center recently with a list of violations from the city inspector. He had been at his job for over 25 years and earned a good income, but because of some credit debt he was unable to get a loan through the bank. He wanted to fix his violations and was delighted to learn that the center offers a special loan program called the Challenge Fund, for people with credit issues. Not only was he able to get financing to fix his violations, he also received free credit counseling to help him get back on track with his budget!

All of the center's services are offered at no cost so make it your first stop when exploring financing options. For more information call 216-381-6100 or visit www.hrrc-ch.org.

Allison Urbanek works for the Home Repair Resource Center.