Raleigh considers giving loans to tornado victims

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Raleigh City Council will consider a measure to give loans to residents whose homes were badly damaged by tornadoes in April.

Residents could get loans of up to $20,000 to make enough repairs to restore their homes to the city's minimum living standards, city spokesman John Boyette said. Payment on the loans would be deferred.The city would redirect $400,000 from housing bonds to fund the program.The loans would cover repairs only for homes that city inspectors declared uninhabitable after the April 16 tornadoes.To receive the loans, recepients must fall under certain income restrictions – no more than $43,550 for an individual or $82,050 for a family of eight, for example.Homeowners would have to have exhausted all other financial assistance, including federal aid, have paid all their mortgage and property taxes, and have homeowner's insurance.The loans would have to be repaid if the owner sold the house or no longer used it as his primary residence.The City Council will discuss the measure at its next meeting on June 7. If the council approves the program, homeowners would have 90 days to apply for loans.