Last updated: July 28, 2026 Leave first if the home is unsafe Do not enter a damaged home until fire, utility, building, or emergency officials say it is safe. Leave immediately if you smell gas, see sparks or downed wires, hear shifting sounds, find deep or moving water, or suspect a chemical spill, sewage backup, … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Leave the area if it is unsafe. Do not enter standing water near electrical sources. Do not mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners. People with asthma, chronic lung disease, severe allergies, or weakened immune systems should not clean mold or stay in a mold-damaged home during cleanup. For major … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Bottom Line Force-placed insurance is usually removed when you give your mortgage servicer proof that you have acceptable homeowners insurance. Send the declarations page to the exact insurance-proof address or portal shown on the servicer’s notice. Ask for written confirmation that the lender-placed policy was canceled. If your own policy … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Act now if someone is in immediate danger. Leave the home and call 911 for fire, smoke, a suspected gas or carbon monoxide emergency, exposed live wiring, or another life-threatening hazard. Call 911 right away if a person with dementia, an intellectual or developmental disability, a brain injury, or another … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Act Now if Heat, Cold, Gas, or Carbon Monoxide Is Dangerous Do not wait for a LIHEAP appointment when someone is in immediate danger. Call 911 for a fire, a medical emergency, suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, or a person who cannot safely remain in the home. If you smell gas, … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Bottom line: The federal poverty level is an income benchmark, not a grant program. A program may compare your income with 100%, 125%, 150%, 200%, or another percentage of the federal poverty guidelines. However, many home repair programs use local HUD area median income instead. Being under an income limit … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 Leave the unsafe area and call 911 if you smell gas, see sparks or fire, have carbon monoxide symptoms, or think a roof, floor, wall, or ceiling may collapse. Call the utility company for power-line, gas, or electrical service hazards. A repair application is not emergency shelter. Bottom line: Rural … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 If the home is unsafe now: Call 911 for fire, gas, collapse, serious injury, or another emergency. If the Veteran cannot safely enter, exit, bathe, use the toilet, or reach medical equipment, contact the VA care team and ask for a social worker today. Appeals can take months. Bottom line: … Read more
Last updated: July 28, 2026 If the home is unsafe: Leave if there is a gas smell, fire, live wiring, floodwater, sewage, collapse risk, or an official unsafe notice. Call 911 for immediate danger. Do not enter until local officials say it is safe. Bottom line: FHA Section 203(h) is not a grant and does … Read more
Last updated: July 27, 2026 Bottom Line If your homeowners insurance bill is too high, act before the policy ends. Call the insurer, ask for the exact amount and deadline needed to keep coverage, and request every available discount or payment option. Then shop for the same level of coverage through other licensed insurers or … Read more