Responding to high demand, a grant-writing consultancy business is seeking to double a housing repairs assistance program to $2 million and open the program up to the Island.

The program was previously available to just Oak Bluffs and Tisbury home-owners, based on grants written by Bailey Boyd and Associates for the past five years. The program qualifies low or very low income households for forgivable loans up to $30,000 to fund home repair projects from roof, window and door replacement to energy saving changes.

The new grants would cover all Island towns except Chilmark, which was excluded this year due to a lack of applications. Ms. Boyd’s agency plans to write one for Oak Bluffs and Tisbury and another for the rest of the Island.

Based on Dukes County numbers, low income bracket ranges from $40,150 for a single person household up to $76,000 for an eight-person home.

The money comes in the form of a 15-year forgivable loan which is rarely paid back in full, explained Ms. Boyd. Each year one fifteenth of the loan is forgiven. If the homeowner dies, the loan is transferred to the next family member in the household.

If the homeowner sells within 15 years, he or she must pay the balance. Ms. Boyd said the improvements to the home generally compensate for that in value added to the homes.

“I’ve never seen anyone get hurt by the program,” she said.

She said a full grant for the program runs up to 300 pages.

“It’s challenging to write a grant for six Island towns,” said Ms. Boyd, explaining why the agency had limited its efforts thus far to the two towns with the most interest.

“You write for points with grants like an exam,” she said, explaining that the more reasons effectively given for why the town qualifies for a share of the funding statewide, the closer they will get to the maximum allowance.

Bailey Boyd is a private consultancy. Ms. Boyd said she takes on the housing assistance program on contingency, and will write the grants free of charge, collecting a fee only if the grant is approved. She has confidence in her work.

“You can’t say we’ll definitely get it . . . but we’ll get it,” she said.

Ms. Boyd said that though funding for the federal program was cut by up to 40 per cent under the Bush administration she is cautiously optimistic that the Obama administration will increase its funding.

There is a waiting list of 80 to 100 for the program in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury.

Approximately 30 assistance cases have been processed for the two towns annually, a figure Ms. Boyd now hopes will double.

She said consistent inquiries from homeowners and town leaders in the rest of the Island convinced her to open up the program.

“Once people heard about the program the applications started coming in. Just the number of applications in the past few weeks has been significant,” she said.

But she added that though she receives far more initial inquiries, many applicants drop off once faced with the paperwork — which includes filing deed information and proof of income to add to a tax check by Bailey Boyd Associates.

Applicants schedule a walk-through of the home with a construction supervisor from Island sub-grantee agency Resource Inc., a nonprofit specializing in home rehabilitation. After determining the scope of work, the job goes out to bid for Island contractors.

The successful contractor then works for progress payments which is a popular arrangement, Ms. Boyd said.

“They love it,” she said, “because they get a check every single week. And it’s great for small contractors and for the local economy. And we inspect it so everyone’s happy.”

Application forms are available from town selectmen’s offices.