Can I use this loan to help buy an older home?

No. The NRI loan can't be rolled into a home purchase, it's only available to owner-occupants after they already own and live in the home. If you're buying an older home, this becomes a tool you can use the day you close.

How do I know if my home qualifies?

It has to be your owner-occupied primary residence, inside the City's NRI program boundary, outside the 100-year floodplain, at least 40 years old, and assessed under $300,000. You can check your assessed value at fargoparcels.com; the City's Planning & Development Department can confirm the boundary. Qualification and loan approval are determined by Gate City Bank.

What's the interest rate on the loan?

The City's program page currently lists a rate as low as 4.66% APR, but rates are lender-set and can change. Gate City Bank, which administers the lending side, is the source to confirm your actual rate.

When does the application window close?

The City's current window runs through October 31, 2026. Confirm the current application dates on the City of Fargo's program page before you apply, since they can change from year to year.

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Homeowners

The Fargo Program That Will Lend You Up to $100,000 to Fix Up an Older Home

September 23, 2026 · Erik Wall

There's a City of Fargo program that will lend an owner-occupant up to $100,000 at a low rate to fix up an older home, and most people who'd qualify have never heard of it. It matters whether you already own a home in one of the city's older neighborhoods or you're shopping for one, because both of you have a door here, just a different one.

What the NRI Actually Is

The Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) is a City of Fargo program offering owner-occupants of older homes a low-interest rehabilitation loan for major improvements. Gate City Bank administers the lending side. It's worth being precise about what this is and isn't: it's a home-improvement loan for people who already own and live in a qualifying home, not a program that helps finance the purchase itself.

If You Already Own an Older Home

This is the part built for you specifically, even if you never plan to sell. If your home is at least 40 years old, assessed under $300,000, and you've been putting off something real, an aging furnace, a roof on borrowed time, a kitchen that's original to the house, the City finances exactly that kind of work. Loans run $10,000 to $100,000, secured by a second mortgage, repaid over a 10- or 15-year term. You don't have to sell and you don't have to move. You just have to own the home and live in it.

If You're Buying One

This is the part almost nobody connects. You can't roll this loan into the purchase of a home, it doesn't work that way. But the day you close and move in, it becomes available to you. That changes the math on an older home that needs work: the special assessments on homes in Fargo's older core are frequently long paid off, and this is a low-rate way to bring one up to date on your own timeline, after you own it, not before.

Who Qualifies

The eligibility rules are specific and worth checking against your actual address rather than assuming. The home has to be your owner-occupied primary residence, located inside the NRI program's boundary, and outside the 100-year floodplain. It has to be at least 40 years old, and its assessed value has to be under $300,000 (checkable at fargoparcels.com). The project itself has to be real, significant rehab work starting around $10,000, not a cosmetic touch-up.

What Kind of Work Qualifies

The program is built around the projects that actually keep a house livable and add long-term value: foundation work; siding, roofing, windows, and other exterior work; adding a bedroom or living space; a major kitchen or bath remodel; and major mechanical systems like furnace, electrical, or plumbing replacement.

How the Process Works

You develop a scope of work, apply through the City of Fargo, and submit contractor quotes as part of that application. From there you close on the loan, and the project has to be completed within 6 months of closing.

The Rate, the Deadline, and Where to Verify Both

The City's program page currently lists a rate as low as 4.66% APR, but rates are set by the lender and move, so treat that as a starting point, not a promise, and send any specific rate question straight to Gate City Bank. Applications are open now and the City's current window closes October 31, 2026. Both the rate and the dates can change, so before you plan around either one, confirm the current figures on the City's own pages, linked below, for your specific property.

A couple of things worth saying plainly. We aren't affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the City of Fargo or Gate City Bank, this is independent information about a public program, and Gate City is named here only because they're the bank the City has assigned to administer the lending side, not a recommendation. This also isn't tax, legal, or lending advice, and eligibility, rates, and boundaries are set by the City and the bank, not us, so confirm the current details for your specific property before you count on any number in this post.

Older homes get overlooked because they need work. This is the tool that makes that work affordable, whether you're the one who already owns it or the one about to.

Still deciding between an older home and building new? Our Build Your Timeline tool lays out a realistic money picture and move-in timeline for both paths.

Build Your Timeline