Septic System Community Assistance Fund (SSCAF)

The Onslow County Septic System Community Assistance Fund (SSCAF) is a low interest loan program designed to assist property owners possessing failing septic systems with necessary repairs.

Interest Rates

The low interest loans are provided to qualifying property owners who meet income and property ownership criteria. Interest rates are set at 3% for the property owner's primary residence and 5% for rental properties. The duration of the loan can vary from 3-05 years depending on the cost to repair the failing septic system.

Qualifying

In order to qualify for the SSCAF, a property owner first must have a construction authorization / repair order that is issued by the Environmental Health Division. Once the repair order has been issued, the property owner can request application forms from the Planning and Development Department.

Applying

The applicant must complete the applications in their entirety and return them to the program administrator along with a copy of their W-02 Tax Form or Form 1040 and a recent pay stub. Also, any past due Onslow County property taxes must be paid prior to application submittal. If the applicant meets the household income and property ownership requirements, they are pre-qualified for a low interest loan.

Septic System Maintenance Class

Following pre-qualification, the applicant is required to attend a septic system maintenance education class at the Cooperative Extension Office. Following the class, the program administrator and Environmental Health prepare for the pre-construction meeting. The program administrator sends a formal letter to all septic installers that have signed up for participation on the SSCAF Approved Vendor's List informing them of the meeting date and time.

Preconstruction

The Environmental Health Division then holds the pre-construction conference with the interested septic installers on the subject property in order to review all bidding requirements stipulated in the construction authorization/repair order. Following the pre-construction conference, the loan closing is held.

Loan Closing

At the loan closing, the property owner signs the Deed of Trust and Promissory Note securing the agreement. Following closing, Onslow County oversees the repair of the failed septic system. The loan repayments are secured by the Onslow County Finance Department drafting the applicant's bank account on a monthly basis for the duration of the loan recapture period.