Home buying and repair programs available through USDA

The U S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) receives federal funding to help families in rural areas realize home ownership through the Direct or Guaranteed Housing Program. This program helps potential home owners with the financing of the purchase of single family homes.

The USDA’s Direct 502 Housing program begins with their evaluation of the family income and debt levels in order to identify a comfortable payment plan. Credit is also a factor in the eligibility process.  Then assistance is provided to help find the home the individual can then afford. Elderly folks on a fixed income can apply.

Benefits include no down payment, No PMI, interest as low as 1 percent and no higher then the current fixed rate of 6%.

There are rules for applying for the program, including the fact that one can’t own a home at the time of application, and one must meet income guidelines which are based on income and debt levels.

Guaranteed loans are available to qualifying applicants whose income is too high to qualify for a direct housing loan.  These are loans made by other lender, such as banks or credit unions and are guaranteed by Rural Development. These loans are at a fixed rate for 30 years. No PMI is required.

The Rural Development office is offering 504 grants and low-interest 504 loans for resident for home repair. The idea is to provide rural resident who own their home and who cannot afford to fix their houses an opportunity to do just that before the house becomes a health or safety hazard.

The grants will provide up to $7,500.00 to homeowners who are 62 or older and have assets worth less than $10,000. With the low-interest loans, people of age can borrow a maximum of $20,000 at 1 percent interest and repay it within 20 years.

Previous recipients of loans and grants have most commonly used the funds to repair roofs, modernize heating and wiring systems, improve accessibility for people with disabilities, and install storm windows and septic tanks.

To be eligible for assistance for the Direct 502 and 504 grant/loan programs, applicants must meet income limits, be unable to obtain the requested assistance through other sources, have adequate repayment ability in situations involving a loan request, have an acceptable credit history and have the legal capacity to incur the obligation.

The income limits can be located on our website at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/common/indiv_intro.htm.  For more information or an application, please call the Rural Development Findlay Area office at 419-422-0242, ext 113 or email [email protected].