Single Family Housing Programs provide homeownership opportunities to low-and moderate-income rural Americans through several loan, grant, and loan guarantee programs. The programs also make funding available to individuals to finance vital improvements necessary to make their homes decent, safe, and sanitary.
Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan – Applicants for loans may have an income of up to 115% of the median income for the area. Area income limits for this program are here. Families must be without adequate housing, but be able to afford the mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance. In addition, applicants must have reasonable credit histories.
Rural Housing Direct Loan – Section 502 loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. Funds can be used to acquire, build (including funds to purchase and prepare sites and to provide water and sewage facilities), repair, renovate or relocate a home.
Rural Repair and Rehabilitation Loan and Grant – The Very Low-Income Housing Repair program provides loans and grants to very low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their dwellings or to remove health and safety hazards. Rural Housing Repair and Rehabilitation Grants are funded directly by the Government. A grant is available to dwelling owner/occupant who is 62 years of age or older. Funds may only be used for repairs or improvements to remove health and safety hazards, or to complete repairs to make the dwelling accessible for household members with disabilities.
Mutual Self-Help Loans – The Section 502 Mutual Self-Help Housing Loan program is used primarily to help very low and low-income households construct their own homes.
Rural Housing Site Loans – Rural Housing Site Loans are made to provide financing for the purchase and development of housing sites for low- and moderate-income families.
Housing Application Packaging Grants – Housing Application Packaging Grants provide government funds to tax-exempt public agencies and private non-profit organizations to package applications for submission to Housing and Community Facilities Programs.
Individual Water and Waste Grants – Individual Water and Waste Water Grants provide Government funds to households residing in an area recognized as a colonia before October 1, 1989.
Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants – To provide Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants to provide financial assistance to qualified nonprofit organizations and public bodies that will aid needy very low and low-income individuals and their families to build homes in rural areas by the self help method. Any State, political subdivision, private or public nonprofit corporation is eligible to apply.
Technical and Supervisory Assistance Grants – To assist low-income rural families in obtaining adequate housing to meet their family’s needs and/or to provide the necessary guidance to promote their continued occupancy of already adequate housing. These objectives will be accomplished through the establishment or support of housing delivery and counseling projects run by eligible applicants.
For more information about these programs, or to file an application, contact the local Rural Development office in your area.