How to Get a Government Home Loan with Low or Moderate Income
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For direct loans, application is made at the Rural Development field office serving the county where the dwelling is or will be located. For guaranteed loans, application is made to a participting lender. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110.

Rural Development field offices have the authority to approve most Direct loan requests. The processing of guaranteed loans will vary from State to State. You will need to contact the Rural Development State Office in your area. It will be listed in your local telephone directory.

If no backlog exists, decisions on direct loan applications are made within 30 to 60 days. Requests for guarantee loans are acted upon in 3 days.

The time it takes to get approved or disapproved can range anywhere from 30 days to 60 days depending on the availablity of funds and whether or not the application was filed while a backlog of applications are present. For guarantees, a decision is required within 3 days of loan package submission by the approved lender.

You CAN appeal if you are denied the loan or loan guarantee:

"Agency regulations providing customers with the rights for an informal review, mediation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or appeal to the National Appeals Division (NAD) are contained in 7 CFR Part 3550. NAD regulations are found at 7 CFR Part 11. Requests for an informal review, mediation and ADR must be received within 30 days from the date of the adverse decision. Requests for an appeal to NAD must be received within 30 days of receipt of the adverse decision."

You can also reapply at any time.

This assistance is available throughout the year by means of quarterly allocations. Funds may be given at the loan closing or they may be deposited in the bank account for purchase of a building site, and purchase or repair of a dwelling, or in multiple advances for construction. For guaranteed loans, funds are distributed after all the work has been completed.

Just so you know, the applications for direct loans far exceed available funding. There's usually a waiting list if you want direct loan funding for a home.

You are not required to, but you should keep copies of any of your loan related documents.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

From $1,000 to $105,000; an average of $73,350 for 502 direct loans, and 93,000 for guaranteed loans. Loans in high cost areas may be higher.

Literature and Guidelines: 7 CFR Part 3550 "Direct Single Family Housing Loans and Grants." For guaranteed loans, 1980-D "Subpart D -Rural Housing Loans."

You can contact their offices here:

For Your Local Office:

They will be listed under United States Department of Agriculture for Rural Development in your local phone directory. If you can't find their listing, you can contact the Rural Development State Office on the web here: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html.

Headquarters Office

Director, Single Family Housing Direct Loan Division or Director Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division, Rural Housing Service (RHS), Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Telephone: (202) 720-1474 (direct loans); (202) 720-1452 (guaranteed loans).

You can visit their web site here: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

About The Author Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women ®, an online community for women in business. A 30 year entrepreneur and dedicated to helping other women find business loans and business grants. Visit her site: Business Grants for Women or at her main site: http://www.digital-women.com.

How to Get a Government Home Loan with Low or Moderate Income
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Additional Resources

category - Home Buying Programs

Department of Housing and Urban Development's Dollar Homes Program
The Dollar Homes Program revolves around the process of selling single family homes for a superbly reasonable price of $1 (plus closing cost) to low-to-moderate income families, granted that these houses have been acquired through foreclosure by the Federal Housing Administration, and have already been actively marketed for at least six months and still remained unsold after that certain period of time.

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California Housing Finance Agency
The California Housing Finance Agency, otherwise known as CalHFA, is an independent, self-supporting agency that was chartered to as the State's affordable housing bank to make low interest rate loans through the sale of tax-exempt bonds; with these bonds being repaid by revenues generated through mortgage loans, instead of taxpayer dollars.

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Rural Community Development Initiative
The Rural Community Development Initiative can be awarded to legally qualified private, public, and tribal groups or organizations that have the experience and capability of providing training and technical assistance to nonprofit community-based housing and community development organizations, as well as low income rural communities.

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Alabama Housing Finance Authority
The Alabama Housing Finance Authority, more commonly referred to as AHFA, is a public corporation which was established in the year 1980 under the Act No. 80-585 of the Alabama Legislature.

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