Nearly $112 million was delivered in federal fiscal year 2015 by USDA Rural Development to achieve homeownership, complete home repairs and to provide rental assistance to rural Nebraska families. USDA Rural Development oversees an $892.4 million housing portfolio in Nebraska of affordable rental properties and single family home loans that have maintained low delinquency rates. There is funding available for Fiscal Year 2016 and applications are being accepted.
“Rural Development is proud to report that nearly $112 million was invested in housing this fiscal year. Growing our rural areas is important and with that brings the need for housing. That is why Rural Development’s homeownership and rural rental housing programs are so vital. It is also essential to have programs in place for health and safety repairs,” said Nebraska State Director Maxine Moul, USDA Rural Development. “We look forward to Fiscal Year 2016 and helping to continue to meet the needs of rural residents.”
USDA Rural Development has two loan programs that provide affordable homeownership opportunities to rural Americans: the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan program and the Single Family Housing Direct Loan program. Both of these programs typically do not require any down payment and financing is available at affordable rates and terms for modest housing.
The Guaranteed loan program provides homeownership loans through approved lenders. The interest rate is negotiated between the lender and applicant and is currently below 4.50%. For the Direct loan program, loans are made directly through USDA Rural Development offices and the current interest rate is 3.25% and may be reduced to 1% for qualifying households. Additional information on both of these programs is available at http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-guaranteed-loan-program/ne and http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-direct-home-loans/ne.
In Fiscal Year 2015 homeownership was brought to 1,056 rural Nebraska families totaling in excess of $105 million. Since 1979, USDA Rural Development has invested $1.5 billion in rural Nebraska for homeownership opportunities and repairs.
Eligibility for both housing programs is based on income, acceptable credit and repayment ability and the property must be located in rural areas. All communities in Nebraska are eligible for housing programs with the exceptions of Fremont, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lincoln, North Platte, Omaha and South Sioux City/Dakota City. See http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do for eligible areas to determine if you are within the established income limit based on the size of household and county and if the property is located within an eligible area. USDA uses sound underwriting criteria to ensure borrowers are able to repay their loans. By doing so, USDA Rural Development is helping to keep people in their homes.
Jarron Gomez and Tanya Begay, along with their three daughters, rented a home in Gering. They did so for three years while waiting for the right opportunity to start pursuing their dreams of homeownership. Gomez and Begay worked with Platte Valley Bank in Scottsbluff to obtain financing on their dream home. They utilized the USDA Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan program to secure guaranteed financing. Gomez and Begay chose a large older home dripping in character. Using the USDA guaranteed loan with 100% financing, they were able to move into their new home before Christmas of 2014.
The Rural Home Repair Loan and Grant program provided $96,000 in assistance to 17 rural Nebraska homeowners for essential repairs. Alma Sweeney lived on a limited, fixed income. Her air conditioner unit was beyond repair and with the summer heat she wouldn’t be able to stay in her home. Air conditioning was necessary due to her health issues. USDA Rural Development helped by providing a 504 grant/loan combination to Sweeney for installing a new air conditioner.
The Multi-Family Housing (MFH) program provides financing to develop rental housing in rural areas for persons with very-low, low and moderate incomes. Funds are also available to construct a new facility or to rehabilitate Rural Development financed apartments or convert existing buildings into apartments. Nearly $211,000 was utilized to rehabilitate an existing MFH project in Pender, NE to help improve and preserve the availability of safe affordable rental housing for residents in that community. Nebraska has 198 rental complexes financed through Rural Development that provide 3,173 affordable rental units.
Subsidies are available to lower a tenant's monthly contribution in order to make rent more affordable. In the 2015 fiscal year, nearly $6.3 million of rental assistance and vouchers were provided to 1,811 tenants residing in Rural Development multi-family rural rental housing complexes in Nebraska. To locate a rural rental housing complex nearest you visit: http://rdmfhrentals.sc.egov.usda.gov/RDMFHRentals/select_state.jsp.
For more information contact the Rural Development office nearest you. You can locate an office by visiting: http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices/ne.
Visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs for information on all of Rural Development’s programs
President Obama’s plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President’s leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities. USDA’s investments in rural communities support the rural way of life that stands as the backbone of our American values.