U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced today USDA Rural Development will be able to provide extended aid to USDA Rural Development mortgage holders in disaster areas from recent storms in Oklahoma.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency declaration for the State of Oklahoma allows the Rural Development State Office to provide benefits to homeowners with USDA home loans who are impacted by this disaster. Mortgage holders with a USDA Rural Development backed loan are encouraged to call 405-742-1070 if they are impacted by this disaster. Additionally, a letter will be sent to all USDA mortgage holders in the impacted areas explaining what assistance may be available to them.
“President Biden has directed all federal agencies to provide the maximum support to those impacted by these very damaging storms,” Corn said. “At our USDA Rural Development Oklahoma State Office, we are prepared to help our USDA homeowners in this devastating time and provide them with the resources that can help them rebuild.”
USDA Rural Development mortgage holders who are impacted by this storm may be eligible for the following assistance:
- Extend payment assistance agreements that are expiring within the next six (6) months for at least an additional six (6) months. This allows time for a borrower to gather important papers and complete their payment assistance renewal application.
- Waive late fees for homeowners in the affected areas for at least 6 months.
- Implement a 6-month payment moratorium upon a verbal request from the homeowner. No moratorium application package is required. Accrued interest during the moratorium will be waived once the account is re-amortized at the end of the moratorium period. Borrowers requesting a moratorium are provided a Moratorium Fact Sheet explaining the process.
Additionally, limited funding remains available in USDA’s Rural Disaster Home Repair Loan and Grant Program. The maximum grant is $10,000 and the maximum loan is $40,000, which is available in a low interest loan. To qualify a homeowner must own the home and have qualifying income that does not exceed the very low limit in the county the house resides. Income limits are found on this website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/sites/default/files/RD-DirectLimitMap.pdf. This program will only remain available while the remaining funds are available.
USDA Rural Development mortgage holders can also call the Customer Service Center disaster hotline 888-796-0538 or 1-800-438-1832 Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Central Time. In addition, information is available for all RD borrowers on the RD Disaster Assistance Web Site: https://www.rd.usda.gov/page/rural-development-disaster-assistance.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/ok.