The Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) program provides competitively awarded funds for capacity building at the state and local level for rural housing and economic development and to support innovative housing and economic development activities in rural areas.
HFAs and Rural Housing
HFAs are involved in a number of rural housing programs, including the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Section 515 and 538 multifamily housing programs and Section 502 single-family housing program and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rural Housing and Economic Development program.
Section 515 rural rental housing loans are direct, competitive mortgage loans made to provide affordable multifamily rental housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families; the elderly; and persons with disabilities. Very low-income is defined as below 50 percent of the area median income (AMI); low-income is between 50 and 80 percent of AMI; and moderate income is capped at $5,500 above the low-income limit. The Section 538 program provides federal government guarantees for loans made by commercial lenders to developers of multifamily rental housing for low- and moderate- income tenants in rural areas and is intended to provide decent, affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income rural households with incomes up to 115 percent of AMI.
Section 502 loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. They can be direct or guaranteed. Funds can be used to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including providing water and sewage facilities. Applicants for loans may have an income of up to 115 percent of AMI. 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.
Useful Links: USDA Rural Development, USDA Housing and Community Facilities Programs
Printer-friendly versionNCSHA Blog Posts
- July 28, 2010
Yesterday, the House passed, without amendment, the Senate-passed FY 2010 Supplemental Funding Bill, H.R. 4899, by a vote of 308 to 114. NCSHA reported on the Senate-passed version in a June 2 blog. The bill includes language NCSHA supports allowing the Section 502 Single-Family Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan Program to continue this year by increasing the annual commitment authority for the program by as much as necessary to meet FY 2010 loan demand. - July 23, 2010
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently released the bill text of its FY 2011 Department of Agriculture (USDA) appropriations bill, S. 3606, passed on July 15.
Housing Headlines
- House Ways and Means Committee
- House Financial Services Committee
News
- April 21, 2010
Finding suitable housing in many rural North Dakota communities is a difficult task. In some areas, it has been a generation since new homes or apartments were built. In that time, both the economy and the needs of the people have changed. - February 15, 2010The North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) organized a Statewide Technical Assistance Team (STAT) in 2007. Since then, STAT has been working with rural communities to devise housing strategies, develop projects, and help address financing issues needed to see projects through to completion. Assistance from STAT is targeted to communities of less than 20,000 people.
Rural Housing - Resources
- July 23, 2010Letter to Senate and House Appropriations Committees' leadership requesting funding for USDA’s Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) program and the Preservation Revolving Loan Fund (PRLF) in FY 2011 appropriations.
- June 28, 2010
NCSHA joined the Housing Assistance Council and several other organizations in a joint letter supporting the continuing funding of the Department of Agriculture's Multifamily Preservation and Revitialization program (MPR) and the Preservation Revolving Loan Fund (PRLF)
