The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has announced a decrease in the home mortgage interest rate for its Section 502 Homeownership Direct Loan program.
Effective July 1, 2010, the interest rate was reduced to 4.625 percent. The rate decrease makes it a good time for eligible families to purchase a home through the USDA Rural Development direct loan program. Depending on household incomes, mortgage payments may be further subsidized to as low as one percent interest rate. The Section 502 direct loan program is available to households with incomes at 80 percent or less of the county median income, for the purchase of an existing home or for new construction in rural areas. “Rural” are those communities with a population of 20,000 or less, and the communities of Columbus and Norfolk. To view rural eligibility requirements and/or area income limits, visit http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov.
Homeownership opportunities are available under this program with no down payment, and provide for long term, fixed interest rate financing. Applicants must have an acceptable credit history and repayment ability. Additional funding was made available for this program through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), with record funding levels of more than $20 million in Nebraska during Fiscal Year 2010.
For further information, contact the USDA Rural Development State Office in Lincoln, Neb. at (402) 437-5518 or your local office which can be found by visiting http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ne/Contact_Us.htm.
