The Section 502 Rural Housing single family loan guarantee program remains unfunded. This program used their commitment authority back in May, and despite being non-controversial, Congress has been unable to pass legislation to restore the program. Thousands of families with rural housing loans are currently in limbo, and continue to be threatened with the expiration of the tax credit on September 30. Last week, NAR sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to bring this legislation to the floor. Language has been included in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 4899), which has passed the House and Senate. However, that bill continues to be stalled and is currently awaiting final passage. We hope to see action in the next two weeks on either the stand alone bill (S. 3266) or the Supplemental to restore funding for this program and help low-income rural families nationwide.
The Section 502 RHS loan guaranty program can be used by rural residents to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including providing water and sewage facilities. S. 3266 restores this program by increasing the guarantee fee paid by borrowers to fully fund the program without federal subsidy, and providing additional commitment authority.
In 2009, the 502 program guaranteed 116,000 rural families’ affordable, safe home loans nationwide. Today, many rural families are unable to obtain safe, affordable financing without this valuable program. As a rural state, Idaho is very affected by this program and we will continue to work with the Idaho Congressional delegation and NAR on passage of this important measure.