On August 13, 2010, National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) President Vicki Cox Golder sent a letter to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary calling for the restoration of the Rural Housing Service's Section 502 Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. While RHS has been issuing conditional commitments since May 2010 NAR believes this is not sufficient as many lenders are hesitant to offer a loan without the full guarantee of RHS.
In May 2010, the funds for this program were exhausted, meaning consumers have been unable to access this program. In July, Congress authorized additional credit authority and premium changes to this program to restore its availability to homebuyers. The President signed that bill into law on July 29, 2010. The objective of the new law was to restore the program and NAR implores USDA and RHS to be proactive in implementation.
Rural homebuyers should not be denied access to a program Congress has restored. In addition, many rural homebuyers finalized contracts on their homes before April 30, 2010, assuming they would be able to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. Because it will be several months before RHS adequately updates its systems, residents in rural communities that were relying on the $8,000 tax credit will lose their piece of the American dream. This is a significant amount of money for residents earning less than 115 percent of median.
In May 2010, the funds for this program were exhausted, meaning consumers have been unable to access this program. In July, Congress authorized additional credit authority and premium changes to this program to restore its availability to homebuyers. The President signed that bill into law on July 29, 2010. The objective of the new law was to restore the program and NAR implores USDA and RHS to be proactive in implementation.
Rural homebuyers should not be denied access to a program Congress has restored. In addition, many rural homebuyers finalized contracts on their homes before April 30, 2010, assuming they would be able to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. Because it will be several months before RHS adequately updates its systems, residents in rural communities that were relying on the $8,000 tax credit will lose their piece of the American dream. This is a significant amount of money for residents earning less than 115 percent of median.
Update from NAR Weekly Newsletter for 8/18/2010
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