By Heidi Volkhardt Allstead
On October 30, Nevada County and USDA Rural Development teamed up to host a workshop in Grass Valley to discuss financial program opportunities available to Truckee and North Tahoe residents. The workshop introduced attendees to opportunities like single family housing direct home loans, guaranteed loans, and housing repair loans as well as grants for very-low to moderate income homebuyers and homeowners living in rural communities. This is good news for people living in Truckee, Kings Beach, or Tahoe City who meet the eligibility requirements. The workshop discussed the following loan programs:
Single Family Housing Direct Loans – This program offers affordable mortgage loans to low- and very-low-income homebuyers in eligible rural areas, generally with a population less than 35,000. There are no down payment or mortgage insurance requirements, and the maximum loan for Nevada County is $381,800. Loans are all fixed rate and can be used to purchase, build, repair or renovate an eligible home. For more information click here.
Single Family Home Loan Guarantees – This program is very similar to the direct loan program, but mortgage loans are provided by one of USDA’s approved lenders (a list is available at www.rd.usda.gov/ca). Guaranteed mortgage loans are available to low- and moderate-income homebuyers in eligible rural areas, generally with a population less than 35,000. There are no down payment or mortgage insurance requirements, and there is no maximum loan amount for the county. Loans are all fixed rate and can be used to purchase, build, repair or renovate an eligible home. For more information about the program click here.
Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants – This program helps very-low-income homeowners repair, improve, or modernize their home. Funding is available to homeowners in eligible rural areas, generally with a population less than 35,000. The maximum loan is $20,000 and has a fixed rate of one percent. Grants up to $7,500 are available only to homeowners age 62 or older who cannot afford a loan and need to remove health and safety hazards. For more information about this program click here.
~ Heidi Volkhardt Allstead is the program director for The Martis Fund. Learn more at martisfund.org
