On September 7, USDA’s Rural Development Office announced that it will begin obligating Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans, a month sooner than it expected. Click here to view the announcement.

The backlog of approximately $1.6 billion in Conditional Commitments issued after May 26, 2010 with the proviso, “subject to available funds” will be the first loans to be funded. As of September 8, lenders may submit their final closing packages and guarantee fees for these loans. Rural Development will then begin processing new Conditional Commitment requests. It is anticipated that funds will be available for all requests during the remainder of the fiscal year. The new up-front fee of 3.5 percent authorized by Congress in July, will replace the old 2 percent fee structure for purchase loan guarantees. Lenders will be able to access Rural Development’s Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) to begin submitting new loan requests.

If you are a member and have questions, contact MHI Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lois Starkey at lstarkey@mfghome.org.