A direct or guaranteed housing loan may be able to help those with low income get a decent, safe, and healthy home in an eligible rural area.

The Direct Loan Program offers a subsidy to help reduce your mortgage payments for a short time. Your family income determines the amount of the subsidy.

You may use the loan to help you buy, build, repair, improve, or relocate your primary home. You may also use funds to buy and prepare sites, including water and sewer.

A new manufactured home may be financed when:

• It is on a permanent site,
• It is purchased from an approved dealer or contractor, and
• It meets certain other requirements.

You may, under very limited conditions, be able to refinance a home with direct loans.

The home you finance must be modest, decent, safe, and sanitary. And the value of the home must not exceed the area limit.

Loans may be available to you if you live in the U.S., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana's, and the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands. 

To qualify, your home must be in an eligible rural area. You can go to the USDA Property Eligibility Site to check your address. 

Your income level must also be: 

• Very low - Below 50 percent of the area median income (AMI),
• Low - Between 50 and 80 percent of AMI, or
• Moderate - Below 115 percent of AMI.

See income limits (PDF, 5 MB) to learn more.

If you want to apply you must:

• Be without decent, safe, and sanitary housing.
• Not be able to get a loan elsewhere for fair terms and conditions.
• Agree to live in the home as your primary home.
• Be able to take on a legal loan obligation.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Not be barred from taking part in federal programs.

The home must:

• Be modest in size for the area.
• Meet the market value loan limit for the area.
• Not have an in-ground swimming pool.
• Not be designed for business use.

To learn more, contact your local USDA Rural Development field office.

To apply for direct loans, you need the forms below:

• Uniform Residential Loan Application (RD 410-4) (PDF, 488 KB), and

• Authorization to Release Information (RD 3550-1) (PDF, 97 KB)