May 12, 2010
Vol. 39, No. 10
HOUSE PASSES MANUFACTURED HOUSING REPLACEMENT BILL. H.R. 5019, the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, would authorize funds to help owners replace pre-HUD Code manufactured homes with Energy Star homes. CFED reports that a similar bill, S. 1320, is expected to be considered soon as part of a jobs bill in the Senate. Visit http://www.cfed.org. Both bills are available at http://thomas.loc.gov.
ADMINISTRATION TO HOLD RURAL SUMMIT ON JUNE 3. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will host “the National Summit of Rural America: A Dialogue for Renewing Promise” in Missouri. Register at http://www.usda.gov/ruralsummit. Breakout session topics include infrastructure and broadband, small business, energy, farm competitiveness, education, nutrition, and recreation.
FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR SECTION 514/516 FARMWORKER HOUSING. Apply by July 9. See http://www.grants.gov. Contact Henry Searcy, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-720-1753, or an RD state office. This and other current RD housing NOFAs are listed, with links, on HAC’s site at http://www.ruralhome.org, and the site will be updated as others are released.
RD OFFERS SECTION 538 CONTINUOUS GUARANTEE DEMO. Lenders with Section 538 guaranteed rural rental housing obligations issued between October 1, 2009 and December 17, 2010 can apply for continuous loan note guarantees from construction through permanent financing. The first selections will be made May 20. See Federal Register, 5/10/10 or http://www.ruralhome.org. Contact Tammy Daniels, RD, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
EPA AMENDS LEAD PAINT RULE. Comments are due July 6 on a proposal to address dust-lead hazards by revising the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program rule that established training and work practice standards for renovators. Separately, a final rule takes effect on July 6 removing a provision that exempted renovation firms from compliance when owner-occupants certified that no children under age 6 or pregnant women lived in the home. Also, renovation firms will be required to give copies of compliance documents to owners and occupants. See Federal Register, 5/6/10 or http://www.regulations.gov. Contact EPA staff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
USDA STUDIES GUARANTEED AND DIRECT LENDING. The Economic Research Service considered the impact on distressed rural areas of emphasizing guaranteed loans rather than direct in housing and other RD programs. It found that the housing program least targeted to distressed areas is Section 502 guaranteed, and the most targeted is Rental Assistance. Shifting housing funding from direct to guaranteed loans “would particularly benefit the less poor and less employment-distressed areas, [and] it could reduce funding to some people and places in persistent-poverty and low-employment counties.” Geographic Targeting Issues in the Delivery of Rural Development Assistance is free at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB65/ or for a fee from 1-800-999-6779 (request EIB-65).
DEVELOPING IN RURAL TOWNS MITIGATES TRANSPORTATION COST IMPACTS. Based on its Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, the Center for Neighborhood Technology recommends small towns rather than sprawl to increase rural affordability. Its fact sheet is free at www.cnt.org/repository/HT2010-Fact-Sheet-Rural.pdf.
WEBSITES WARN HOMEOWNERS ABOUT LOAN SCAMS. http://www.loanscamalert.org is provided by NeighborWorks America® and partners including the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has also developed http://www.preventloanscams.org.
DELINQUENCY AND FORECLOSURE LOWER IN COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS. Homeowners in community land trusts have far lower delinquency and foreclosure rates than owners of market-rate homes, according to research by a Vanderbilt University student working with the National Community Land Trust Network and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Visit http://www.lincolninst.edu/news/pressroom.asp.
NLIHC PUBLISHES 2010 ADVOCATES’ GUIDE. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual guide, containing updated chapters on 70 housing and housing-related programs and issues, is free at http://www.nlihc.org/doc/2010-ADVOCATES-GUIDE.pdf. Printed copies are $40 for non-NLIHC members and $25 for members, from NLIHC, 202-662-1530.
USDA RD UPDATES WEBSITE. The site’s navigation has been changed and some pages have been redesigned. Visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
Housing Assistance Council
1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington DC 20005
(202) 842-8600 |
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| www.ruralhome.org