The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has partnered with Hawaiʻi Community Lending to expand its home loan program.
The agencies signed an agreement to open financing to the USDA’s Section 502 Direct Loan Program.
Chris Kanazawa, the state director of rural development, said the partnership will allow them to make a larger fund of resources available for affordable financing and homeowners in rural communities.
“As we all know, one of the more challenging things is homeownership because of the price of homes. And so with the rural development programs, we are able to provide for low and very-low-income households an opportunity to have homeownership,” he said.
Through the Section 502 Direct Loan Program, the USDA plans to provide subsidized interest rates down to as low as 1%, with little or no down payment, according to Kanazawa.
“This just provides our community a resource for affordable financing that they may not be able to find in other commercial lending institutions,” he said.
The USDA excludes Hilo, Kahului and most of Oʻahu from being considered "rural communities."
For more information about rural home loans, click here.
