Revising the definition of very low-, low-, and moderate-income in 7 CFR 3550.10 and making a corresponding change to the definition of low-income in 7 CFR 3555.10 will allow for income banding of all income categories within the single family housing programs.

Revising 7 CFR 3550.54(d) net family assets to make a correction to the introductory sentence (i.e. make clear that net family assets are used to calculate annual income only), and to match 7 CFR 3555.152(d) regarding sources that are included and excluded, will ensure consistency between the direct and guaranteed single family housing programs and recognize that retirement assets should be dedicated to a person’s life after retirement.

Revising the methodology used to determine the area loan limits in 7 CFR 3550.63(a) to use a percentage(s) of the applicable local HUD section 203(b) limit as determined by the Administrator or designee will streamline this annual process and improve the reliability of the data set used to establish the area loan limits. This proposed action will also save the Agency more than $70,000 each year (which is the cost to obtain the construction cost data set from a nationally recognized residential cost provider).  The current process to annually establish the area loan limits uses a data set based on limiting nationalized parameters and requires a significant amount of staff time on all levels (field, state, and national). 

Making a conforming change to 7 CFR 3550.68(b)(2) resulting from the income banding to state that a borrower currently receiving payment assistance method 1 will be converted to payment assistance method 2 should they receive a subsequent loan will be supported by the current system.