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As part of USDA’s ongoing celebration of National Homeownership Month, I visited several communities bordering Illinois and Missouri last week to meet some of the people whose lives have been changed with homeownership. Joe and Heather Sumner had been renters in Highland, IL, who needed more space...

June marks the 2014 celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. USDA is taking this opportunity to recognize the immeasurable positive contributions made by the LGBT community -- including our coworkers, partners and clients -- to help rural America innovate and thrive...

A stormy sky didn’t dampen spirits as a crew of us from USDA Rural Development’s national headquarters celebrated National Homeownership Month by helping Mutual Self-Help Housing Program participants build their own homes in Lincoln, DE. USDA Rural Development’s Self-Help Housing Program offers...

More than 50,000 rural families have become homeowners using their “sweat equity” as their down payment on an affordable USDA mortgage. What is “sweat equity?” These families have helped build their own homes and provided most of the construction labor with guidance from a qualified construction...

Recently, I visited southeastern Kentucky, where I joined Rural Development State Director Tom Fern on a whirlwind tour to parts of an eight-county region designated by President Obama as a rural Promise Zone and by Secretary Vilsack as part of USDA’s StrikeForce initiative covering 73 Kentucky...

The Sixth Street Elementary School in Silver City, New Mexico, has seen a lot of students over the years. But May 8 th 2014 was a very special day at the 130-year-old school. Why? Because 10-year-old Mireya Cisneros, a fourth grader, was honored for her winning illustration for New Mexico’s 2014...

In commemoration of USDA’s annual Homeownership Month, some industrious Ohio Rural Development team members and I recently spent a sunny day at a Habitat for Humanity building site, helping Marysville resident Michelle Amrine and her two children frame out a place to call their own. Financed through...

Last month, Secretary Vilsack announced a historic level of funding available for local and regional food: $78 million, including $48 million through USDA’s Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program and $30 million through the newly-expanded Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. The...

In rural areas, financing a home can be difficult. There often aren’t as many lenders serving rural locations as there are in more densely populated parts of the country. Also, some rural lenders may require a larger down payment or a higher interest rate to secure a loan. Fortunately, USDA Rural...

In 2011, Telisha Mack was ready to take the leap into homeownership. She put mortgage applications at three different banks, but was not approved because she didn’t have a huge down payment or a co-signer. She lost her chance to purchase two different homes she liked. As a single mother with three...