The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week announced proposed changes to the maps it uses to determine whether specific areas are eligible for Rural Housing Service’s (RHS) Single Family Housing and Multi-Family Housing programs. The proposed maps go into effect on June 4, 2018. To view the proposed eligibility maps, click here. After choosing the desired program tab (e.g., Single Family Housing Guaranteed), select the "Proposed Ineligible Areas" tab to view the new eligibility maps.

Properties located in areas that have been changed from rural to non-rural on June 4 may be eligible for RHS programs if all of the following conditions are met:

• The application is dated and received by the lender before June 4, 2018, and the loan estimate was issued by the lender within three days of the application receipt;
• The applicant has a signed/ratified sales contract on a property that is dated June 4, 2018; and
• The applicant meets all other loan eligibility requirements.

RHS reviews the areas under its jurisdiction every five years to determine which areas are eligible to use its programs. RHS based proposed maps on their 2017-2018 review of data collected from the 2015 American Community Survey.