Mortgage Assistance for Tribes and Individuals

Federal resources to assist Tribes to develop home mortgage programs include:

• The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis created the Tribal Leaders Handbook on Homeownership together with the Center for Indian Country Development, the National Native Homeownership Coalition, Enterprise Community Partners, and other partnering organizations. The handbook contains guidance and case studies for Tribal leaders to create homeownership development programs on Tribal land.
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program (Section 184) offers loan guarantees to Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities for purchase, rehab, refinance, or new construction on Tribal land on or off Reservation.

Federal programs to assist individual American Indians and Alaska Natives to obtain affordable mortgages include:

• Members of federally-recognized Tribes can access mortgages with low interest rates and low down payments through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program (Section 184).
• Low-income and elderly American Indians may qualify for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Housing Loans, which can be used in conjunction with other programs like HUD Housing Vouchers (Section 8).
• American Indian and Alaska Native veterans or veteran’s spouses can apply for a low interest, no down payment home loan through the Veterans Administration’s (VA) Native American Direct Home Loan Program.