[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35986-35987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16845]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Housing Service
Notice of Request for Extension of an Approved Information
Collection
AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed collection; Comments requested.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the Rural Housing Service's intention to request an
extension for a currently approved information collection in support of
the program for 7 CFR part 3550, Direct Single Family Housing Loans and
Grants and its accompanying Handbooks.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by August 31, 1999 to
be assured of consideration.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Villano, Deputy
Administrator, Single Family Housing, Rural Housing Service, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 0780, Washington, D.C. 20250-0780,
telephone number (202) 720-5177.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Direct Single Family Housing Loans and Grants.
OMB Numbers: 0575-0166 and 0575-0172 (the Agency seeks to
consolidate both packages into one information collection package).
Expiration Date of Approval: August 31, 1999.
Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: The Rural Housing Service (RHS), through its direct
single family housing loan and grant programs, provides financial
assistance to construct, improve, alter, repair, replace or
rehabilitate dwellings, which will provide modest, decent, safe and
sanitary housing to eligible individuals in rural areas. To assist a
customer, they must provide the Agency with a standard housing
application (used by government and private lenders), and provide
documentation to support same. Documentation includes verification of
income, financial information on assets and liabilities, etc. The
information requested is comparable to that required by any private
mortgage lender. To assist individuals in obtaining affordable housing,
a borrower's house payment may be subsidized to an interest rate as low
as 1%. The amount of subsidy is based upon the customer's household
income. After receipt of this information, if the customer obtains a
loan from RHS, they must update income information on an annual basis
to renew the payment subsidy. The aforementioned information required
by RHS is vital to be able to process applications for RHS assistance
and make prudent loan underwriting and program decisions. It includes
borrower financial information such as household income, assets and
liabilities and monthly expenses. Without this information, the Agency
is unable to determine if a customer would qualify for any services or
if assistance has been granted to which the customer would not be
eligible under current regulations and statutes. The Agency also
encourages its customers to leverage our mortgage financing with that
of other lenders to assist as many customers as possible within our
limited resources. In many cases, another lender will leverage and
participate with RHS in assisting the customer. In these cases, RHS and
the other lender share documentation, with the customer's consent, to
reduce duplication. Through our work with participating lenders, the
Agency keeps abreast of information required by other lenders to ensure
that RHS is not requiring unnecessary information. The Agency
continually strives to ensure that information collection burden is
kept to a minimum.
As mentioned, these loans are made directly by the Agency. RHS also
services these loans for their term (33 or 38 years) and provides tools
to assist the customer in becoming a successful homeowner. As
discussed, payment subsidies are renewed on an annual basis. In
addition, the Agency provides
[[Page 35987]]
credit counseling and other services to its customers in an effort to
assist them in becoming successful. The Agency offers many servicing
tools including a moratorium (stop) on payments, modifications to
payments subsidies to reflect changes in the customer's income, loan
reamortization, payment workouts, etc. To obtain this assistance, the
Agency must require certain information such as updated income and
financial information, etc., to ensure the customer qualifies for the
assistance, and is provided with the correct benefits based upon their
circumstances.
Direct single family housing loans are only provided to customers
who cannot obtain other credit for their housing needs. Customers are
required by statute to refinance with another lender when they are
financially able. To ensure the Agency meets its statutory
responsibilities, existing customers may be requested to submit update
income and financial information for the Agency to make a determination
as to whether they can ``graduate'' to other credit. In addition,
should a customer default on a loan which results in liquidation, the
Agency needs updated income and financial information to settle any
outstanding indebtedness.
The subject regulations and accompanying handbooks were completely
reinvented and reengineered in 1996. Significant reductions in
information collection requirements were made at that time. Since
program funding has increased for these programs since that time and
the Agency leverages loans with other lenders, meaning that more
customers are affected by these information collection requirements,
the Agency does not propose a reduction in burden.
Estimate of Burden: Public burden for this collection of
information is estimated to range from 5 minutes to 3 hours per
response.
Respondents: Applicants seeking direct single family housing loans
and grants from the Agency and approximately 600,000 existing customers
who have active loans and grants under the Section 502 and 504
programs.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 823,370.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 4.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,052,129 hours.
Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Tracy
Gillin, Regulations and Paperwork Management Branch, at (202) 692-0039.
Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Comments may be sent to Tracy
Gillin, Regulations and Paperwork Management Branch, US Department of
Agriculture, Rural Development, STOP 0742, 1400 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, DC 20250. All responses to this notice will be summarized
and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also
become a matter of public record.
Dated: June 24, 1999.
Eileen M. Fitzgerald,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. 99-16845 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-U
