Summary:
Authorized under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, the Section 184 Indian Loan Program is designed to offer home ownership, property rehabilitation, new construction, and refinance opportunities for eligible individual Native Americans, tribes, and Indian Housing authorities.

Purpose:
Much of the land in Indian country is held in trust by the U.S. Government. Land held in trust for a tribe cannot be mortgaged, and land held in trust for an individual must receive Federal approval before a lien is placed on the property. As a result, Native Americans historically have had limited access to private mortgage capital. In 1992, Congress created the Section 184 program to address this lack of mortgage capital in Indian country by authorizing HUD to guarantee loans made by private lenders to Native Americans.

Eligible Lenders:
Lenders that are approved by FHA, VA, or Rural Development or lenders that are supervised, approved, regulated, or insured by any agency of the federal government.

Eligible Borrowers:
Eligible borrowers are 1) Indians or Indian families who will occupy the property as a principal residence and that meet the credit and underwriting standards of the program, 2) Indian Housing Authority's, including tribally designated housing entities (TDHE), or 3) Indian Tribes.

The borrower's tribe must have developed eviction and foreclosure proceedings before any property within the tribe's jurisdiction can be eligible for this program, or the tribe must have identified a State court that will enforce these procedures.

Eligible Activities:
A Section 184 loan may be used for acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or refinance of a single-family home. Eligible properties are single family homes that are located on restricted Indian land or in an Indian operating area (defined by the Tribe).

Application:
Applicants apply for loans through an approved mortgage lender that prepares the documents and submits them to the Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) in Denver, Colorado for approval.

For More Information:
Visit the Section 184 Website or call the Office of Loan Guarantee at 1-800-561-5913.