Shutdown Freezes Rural Home Loan Processing

One way the government shutdown is affecting the mortgage market is by completely paralyzing the lending of rural home loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The staff of the USDA Rural Housing Service has been furloughed and loans that were in the pipeline are not being processed, according to Don Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

USDA home loans are completely shut down due to the agency effectively “going dark,” Frommeyer said.

Other lending programs are running at a slower pace due to the shutdown. But the USDA rural lending program has been “hit the hardest,” the NAMB president said.

“People in rural areas who have applied for a USDA loan will not be able to see it through until after the shutdown,” he added.