NATIVE AMERICAN HOMEOWNERSHIP INCREASES IN SOUTH DAKOTA
HUD Helps Increase Number of Homeowners on Reservations

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Native American communities in South Dakota are showing real success in increasing the number of homeowners on the reservations. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 184 Indian Loan Guarantee Program is making the difference.

Working through the South Dakota Housing Development Authority, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and tribal non-profit organizations like the Oglala Sioux Tribal Partnership for Housing, the HUD Office of Native American Programs has assisted more than 132 South Dakota Native American families purchase homes on tribally-owned, allotted or
individual fee land on the nine reservations throughout the state. These loans total more than $8.6 million in the
State of South Dakota, and more than $141 million nationwide since the first loan was made in 1995.

"The South Dakota Housing Development Authority's bond program has been the key to making HUD's 184 homeownership program work on the reservation lands. Native American families who qualify for the bond program have access to a lower interest rate, making their mortgage payments more affordable," said Juel Burnette, loan officer for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

HUD's Section 184 Loan Program allows borrowers to get a mortgage with a low down payment of only 2.25 percent and pay a minimal loan guarantee fee to get into a home of their own. The program allows for the acceptance of leasehold mortgages on reservation trust lands.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet. For more information on the Section 184 Indian Loan Guarantee Program, please visit www.codetalk.fed.us/loan184.html.