These are loans to encourage the purchase of homes in rural areas. I agree that the federal government should not be involved in this, and I’m just trying to explain the rationale: the average urban/suburban lender does not want to place loans on farms or on places that need restoration.
They don’t understand the economics of farming at all.
By the way, the shutdown is halting large segments of the housing industry now, since the IRS provides verification of financial information borrowers submit when they want to obtain a mortgage for a house purchase. The housing market was recovering and then suddenly came to a crashing halt last week. I should know—I am trying to sell. No one can get a loan now.
Except USDA loans are not just for farms now.
They are for brand new houses in subdivisions in rural areas. They basically encourage the loss of farmland and rural areas