Section 184 loans are 100% guaranteed loans from HUD’s (Housing and Urban Development) ONAP (Office of Native American Programs) granted to Native Americans.
Tribes and TDHEs can use Section 184 Loans to develop rental housing or to build single-family homes that are subsequently sold (or assumed) by eligible borrowers.

The Section 184 Loan can be used for:

• Acquisition of existing housing
• Rehabilitation of existing housing
• Construction of new housing, including manufactured housing affixed to a permanent foundation
• Refinancing, including rate and term, streamline, cash out

Section 184 Loans are to be used only for single-family housing (1-4 units), and can only be fixed-rate loans for 30 years or less. Section 184 cannot be used for commercial structures or with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). For Tribes interested in Commercial Financing see our Title VI Program.
Section 184 Loans can be used anywhere within the state of Montana (on or off reservations).  In Wyoming, they can only be used on reservations as of now.
There are many advantages to using a Section 184:

• Low Down Payment: 2.25% on loans over $50,000 and only 1.25% on loans under $50,000
• Low Interest Rates: based on market rates, not on applicant’s Credit Scores
• Flexible Underwriting: Our underwriters understand the unique issues and circumstances that Native Americans face when trying to obtain a mortgage in Indian Country.
• Growing National Network of Approved Lenders: Our network of approved lenders includes both large national companies and local banks to suit your needs. Our Lenders have also been trained on the unique circumstances of Native homeownership.
• No monthly mortgage insurance: a one-time up front 1% guarantee fee is paid at closing and can be financed into the loan.
• Protection from predatory lending: Our program reviews fees our approved lenders charge to ensure the amounts are reasonable and comply with the program standards. Section 184 loans cannot be used for Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs).
• Low Risk: Despite the economic downturn, lenders have not reduced their activity in the Section 184 loan market as they have in other markets since our loans are guaranteed 100%.
• Knowledgeable Staff: Our staff understands the unique circumstances associated with lending on Native Lands and work with borrowers to avoid default and foreclosure.

Participating lenders can be found here: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/homeownership/184/lender_list
Information from: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/homeownership/184/tribes

The Title VI Loan Guarantee goes hand in hand with the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG), and is part of HUD’s NAHASDA agreement.
The purpose of the Title VI loan guarantee is to assist Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) recipients (borrowers) who want to finance eligible affordable housing activities, but are unable to secure financing without the assistance of a federal guarantee.
The borrower leverages IHBG funds to finance affordable housing activities today by pledging future grant funds as security for repayment of the guarantee obligation. A private lender or investor provides the financing and HUD provides the guarantee to the lender or investor.
The borrower repays the obligation. However, when if a borrower fails to repay the debt and a default is declared, HUD repays the obligation and will seek reimbursement from the borrower’s future IHBG grant funds.

Eligible borrowers are:

• Federally recognized tribes who receive IHBG funds are eligible borrowers.
• TDHEs authorized by a tribe to receive IHBG funds and authorized to make obligations and pledge IHBG funds as security for those obligations are also eligible borrowers.

Eligible lenders are:

• FHA approved lender
• VA lender
• Approved by the Department of Agriculture
• Supervised, approved, regulated, or insured by any agency of the United States or
• Any other lender approved by the Secretary

Eligible activities are:

• Indian Housing Assistance
• Housing Development
• Housing Services
• Housing Management Services
• Crime Prevention and Safety Activities
• Model Activities (with HUD approval)

For more information and for applications, visit HUD’s Title VI website at
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/homeownership/titlevi

Section 202: Supportive Housing for Elderly

HUD provides interest-free capital advances to private, nonprofit sponsors to finance the development of supportive housing for the elderly. The capital advance does not have to be repaid as long as the project serves very low-income elderly persons for 40 years.

Project rental assistance funds are provided to cover the difference between the HUD-approved operating cost for the project and the tenants' contribution towards rent. Project rental assistance contracts are approved initially for 3 years and are renewable based on the availability of funds.

The available program funds for a fiscal year are allocated to HUD’s local offices according to factors established by the Department.

Private nonprofit organizations can apply to develop a Section 202 project if they can, among other requirements, submit a resolution that they will provide a minimum capital investment equal to 0.5 percent of the HUD-approved capital advance, up to a maximum of $25,000 for national sponsors or $10,000 for other sponsors. Public entities are not eligible for funding under this program.

For more information, please visit HUD’s 202 website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/mfh/progdesc/eld202

ICDBG stands for Indian Community Development Block Grant.  A block grant offers communities financial resources that can be applied to a range of community development projects; block grants are not mandated for specific projects. 
ICDBGs can be granted to “any Indian tribe, band, group, or nation.”  The grants can go towards land acquisition, demolition/rehabilitation of preexisting housing, and to build new houses.
The ICDBG program funds two types of grants:

1. Single purpose grants.

Single purpose grants are competitively-awarded grants that provide funds for activities designed to meet a specific community development need. A single purpose grant must primarily benefit low- or moderate-income

2. Imminent threat grants

Imminent threat grants provide a solution to problems of an urgent nature that were not evident at the time of the ICDBG single-purpose funding grant cycle or require immediate action (24 CFR Section 1003.400).
Imminent threat grants must serve a majority of people categorized as low or moderate income (LMI), or groups exclusively consisting of:

• abused children
• battered spouses
• homeless
• illiterate adults
• persons living with AIDS
• migrant workers
• elderly persons
• adults meeting the Bureau of the Census' current Population Reports definition of “severely disabled”

Housing
Housing projects meet the primary objective if they provide or improve permanent residential structures for LMI households. Each single family structure must each be LMI-occupied. Duplexes must have at least one unit occupied by a LMI household. Structures with three or more units must have at least 51% occupancy by LMI households.

Each year, as part of the funding process, a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is published in the Federal Register describing the funding parameters, criteria for rating of applications, definitions, and other crucial information for submitting an ICDBG application.
HUD’s 2012 NOFA can be found at:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=2012icdbgnofa.pdf
Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) includes five rating factors for all project types. The five rating factors are:

• Factor 1: Capacity of the Applicant
• Factor 2: Need/Extent of the Problem
• Factor 3: Soundness of Approach
• Factor 4: Leveraging Resources
• Factor 5: Comprehensiveness and Coordination

 Each area ONAP receives one million dollars as a base amount and a share of the balance is allocated using the following formula:

1. 40% is based on the Area ONAP’s total eligible Indian population;
2. 40% is based on the Area ONAP’s share of the total extent of poverty among the eligible Indian population; and
3. 20% is based on each Area ONAP’s share of the total extent of    overcrowded housing among the eligible Indian population.

The application deadline date for 2012 is 11:59:59 p.m. eastern time on January 4, 2012.

For more information, visit HUD’s ICDBG websites at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_8755.pdf
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/grants/icdbg#3

The Indian Housing Block Grant Program (IHBG) is a formula grant that provides a range of affordable housing activities on Indian reservations and Indian areas. The block grant approach to housing for Native Americans was enabled by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA).

Eligible IHBG recipients are Federally recognized Indian tribes or their tribally designated housing entity (TDHE), and a limited number of state recognized tribes who were funded under the Indian Housing Program authorized by the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA). With the enactment of NAHASDA, Indian tribes are no longer eligible for assistance under the USHA.

An eligible recipient must submit to HUD an Indian Housing Plan (IHP) each year to receive funding. At the end of each year, recipients must submit to HUD an Annual Performance Report (APR) reporting on their progress in meeting the goals and objectives included in their IHPs.
Eligible activities include housing development, assistance to housing developed under the Indian Housing Program, housing services to eligible families and individuals, crime prevention and safety, and model activities that provide creative approaches to solving affordable housing problems.

IHBG funds are allocated based on Need and Formula Current Assisted Stock. The Need component considers population, income, and housing conditions. The Formula Current Assisted Stock component reflects housing developed under the United States Housing Act (the predecessor of the IHBG program) which is owned and/or operated by the IHBG recipient and provides funds for ongoing operation of the housing.

For more information about the IHBG program, visit HUD’s website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/grants/ihbg

HOME provides formula grants to States and localities that communities use-often in partnership with local nonprofit groups-to fund a wide range of activities that build, buy, and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership or provide direct rental assistance to low-income people.
HOME is the largest Federal block grant to State and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households. Each year it allocates approximately $2 billion among the States and hundreds of localities nationwide. The program was designed to reinforce several important values and principles of community development:

• HOME's flexibility empowers people and communities to design and implement strategies tailored to their own needs and priorities.
• HOME's emphasis on consolidated planning expands and strengthens partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector in the development of affordable housing.
• HOME's technical assistance activities and set-aside for qualified community-based nonprofit housing groups builds the capacity of these partners.
• HOME's requirement that participating jurisdictions (PJs) match 25 cents of every dollar in program funds mobilizes community resources in support of affordable housing.

The program's flexibility allows States and local governments to use HOME funds for grants, direct loans, loan guarantees or other forms of credit enhancement, or rental assistance or security deposits.
States are automatically eligible for HOME funds and receive either their formula allocation or $3 million, whichever is greater.  Local jurisdictions eligible for at least $500,000 under the formula also can receive an allocation.  Communities that do not qualify for an individual allocation under the formula can join with one or more neighboring localities in a legally binding consortium whose members' combined allocation would meet the threshold for direct funding. Other localities may participate in HOME by applying for program funds made available by their State.

Eligibility
The eligibility of households for HOME assistance varies with the nature of the funded activity. For rental housing and rental assistance, at least 90 percent of benefiting families must have incomes that are no more than 60 percent of the HUD-adjusted median family income for the area. In rental projects with five or more assisted units, at least 20% of the units must be occupied by families with incomes that do not exceed 50% of the HUD-adjusted median. The incomes of households receiving HUD assistance must not exceed 80 percent of the area median. HOME income limits are published each year by HUD.
Participating jurisdictions may choose among a broad range of eligible activities, using HOME funds to provide home purchase or rehabilitation financing assistance to eligible homeowners and new homebuyers; build or rehabilitate housing for rent or ownership; or for "other reasonable and necessary expenses related to the development of non-luxury housing," including site acquisition or improvement, demolition of dilapidated housing to make way for HOME-assisted development, and payment of relocation expenses.

For more information, forms, and applications, please visit HUD’s HOME website at:
http://nhl.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/programs/home/

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program offers rental housing credits to very low income families, the elderly, and the disabled.  HUD supplies the funding for Section 8 Housing, which is administered by a local Public Housing Authority (PHA).

The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. This unit may include the family's present residence. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by the PHA.
A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.

The income guidelines for qualifying Montana families can be found here:
http://housing.mt.gov/content/About/Section8/docs/2011incomelimits.pdf

Montana’s PHAs are listed here:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/pha/contacts/states/mt.cfm

Wyoming’s PHAs are listed here: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/pha/contacts/states/wy.cfm

For more information, please visit HUD’s Section 8 housing website at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8