USDA has revised Handbook 1-3555, Chapter 6: Loan Purposes, to incorporate changes previously announced in an Advance Copy Notice on September 22, 2020, including adding contract for deeds or land contracts as an eligible loan purpose; clarifying guidance for refinancing “Construction Financing” and “Sites without a dwelling”; clarifying that loans submitted for refinance must have closed 12 months prior to the request for Conditional Commitment and that there should be no payments 30 days or more past due; clarifying that streamline assist refinance loans cannot exceed the original loan amount; revising Attachment 6-A for comparison of refinance transactions; and improving the chapter for better flow, consistency with the format and removal of repetitive guidance.
