LOW-INTEREST HOUSING LOANS: The USDA Rural Development office in Warwick is accepting applications for qualified individuals interested in applying for assistance to purchase or build a single-family home or to purchase a condominium in an eligible rural area. USDA Rural Development’s Single-Family Direct Housing Loan Program (Section 502) provides individuals and families the opportunity to purchase or build a home with no down payment and financing of up to 100 percent.

Financing is available for modest, detached, single family homes or condominiums in designated rural areas of Rhode Island. (There are 28 eligible communities in the state.) Eligible applicants must be unable to secure a conventional bank mortgage and be in need of a home that will be occupied as their primary residence. Applicants are expected to have a dependable source of income and a reasonably good history of paying past credit obligations.

The program’s maximum household income varies according to family size, and the town in which the property is located. Generally, the income for a one-member household cannot exceed $41,000; a two-member household, $46,850; and a three-member household, $52,700.

For more information or applications, go to the USDA Rural Development office at 60 Quaker Lane, Suite 44, Warwick, or call (401) 826-0842 or visit the Web site www.rurdev.usda.gov/ma.