Post Falls hopes for home loan change

POST FALLS - After graduating from high school, Neil Ginter dreamed of owning a home despite the challenges that come with his learning disability.

That became reality last year when the 27-year-old, who was born with DiGeorge Syndrome and works at Albertson's, moved into his new Post Falls home thanks to qualifying for a USDA Rural Housing Direct (subsidized) Loan.

"The dream I never imagined could possibly come true for my disabled son came true," said Robin Anthony, Ginter's mom. "It was life-changing for him."

USDA Rural Development and Post Falls officials and local real estate agents gathered at Ginter's tidy home on Wednesday in celebration of Home Ownership Month. USDA Housing and Community Facilities Administrator Tammye Trevino presented Ginter with a hanging basket as a belated house-warming gift.

But there was also a sense of urgency among those who gathered because, unless Congress changes the increases the population threshold of "rural" under two USDA loan programs, including the one Ginter qualified for, those loans will be cut off in Post Falls on Oct. 1.

While Post Falls passed the 20,000 population threshold for the loan programs several years ago - its population is now near 30,000 - it and similar-sized cities have received extensions in recent years.

While there's an amendment in the Farm Bill on the Senate side to increase the "rural" population threshold to 35,000, there's not a proposal on the House side.

"The housing programs have been valuable to the city," said Hilary Anderson, Post Falls planning and economic development manager. "We'd like it to be kept rural."

Post Falls city officials sent a letter to federal lawmakers asking that they consider changing the population mark to 50,000.

"We have a large number of low- to moderate-income residents who would greatly benefit if the USDA housing assistance programs are continued in their current form," the letter states. "Losing this opportunity would have a detrimental effect not only on home ownership, but also on obtaining decent affordable rental homes and apartments."

If a change isn't made, more than 900 "rural" communities, including Post Falls, will no longer be eligible for USDA Rural Housing Service programs.

Post Falls officials believe it would be an economic development blow to the city, which has a lot of open space left. Real estate agents estimate that roughly 80 percent of the loans in recent years in Post Falls have fallen under the USDA umbrella.

"If it goes away, more of the growth will go to the north," said Linda Wilhelm, a Post Falls City Council member and a real estate agent.

Trevino said the programs - and the construction trade jobs that have come as a result - have been one of the few bright spots during the recession. Lenders, she said, have invested money in the system and therefore don't want to lose something that has worked well.

The increase in loans in recent years shows the urgency of the possibility that more communities won't qualify for the programs unless a change is made, USDA officials say.

In 2006 $6 billion in loans were made under the Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program. The number ballooned to $20 billion last year. This year the number is expected to reach $24 billion.

In Idaho about 1,000 Guaranteed loans and 100 Direct loans have been made so far this fiscal year.

Trevino said she would like to know what the population number is going to be, including for USDA staff and the real estate industry.

"Right now you can't plan for the future if you don't know what the number will be," she said.