FORM RD 2006-46 (Rev. 01-98)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MANUAL ISSUE No.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT WSAL PN 585

Washington, D.C 20250 DATE

June 28, 2023 

PROCEDURE NOTICE

RD MANUAL CHANGES

INSERT RD INS 440.1 INTEREST RATES, AMORTIZATION, 

(WSAL) GUARANTEE FEE, ANNUAL CHARGE, AND 

FIXED PERIOD. This Instruction is 

partially revised as follows:

Exhibit B is partially revised to update the Treasury Judgement rate and the 

effective date of July 1, 2023. 

REMOVE INSERT

Exhibit B: Exhibit B: 

 Pages 1 & 2 dated 06-02-23 Pages 1 & 2 revised 06-28-23. 

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3550 DIRECT SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS 

(WSAL) FIELD OFFICE HANDBOOK. This Handbook is 

partially revised. The specific revisions are 

outlined below.

Chapter 8 is being revised to provide guidance in keeping with RD AN 4891 regarding 

the unliquidated obligation process, the use of Form 3550-7 Funding Commitment and 

Notification of Loan Closing and Form 1940-10, Cancellation of U.S. Treasury Check

and/or Obligation, monitoring of National Office reports, and loan conversions. 

Chapter 8: 

Paragraph 8.2, Paragraph (A), to add clarification that HB Letter 15, Standardized 

Adverse Decision Letter must be signed by the Loan Approval Official.

Paragraph 8.2, Paragraph (B), to clarify Form 3550-7 must be signed by the Loan 

Approval Official.

Paragraph 8.3, (A), (B), and (C), to update guidance when an increase in the 

obligation is needed, and use of Form 1940-10 when a full or partial deobligation 

occurs, including when the applicant does not return Form 3550-7 withing 15 days 

and cases when the loan has not closed. 

(Con.)

READ PROCEDURE - DISCUSS IN STAFF CONFERENCE - KEEP PROCEDURE MANUAL UP TO DATE
Page 2 ISSUED: PN 585

June 28, 2023

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3550 (Con.)

Chapter 8: 

Paragraph 8.3, (B), Exhibit 8-1, Steps for Changing the Loan Amount, to add 

guidance regarding Form 1940-10 and Form 3550-17 when funds are returned to the 

Servicing Office. 

Paragraph 8.3, (C), update overnight mailing address for returning Treasury Checks 

via FED-EX. 

Paragraph 8.3 (D) to clarify Attachment 8-B must be saved in the recipient’s 

electronic case file (ECF); Attachment 8-B should be used to provide a status on 

the semi-annual ULO Certification report; to add guidance on Loans Fully Disbursed, 

not Activated report. 

Paragraph 8.6, to add clarification the Loan Originator must ensure all the loan 

approval conditions have been met.

Paragraph 8.6 (A)(2), to add clarification on loan closings that occur on the 29th, 

30th, or 31st, the applicant will choose a desired payment due date between the 1st

and 15th of the following month, 30 days from loan closing. Unifi will calculate the 

number of days and dollar amount of prepaid interest to be collected at closing.

Paragraph 8.6 (B), to change the word “by” to “from” to clarify the waiver request 

must be received from the applicant in writing.

Paragraph 8.8 (B), to add guidance for construction loans clarifying the deferral 

period identified on Form RD 1940-16, Promissory Note, should match the estimated 

timeframe to complete construction identified in contract documents. If the 

construction period exceeds the deferral period, the Promissory Note must be 

modified, and the deferral period must be extended. 

Paragraph 8.8 (B), to add the word “Approved” to clarify the Approved Eligibility 

Summary must be generated when the construction loan is activated, and corrected 

paragraph number from “5.28” to “5.26”.

Paragraph 8.13, to clarify the first payment due date should be the first of the 

month following the loan conversion.

REMOVE INSERT

Chapter 8 dated 01-23-03: Chapter 8 dated 01-23-03:

 Pages 8-1 thru 8-4, Pages 8-1 thru 8-4, 8-7 thru 8-10, 

 8-15 & 8-16, 8-19 & 8-20. 8-15 & 8-16, 8-19 & 8-20 revised 06-28-23. 

(Con.)
Page 3 ISSUED: PN 585 

June 28, 2023

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3555 SFH GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM TECHNICAL

(WSAL) HANDBOOK. This Handbook is 

partially revised. The specific revisions are 

outlined below.

Chapter 5: 

The following updates were made to HB-1-3555, Chapter 5 to update terminology used 

in referencing non-U.S. citizens in acknowledgement of the non-U.S. citizen waiver, 

clarified language to indicate the mandatory use of GUS, updated all web links to 

be print friendly, added additional guidance on final GUS submission actions, and 

made minor grammatical and formatting edits. 

Paragraph 5.2 – Requesting a Guarantee

• Clarified that the lender’s permanent file must include evidence for non-U.S. 

citizens per Agency guidelines in Chapter 8.

Paragraph 5.3 – Utilizing the Guaranteed Underwriting System

• Removed current Desktop Underwriter® Specification version and clarified that 

updated version information can be found in the GUS Lender User Guide on LINC 

going forward.

• Clarified that approved lenders with active Lender Agreements will use GUS when 

possible.

• Added INELIGIBLE to the list of recommendations the lender may receive when 

reviewing the first portion of the two-part underwriting summary shown on the 

GUS Underwriting Findings Report.

• Added a paragraph and link to job aid instructions for uploading documentation 

for loan applications not supported by GUS.

• Clarified that prior to submitting the file for Agency review, the lender should 

verify all required documents have been successfully uploaded using the guidance 

from Attachment 15-A, Loan Origination Checklist.

• Removed language that instructed the lender to upload documentation for non-U.S. 

citizens on ACCEPT files.

• Removed a bullet indicating that applicants with unacceptable non-U.S. citizen 

status would render an ACCEPT/INELIGIBLE underwriting recommendation.

• Clarified that state laws are included in the list of applicable laws the lender 

will disclose to all applicants prior to Final Submission.

Chapter 13:

 

Paragraph 13.1 – Introduction

• Added reference to Native American restricted land in the introduction to the 

chapter.

(Con.)
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June 28, 2023

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3555 (Con.)

(WSAL)

Chapter 13: 

Paragraph 13.3– Loans for Units in A Community Land Trust

• Added a new paragraph (C) Appraisals– moved from another section of the chapter 

for better flow.

 

Paragraph 13.4 – Restrictions of Resale Price

• Added this as a new separate section as it appeared to only refer to properties 

in a community land trust.

• Added “or to preserve long term affordability” to clarify that restrictions on 

resale are not limited to property located in a community land trust.

Paragraph 13.5 (formerly 13.4) – Loans on Leasehold Estates

• Removed language from the third bullet pertaining to exceptions to loans located 

on American Indian Restricted land as this is now incorporated in the new 

section, 13.6.

Paragraph 13.6 – Loans on Native American Restricted Land 

• Added section A. Definition 

o Native American restricted lands are lands, in which title is held by the 

United States in trust for an Indian tribe or which is held by an Indian 

tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States against 

sale, transfer, or encumbrance.

• Added section B. Requirements

o Provides Agency requirements for lending on Native American restricted land 

including documentation, lease, lien, and foreclosure requirements.

Added New Section 13.7 – Loans on Hawaiian Home Lands

Paragraph 13.8 – Definition

• Expanded the definition of Manufactured homes to include the certification label 

requirements.

Paragraph 13.9 – Authorized Loan Purposes

• Added a paragraph to provide clarification that the home must have been built 

within 12 months of the purchase contract and how to locate the manufacture 

date.

• Added information on how to obtain an alternative to the original HUD 

Certification Label.

(Con.)
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June 28, 2023

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3555 (Con.)

(WSAL)

Chapter 15: 

Revisions were made to clarify the requirements for a Verification of Rent for 

manually underwritten loan applications. Additional updates were made to make minor 

grammatical and formatting edits.

Paragraph 15.3 – Loan Application Package

• Added a sub bullet for further detail on manually underwritten loans to include 

instructions on submitting file manually using Job Aid to upload documents, and 

instructions to alternatively notify the applicable Production Team for file 

assignment.

 

Paragraph 15.6 (B) – Lender Notification on Request for Loan Guarantee

• Revised paragraph to clarify that the lender is responsible for informing the 

Agency when missing documentation has been uploaded and ready to be assigned for 

a subsequent review.

Attachment 15-A – Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Origination Checklist

• Clarified that appraisals should be uploaded in color.

• Added information to the Verification of Rent requirement clarifying that this 

applies to scenarios when rental history is indicated. Added direction to 

Chapter 10 for guidance on rental verification and non-traditional credit when a 

VOR is required, but not obtainable.

Appendix 4: 

The following updates were made to HB-1-3555, Appendix 4 to incorporate program 

changes which allow for easy access in reviewing contact information with new 

titles, divisions, descriptions, and resource links.

• Updated Title of Appendix to “Agency Contact Information” to be more precise. 

• Removed out-of-date Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division contact 

information. 

• Added Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Divisions with brief descriptions of 

each Division to align with the Agency’s current structure. 

• Added a link to the SFHGLP Contact List for additional resources. 

(Con.)
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June 28, 2023

RD HANDBOOK CHANGES

INSERT RD HB-1-3555 (Con.)

(WSAL)

Appendix 4:

• Updated the Help Desk to reflect its current name, Consolidated Help Desk Support 

Center.

• Updated NFAOC and CSC to reflect the changes that have occurred within the 

Business Center Servicing Office. Included both SFH Servicing Branch and Claims 

Branch with detailed descriptions.

• Added Servicing Contact Information link.

REMOVE INSERT

Table of Contents; Table of Contents revised;

Chapter 5 dated 05-09-16: Chapter 5 dated 05-09-16:

 Pages 5-1 thru 5-13; Pages 5-1 thru 5-14 revised;

Chapter 13 dated 05-09-16: Chapter 13 dated 05-09-16:

 Pages 13-1 thru 13-9, Pages 13-1 thru 13-11 revised,

 Attachment 13-A; Attachment 13-A revised;

Chapter 15 dated 05-09-16: Chapter 15 dated 05-09-16:

 Pages 15-1 thru 15-6 Pages 15-1 thru 15-6 revised,

 Attachment 15-A; Attachment 15-A revised;

Appendix 4 dated 05-09-16: Appendix 4 dated 05-09-16:

 Appendix 4. Appendix 4 revised 06-28-23.

 FORMS MANUAL INSERT

 RD 3550-17 FUNDS TRANSMITTAL REPORT. Prescribed in RD

(WSAL) Handbooks HB-1-3550 and HB-2-3550. The FMI 

is revised to update the Mailing Address for 

Return of Unused Loan Funds and Return of Unused Grant Funds. The FMI can be 

located on the eForms website eForms Home (usda.gov).

REMOVE INSERT

FMI dated 06-21-06: FMI revised 06-21-06:

 Pages 1 & 2 dated 09-02-21. Pages 1 & 2 dated 06-28-23.

oOo