Vidalia &8212; Low-to-moderate income persons in Concordia Parish have an opportunity to apply for free home ownership or free repairs to their homes.

The United States Agricultural Department Rural Development Home Loan Program is offering three different programs to make home ownership possible.

&8220;Since Concordia Parish was one of the parishes eligible to receive funding because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the United States gave USDA $125.2 million to divide into the three programs,&8221; said Single Family Housing Program Director of Alexandria, Debbie Redfearn.

The first program, Section 502 Direct, is available for low income persons and offers an opportunity for a new home, repairs to existing homes or land for a home with 100 percent financing and no down payment, Redfearn said.

The second program is a guarantee loan program for low-to-moderate income recipients.

Under this program, applicants

have to work with a bank or other lending institution to receive a home loan to build or purchase existing homes, Redfearn said.

The third program, Section 504, is a 1 percent loan and grant program to repair homes for very low-income recipients.

There are already 200 active loans for the section 502 program, and about 100 active loans each for the other two programs, Redfearn said.

&8220;We also give the recipients a lot of time to pay the loans back,&8221; Redfearn said.

Applicants have 33 years to pay back the section 502 loan, 30 years for the guarantee loan program and 20 years to pay back the 1 percent loan program, Redfearn said.

&8220;We have a lot of

money to give to those in need but these programs will probably only last about three or four years,&8221; Redfearn said.

To inquire about these programs, citizens of Concordia Parish can call the USDA rural office in Jonesville at (318) 339-4239.