Accomplishing the American dream has always been a near impossibility for many people.

Now, as part of a rural development program, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) receives federal funding to help families in rural areas realize that dream through the Direct Housing Program.

This program helps potential home owners with the financing of new homes.

The USDA's Direct Housing Program begins with their evaluation of the family income and debt levels in order to identify a comfortable payment plan. Then assistance is provided to help find the home the individual can then afford. Elderly folks on a fixed income can also apply.

Benefits include no down payment, interest as low as 1 percent and no higher than 6.125 percent; in some instances there may not be any payments as a result of down payment assistance (DPA) from the USDA.

There are however, strict rules for applying for the program, including the fact that one can't own a home at the time of application, land ownership is authorized, one must meet income guidelines which are based on income and debt levels, and the applicant can't have filed bankruptcy within three years of application. Owned property cannot be located within a flood zone.

Income levels also have limits. The maximum allowed income for one person is $33,100 annually; a six-person family cannot exceed $54,850 annually. With DPA a family can spend $130,000 (payment as low as $418/month) and get another $20,000.

In Nye County, a limit of $214,588 has been set on the purchase of a home with payments as low as $690 per month.

For more information about the program and lenders in the area, contact the USDA office in Las Vegas at 702-262-9047, or at 5820 S. Pecos Road, Building A, Suite 400. Individual cases will be reviewed by appointment only.

Seminars on the program are offered at the Bob Ruud Community Center the first Thursday of every month at 10 a.m. and the last Friday of the month at the USDA office in Las Vegas. The USDA offers many other programs to assist homeowners in rural areas. For more information on these programs visit 'www.usda.gov' or contact the Las Vegas office.