(a) When submitting its first package to a Rural Development office, in addition to the item in paragraph (b) of this section and the information set forth in exhibit C of this subpart, the organization must submit the following. A file of these documents will be established in the Rural Development office and retained in accordance with RD Instruction 2033-A (available in any Rural Development office).

(1) Proof of their nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) or section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or of their existence as a state agency or unit of general local government legally authorized to work in the designated county and/or colonias. If the Rural Development approval official is in doubt about the legal status of the organization, the evidence will be sent to the State Director. The State Director may, if needed, submit the above documents with any comments or questions to the Office of General Counsel (OGC) for an opinion as to whether the applicant is a legal organization of the type required by these regulations.

(2) An original and copy of Forms RD 400-1, “Equal Opportunity Agreement,” and RD 400-4, “Assurance Agreement.”

(3) A copy of a current “Certificate of Training” pertaining to the type of application package submitted.

(b) All packages must contain a signed statement which states, “Neither the organization nor any of its employees have charged, received or accepted compensation from any source other than Rural Development for packaging this application and are not associated with or represent anyone other than the applicant in this transaction.”

(c) Form SF-270, “Request for Advance or Reimbursement” will be submitted with each application package for the amount authorized for the specific loan type in exhibit B of this subpart.

(d) The Rural Development approval official will review each package for completeness, accuracy, and conformance to program policy and regulations. Cost reimbursement will be made in accordance with exhibit B of this subpart. Packagers that submit “incomplete” packages for sections 502 and 504 loans/grants will be sent a letter within 5 working days after submission of the “incomplete” package advising of additional information needed. Payment will be held until all the information is received. Packagers for sections 502 loans and 504 loans/grants will not be paid for packages submitted on applicants who are obviously ineligible for the programs. For example, a grantee would not be reimbursed for submitting a package for a section 502 loan applicant with an adjusted income exceeding the limits of Appendix 9 of HB-1-3550 (available in any Rural Development office) or who already owns adequate housing. Likewise, a grantee would not be reimbursed for submitting a package for a section 504 loan/grant when the adjusted family income exceeds the very low-income limits of Appendix 9 of HB-1-3550 (available in any Rural Development office) or when the applicant does not own and occupy his/her property, or for a section 504 grant when the applicant is not 62 years of age or older.

(e) Submissions for sections 514/516, 515, and 524 loans/grants will be reviewed and, if incomplete, a letter sent within 15 working days advising of additional information required.

(f) Form SF-269A, will be submitted within 15 days of the end of the fiscal year.

[58 FR 58643, Nov. 3, 1993, as amended at 67 FR 78328, Dec. 24, 2002]