A Missouri agency that’s spent years working with people interested in buying a home will now do the same in West-Central Illinois.

The North East Community Action Corporation has been authorized to process direct home loans for USDA Rural Development in Adams, Pike, Brown, Hancock, McDonough and Schuyler counties.

The move is expected to ease the process for low-to-moderate-income people who apply for USDA Section 502 home loans.

NECAC is based in Bowling Green Missouri and covers 12 counties. The agency will save residents time and travel by reaching out to West-Central Illinois communities in the weeks ahead to discuss the program.

Section 502 loans are used mostly by income-qualifying people to buy homes in rural areas. NECAC has closed 14 loans and worked with more than 80 families since becoming the first non-profit in Missouri to participate in the program two years ago.