Q: About a year ago, you wrote about special types of home-buying programs for people with disabilities. I wish I would have saved that column, because my younger sister wants to buy her first home, even though she is on “partial disability” for injuries she suffered when a drunk driver smashed into her car last summer and broke her neck. Can you please provide the information again?

A: Sure, I’d be happy to.

Millions of disabled Americans have outstanding credit records but cannot qualify for a home loan because their injuries prevent them from working to save even the smallest of down payments. Even those with lots of money in their bank accounts sometimes can’t get a mortgage because their medical expenses gobble such a huge percentage of their monthly income.

Fortunately, a growing number of lenders and nonprofit groups now are offering help. The largest and most comprehensive nationwide loan program designed for borrowers with disabilities is operated by Fannie Mae, the quasi-government corporation that backs nearly half of all real estate loans issued in the U.S. each year.

Fannie Mae’s popular Community HomeChoice program provides help to low- and moderate-income people with disabilities and also to the able-bodied people who care for them. Eligible borrowers don’t have to meet the more-rigorous down-payment and earnings standards imposed on most traditional buyers, which makes getting a mortgage much easier.

Fannie Mae doesn’t loan money directly to home buyers. Instead, it offers its various programs through a network of thousands of lenders across the nation. To find a lender who makes HomeChoice loans near you, call Fannie Mae at (800) 732-6643 or visit its Internet site www.fanniemae.com.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also operates a handful of programs that can help disabled people buy or refinance a house. You can get details by contacting your regional HUD office – in Kansas, the number is (913) 551-5644 – or by visiting www.hud.gov/groups/disabilities.cfm on the Internet.