USDA Rural Housing program highlights:
- Moderate income limits apply - based on family size (see
below)
- No down payment required.
- No Prepayment Penalties.
- Purchase: 2% upfront fee that can be rolled into
the loan
- Refinance: 1.5% upfront fee that can be rolled
into the loan
- 0.3% Yearly fee paid monthly -
Effective 10/01/2011
USDA Fee Changes on The Horizon
- A one-time guarantee fee
is paid at closing. In some cases, this fee, closing
costs and repairs may be included in the loan.
- Competitive 30 year fixed interest
rates.
- No maximum loan amount.
- No limits on cash contributions.
- Not restricted to first time home buyers
- Home must be occupied as your permanent residence.
See if your
income qualifies for a USDA Rural Housing loan
Check to see if the property is in an
Eligible Area for Rural Housing Loans
Income Qualification Information:
The most accurate way to check your income for qualification
is to use the
USDA Income Calculator. The calculator on USDA's
website is most accurate
because it is based on area income limits minus any deduction you
can take to offset your income. The most common income deduction
is for child care expenses. For general purposes, you can also
view the most recent income limits with a county by county
breakdown by family size from the pdf files below.
Wisconsin Income Limits
Illinois Income Limits
Florida Income Limits
Minnesota Income Limits
Ineligible Areas for USDA Rural Housing loans:
if you know the address of a property that you are interested
in, you can go to
USDA's website to determine if a specific address is eligible
(click the accept button and then type in the address). If the system
is unable to determine eligibility based on the address you entered,
that doesn’t mean it isn’t eligible. It just means the system couldn’t
find the address, so it is unable to determine eligibility. At this
point, you can either
contact us us and we will help in determining if the
property is eligible or sometimes it is just a matter of entering the correct format
of the street to get the system to find the property (what I call
HWY M is really County Road M according to the system).
Additional Information on our blog:
Are USDA Rural Housing loans only for "Farmers"?
USDA Rural Housing Refinance - Features and guidelines
USDA Rural Housing Refinance: Program Information
Detailed Wisconsin ineligible map
The counties in white are 100% eligible. The counties shaded
green have ineligible areas within the county, except for
Milwaukee County which is 100% ineligible. If you are looking
for a property in Dane County, you will want to know the area’s
that are eligible. Open up the map of Wisconsin (link above) and click on
Dane county. That is going to bring up a PDF map of part of Dane
County. The areas shaded in green on the county specific map are
ineligible. You can zoom in on the map for a detailed look of
the ineligible area. One side of a street or road may be
eligible, while the other side may not be eligible.
Other programs that may be of
interest:
FHA Loans
FHA 203K Rehab Loans
VA
Loans
100%
Financing Programs
Mortgage Programs
100% Financing (No Money Down) Programs
First Time Home Buyer Mortgage Programs
My Community Mortgage
Government Loans including
FHA, VA
and
Rural Housing
Refinance Programs
Mortgage Rates
About Us
Apply or Pre-qualify Online
Contact
Us
* Rural areas consist of communities
that have 20,000 and under in population and are not a part of an
urban area.
Recent Rural Housing mortgage posts on our blog:
Minnesota: 8 of 87 Counties Have Increased 2013 USDA
Income Limits
Effective 1-22-2013, USDA has updated their database to reflect 2013 Minnesota USDA Rural Housing income limits. 8 out of 87 counties have increased income limits in 2013. Minnesota has also raised their “floor” income limit to $78,050. This effected most counties in Minnesota except for Polk County. Their “floor” has increased but just under the “floor” at $77,850.
Read the rest of this
entry »
Understanding the USDA Rural Housing Home Loan
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also known by the acronym USDA, has offered a home loan program for many years. These mortgages are backed by the federal government and are offered through a network of lenders across the country. These home loans are quite different from the conventional loans offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and can be quite beneficial to people that meet the qualifications.
Read the rest of this
entry »
Income Rules to Determine Eligibility for USDA Loan
The USDA mortgage is truly a great loan for people that wish to purchase a home out of the way of the bright lights of a major city. In order to qualify for the loan applicants must provide evidence of their income. The USDA was designed to help people with average to less than average incomes qualify for a mortgage
Read the rest of this
entry »
USDA Rural Housing: Property Eligibility and Income
Limit Guidelines
The USDA home loan program allows for qualifying borrowers to purchase a home in a rural area with no down payment. This is an amazing program, especially here in the upper Midwest. The rates are very low and the program is relatively easy to qualify for. There are two main criteria for the USDA program that are different from any other loan we offer. The USDA program sets its own income limits and boundaries of where it will guarantee loans.
Read the rest of this
entry »
Recent Major Changes for USDA Loans Effective October 1,
2012
The outstanding rural mortgage program offered by the USDA experienced major changes as of October 1, 2012. Thankfully, the program will become self-funding. This means that the funds used to make the loans will not come from the United States taxpayer. However, it means that the fees charged by USDA will change slightly. Here is the breakdown
Read the rest of this entry
»
The USDA Mortgage: One of the Few No Money Down
Mortgages
Buying a house, and maintaining the property, can get expensive. Saving up $15,000 for a down payment, plus an extra $2,000 to $3,000 for improvements or a rainy day fund can really take some time. What if there was a way to save up AND get a home without a down payment? Thanks to USDA Rural Housing, that can be a reality.
Read the rest of this
entry »
Understanding Reserves; One of the Less Obvious Benefits
of a USDA Mortgage
A lot of information and news coverage centers on the low loan rates offered by FHA and conventional loans. For people that do no have money for a down payment more attention is being given to USDA loans as a means to assist first time buyers. There is also another benefit to the USDA program; no reserves requirement.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Common Questions about the USDA Rural Home Loan
Many people have learned about the USDA Rural Home Loan program but there continues to be quite a bit of uncertainty about the program. Here are some of the most common questions along with explanatory answers.
Read the rest of this entry
»
USDA Rural Housing to increase Guarantee and Annual Fee
Effective on October 1, 2012, the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, Rural Development will revise the Up-Front Guarantee Fee and Annual Fee structure as follows:
Read the rest of this
entry »
USDA Rural Housing Loans: No Money Down Explained
There is a loan offered by the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for people who wish to buy a home in a rural area. According to the guidelines for the mortgage, the home buyer is not required to put any money as a down payment as long as the home appraises for the sales price, or higher. Essentially, the USDA loan will allow the buyer to borrow up to 100% of the value of the home.
Read the rest of this
entry »
The USDA Rural Housing Loan is One of The Most
Affordable
The
USDA Rural Housing loan
is one of the most affordable loans for most borrowers.
Although these mortgages may seem to have a few more
restrictions than a FHA or Conventional loan, the rules
actually work to make sure the borrowers can easily
afford the payments. Here are some of the highlights of
the USDA Home Loan program.
Read the rest of this
entry »
USDA Can Be the End of the Renting Cycle
A few news outlets have recently reported that the
American Dream of owning a home seems to be fading away.
However, the
United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
wants to remind people that home ownership is still
quite possible for many people.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Steps to Take to Obtain a USDA Rural Housing Loan
The
United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
has offered a mortgage loan to qualifying borrowers on
rural homes for a number of years. Getting the loan
takes a few steps which can be coordinated efficiently
by your mortgage broker. Here is the primary sequence of
events in obtaining a USDA loan.
Read the rest of this entry
»
2012 USDA Rural Housing Income Limits Published
The USDA has announced the income limits for the Guaranteed Rural Housing (GRH) Program have changed effective January 18, 2012. Since 2009 income limits are based on a two tier income structuring consisting of a 1 – 4 member household and a 5 – 8 member household which replaced the 1 – 8 person structure in 2008.
Read the rest of this
entry »
Are there really that many homes that qualify for USDA
funding?
Since the term “rural” is often used to describe the USDA mortgage program many individuals wrongly assume that only the properties located 50+ miles from any type of city will qualify. However, this is terribly wrong.
Read the rest of this
entry »
USDA Raises Upfront Guarantee Fee for Refinance
Transactions
EFFECTIVE Wednesday, December 7, 2011: The upfront
guarantee fee for all refinance transactions will
increase from 1 percent to 1.5 percent at this time.
This increase to the upfront guarantee fee for refinance
transactions will make over $1.1 billion dollars in
refinance commitment authority available to eligible
homeowners. Interest rates continue to remain at very
low levels affording responsible homeowners the
opportunity to refinance their existing Single Family
Housing Guaranteed loan, resulting in lower monthly
payments.
Read the rest of this
entry »
USDA Rural Housing Refinance: Program Information
This program is for those that already have a
USDA Rural Development Loan in place. The USDA Refinance is designed to lower the interest rate on a current USDA mortgage and is only available with 30 year fixed rates. Generally, these refinances are streamlined and can be done with ease. In some cases we won’t need an appraisal if the borrower is willing to pay their closing costs out of pocket.
Read the rest of this entry
»
If You Are Looking for a Mortgage with No Down Payment,
Drive Outside the City
Any home secured by a USDA loan must be located in an
area labeled “rural” by the USDA. In addition the
borrowers must meet certain requirements. Their income
cannot be greater than a benchmark level for their area
and they usually need a credit score of 620 or above to
qualify.
Read the rest of this entry
»
We Continue to Fund and Close USDA Rural Housing Loans
We continue to offer the USDA Rural Housing program and
its business as usual for us. Our lending relationship and
underwriting approach gives us the ability to continue to
process and fund these loans. If you’ve found yourself in this
situation give us a call and we’ll be able to help you!
Read the rest of this entry »
Lesser Known Advantages of USDA Loans
An internet search of the term “USDA Loan” will likely
yield a lot of the same information. Websites, articles
and blogs will discuss the great advantages of buying a
home with no money down and the ability to borrow as
much as 100% of the home’s value. But there are quite a
few other advantages that don’t get as much attention.
Read the rest of this entry
»
USDA Re-Structuring Fees to Make the Program More Stable
The upfront fee has been 3.5% of the total loan amount
for some time now. This fee could be added into the loan
amount and repaid over time. But now the fee is going to
be lowered to 2% and an annual fee of 0.3% of the
outstanding balance will be charged to borrowers each
year. This provides more income for the program and
allows it to have more funds for future borrowers as
well as for refinances.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Advantages of a USDA Rural Housing Mortgage
The original intent of the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) housing program was to offer
mortgages for people of low income located in the
various rural parts of the country. Due to the severe
changes in conventional loan guidelines more people have
looked into the possibility of using a USDA loan. Here
are some of the top benefits of the current version of
the program.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Utilize USDA Loans to Buy a Home With No Money Down
Buying a home with no money down at an affordable rate is
still a very real possibility. Many people still do not
know about the benefits of the USDA Home Loan and how it
can help a wide range of people become homeowners.
Read the rest of this entry
»
USDA Rural Housing Loans are Still Available
For people that stay current with financial news there has
been quite a bit of buzz with the USDA loans. Earlier in
the year there was a statement that the funds available
for USDA loans would be depleted by April. Another statement
said that new funds would be available. However, the information
about when and how those funds would be available seemed
confusing. Now, everything has finally settled down and
it seems it is back to business as usual for the USDA program.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Are Wisconsin USDA Rural Housing Loans Only for Farmers
We will be discussing the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing
program. The Guaranteed program is for low to moderate income
applicants to purchase a primary residence in a “rural”
area of the state. These mortgages are processed, underwritten
and serviced by a bank or lender with certain “guarantees”
from the USDA.
Read the rest of this entry
»
Benefits of the USDA Loan
Many people are looking for ways to take advantage of
the historically low mortgage rates. Some of these individuals
may not have quite enough for a 5% down payment on the home, yet
they have other strong financial qualities. For these people,
the USDA home loan in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Florida
may be a great solution.
Read the rest of this entry
»
USDA Rural Housing Refinance
We get this questions a lot; "Can I refinance into a
USDA Rural Housing loan?" and the answer, 9 out of 10 times, is
no. Unless your current loan is a Guaranteed Rural Housing loan
or a USDA Section 502 Direct loan, you cannot refinance into the
program.
Read the rest of this entry »
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