USDA: The Last of its Breed

No, We aren’t talking about a literal animal entering extinction.

We are talking about a fantastical program with features that aren’t available by other programs today.

Every home loan program today requires a down payment and qualifications that are hard to meet for low to medium income families.

However the USDA loan program doesn’t!

Other than the VA loan program designed for military individuals, the USDA program is the only one that offers 100% financing. Meaning you don’t need to put any money down. The closest comparable program is the FHA program which requires at least 3.5% down.

Aside from 100% financing, this program was designed for low to medium income families and it is evident in the relaxed qualifications compared to other programs. Borrowers of this program benefit from a higher debt-to-income ratio qualification, and income qualification that is based on household income rather than individual.

Just like anything else in this world, it comes with a tradeoff.

The downside is that you will have to find a property that is listed as a USDA property. The good news is that it isn’t too difficult to find out.

The USDA website offers two ways to verify a properties eligibility:

The first is to look at their USDA map which highlights sections across the United States that are eligible for this program.

But, a much easier way is to use their property look-up feature. Simple copy and paste a property address, and the USDA site will verify its eligibility.

You may be thinking, but I don’t want to move to a rural town in the middle of nowhere. Don’t worry, you don’t have to because 97% of the US is in an eligible area!

Just check it out:

They said unicorns don’t exist. Well at least not in the literal sense. But, the USDA program has proven to be a mythical creature surviving in the modern world.