The Low down on

USDA Loans

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives out a variety of loans to help low to moderate income people buy, repair, or renovate a home in a rural area. Some of the popular types of loans are: the single family direct homeownership loan, the single family guaranteed homeownership loan, the rural repair and rehabilitation loan or grant and the mutual self-help loan. This guide will help you figure out what these loans are and whether you qualify.

Though the terms and details of these loans differ, all offer very low effective interest rates (some are as low as 1 percent) and don’t require a cash down payment. To qualify, you need to have a decent credit history.

We’re here to make the USDA home loan process a whole lot easier, with tools and expertise that will help guide you along the way, starting with our FREE USDA Loan Qualifier.

We’ll help you clearly see differences between loan programs, allowing you to choose the right one for you whether you’re a first-time home buyer or a seasoned investor.

You ask, we answer

We know the mortgage process can be tricky. Here’s some questions people like you have asked us in the past.

Do You Qualify?

To qualify for a mortgage, lenders typically require that you have a debt-to-income ratio of “43/49.” This means that no more than 43% of your total monthly income (from all sources, before taxes) can go toward your new mortgage payment, and no more than 4 late payments.