USDA loans

Zero down, and "rural" covers far more of the map than you think.

USDA loans are backed by the Department of Agriculture to support home ownership outside dense urban areas. Plenty of ordinary suburbs qualify.

See if I qualifyTalk to Cole
$0 downFor eligible properties
Income capsHousehold, not just borrower
Location firstThe property has to qualify too

USDA loans

Two tests, not one

A USDA loan qualifies the property as well as the person. The address has to sit in an eligible area, and household income has to fall under a cap that varies by county and by how many people live in the home.

Checking the map is the first thing to do, and it surprises people regularly. Towns that nobody would describe as rural are inside the boundary, and the boundary sometimes runs down the middle of a street.

  • Buyers with little or nothing saved for a down payment
  • Households under the county income cap
  • Homes outside the designated urban areas
  • Buyers who would otherwise be squeezed by an FHA premium

What is assessed

What a lender is actually looking at.

None of this is a secret, and knowing it early is the difference between a smooth file and a scramble two weeks before closing.

Property eligibilityDetermined by address against the USDA map. This is the first thing we check, because nothing else matters if the property is out.
Income limitBased on total household income, including people not on the loan, against a county limit. Some deductions apply.
CreditTypically 640 and above for the streamlined route, with manual underwriting possible below that.
Guarantee feesAn upfront fee and a smaller annual one. Both are lower than the equivalent FHA premiums, which is a real advantage.

Three minutes

Find out where you stand on this program.

The qualifier asks five questions and comes back with the programs you fit and an estimated monthly payment. It does not run a credit check to do it.

  • No credit check to get an answer
  • An estimated payment before anyone calls you
  • Routed to a named loan officer, not a queue

See what you qualify for

Free

Questions

The ones people actually ask.

How do I know if a house is in an eligible area?
We check the address against the USDA map before anything else. It takes a minute and it saves a great deal of wasted effort.
Does my whole household income count?
Yes. USDA looks at the income of everyone in the home, not only the people on the loan, which is a common and expensive surprise late in a file.
Is USDA slower than other loans?
It can involve an extra approval step, so it is worth starting early. Well prepared files close on ordinary timelines.

Who handles usda loans

Cole Wall

Loan Officer · NMLS #2808449

Cole thinks an informed buyer is a confident buyer, so he will not let you sign anything you cannot explain back to him.

Read the full profile (714) 469-9577

Other programs

Compare it against the alternatives.

Most borrowers fit more than one program. Which one is best depends on how long you will hold the loan, not only on what you qualify for today.

Buying a homePurchase loans RefinancingLower it or shorten it ConventionalFrom 3% down FHA3.5% down, 580+ VANo down payment USDAZero down, eligible areas JumboAbove the limit Bank statementSelf employed InvestorDSCR and short sales CommercialFive units and up

Get a straight answer before you commit to anything.

Three minutes, no credit check, no obligation, and a named loan officer on the other end of it.

See what I qualify for Or call (714) 469-9577

August Mortgage Group, NMLS #2642110. Equal Housing Lender. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval and property appraisal.