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ZERO DOWN USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOAN – Not just for Rural Areas

ZERO DOWN USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOAN – Not just for Rural Areas

Minneapolis, MN: One of the biggest difficulties many first-time home buyers face is a lack of down payment, and the necessary money to pay closing costs. Most “zero down payment programs” disappeared with the mortgage market meltdown that started in 2007, so in most parts of the country, the only true no money down programs are just the VA home loan for Veterans or the USDA Rural Development Loan.

Guaranteed by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), this program might make you think that you have to buy farmland or live “in the country” to qualify, but this is often not the case. In fact, you might be surprised to see just how many neighborhoods actually do qualify as rural development areas. For this program, the term “rural” really applies to those areas with a lower population, or fewer homes, not necessarily those areas or farmland far outside of the city. To see what areas qualify for the USDA Loan, click here for the property eligibility map.

There are several benefits of the USDA loan program besides no money down. The program has very low private mortgage insurance costs compared to other loans, and the seller is allowed to pay all of your closing costs and pre-paid items up to 6.00% of the total sales price of the property. While this is great news for first-time home buyers, it’s important to note that you don’t have to be a first-timer to qualify for a USDA loan.

Other than the location of the property you’re seeking to buy, there is one other important aspect to the USDA loan.  It has income guidelines. Click here to see if your family incomes qualifies for the USDA loan. Luckily, however, these numbers have recently increased to allow more potential buyers to take advantage of this special program.

For the USDA program, a great rule of thumb is no major metropolitan areas, and any town with less than 20,000 population.

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