Good news for those looking to buy rural homes – the USDA Home Loan has just become cheaper!
Starting on October 1st, the beginning of the 2017 fiscal year, the USDA’s home loan’s will have cheaper upfront and monthly payments. The Upfront Guarantee Fee will drop to 1.00% (from 2.750%), and the Annual Guarantee Fee will similarly drop to 0.35% (from 0.50%). This comes as a pleasant surprise, considering the percentages have been increasing since 2011. This drop reflects the increasing health of the home and mortgage industry in America as it recovers from the crash back around 2008.
This loan is popular for first time home buyers as it is usually cheaper than the typical FHA Loans, even before this change in pricing. There is 100% financing, so there is no down payment required for the loan, eliminating a daunting hurdle for first time buyers. This loan is also slightly easier to acquire, with only a Credit Score of 640 required for eligibility.
While this loan is only for “Rural” areas, this term is quite flexible. About 97% of the US land mass is considered eligible. Good news for Vermonters, apart from the Burlington, South Burlington, Essex Junction and Winooski areas, the entire state is eligible for this loan! To find out if your address is eligible for this loan, you can find out on their interactive map here: http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?pageAction=sfp
This loan isn’t as readily known as the FHA loans, and sometimes are not even offered. It could help tremendously if you check to see if you are eligible for the USDA loan instead, as can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars!
For additional information, please contact our loan officers through our website: vermontmortgagecompany.com, or give us a call at 802-863-2020. Feel free to stop by our office as well!
Other Links and Sources:
http://themortgagereports.com/20723/usda-rural-development-mortgage-guarantee-fee-reduced
http://teammovemortgage.com/2016/04/30/2016-2017-usda-funding-fee/
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome
http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
