A Little Country Hospitality
If you're not a farmer, you may think that the only way the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture impacts you is by ensuring that your favorite cut of steak makes the grade.
But the USDA is allowing folks - even those who don't know a hen from a rooster - to become homeowners.
"Like the Veteran's Administration," explains Ron Smith, president of the Texas Association of Mortgage Professionals, "the USDA [housing loan] program offers no-down-payment mortgages."
"It's a benefit to the consumer," says Christopher Aniskovich, vice president of the Connecticut Association of Mortgage Brokers. He tries to alert borrowers if they're buying in an area deemed "rural" by the USDA, which can include outer suburban-like areas now dotted with homes that may have once been farms. Lenders simply check an address on a website to determine whether a property is located in an area defined as "rural," says Aniskovich In addition, the borrower must have a total household income that is no greater than 115 percent of the nationwide median for a similar-size household, or the household income can be compared to certain state income averages and meet a low or moderate income threshold.
One of the biggest impediments to having borrowers take USDA loans is that real estate agents are often unfamiliar with the program and warn their clients that it could involve lots of red tape, says Aniskovich.
To find out more, check with one of the approved lenders participating in the program at
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/sfh/GSFH_Information/Lenders/Approved_National_Lenders.pdf.
