Rural Development

Guaranteed Housing

Home Financing Options For Applicants

The Advantages:

•  No Down payment is required.
•  Flexible credit score guidelines.

• No maximum purchase price limit.

•  Closing costs can come from any source including gifts.

•  Repairs and improvements can be included in the loan.

•   Competitive fixed 30-year rates.

• Apply with a local participating lender of your choice.

Frequently asked questions

Eligibility criteria: 

• Occupy the property as your primary residence.

• Do not own an adequate home.

• Do not have sufficient cash for a 20% down payment plus pay typical loan closing and relocation expenses.

• Be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. non-citizen national or a “qualified alien”. 

• Provide stable and dependable income for repayment ability.

• Have a credit history that indicates a willingness to meet obligations as they become due.

• Have an adjusted household income that is within Rural Development guidelines based on the number of persons who will occupy the home.  

• Purchase a residential property that is located in a Rural Development eligible area. 

Choose Rural Development as the first option

• No mortgage insurance saves you a lot of money.  Mortgage insurance raises your monthly payment, which REDUCES the amount of a home loan you may qualify to purchase.  Guaranteed loans may allow you to qualify for a newer or larger home to meet your needs 

  • Did you know that the typical mortgage insurance premiums for the first 10 years on a $100,000.00 loan could cost you $6,000 or more?  The mortgage insurance can continue beyond the 10 years.  The cost of Rural Development's guarantee is only $2,000.00 on a $100,000.00 loan. 

  • No mortgage insurance allows you to qualify for a larger mortgage amount. 

• There is little or no cash required for a down payment or closing costs in most cases.

Tools and Web Site links:

• Determine if the property is within the Rural Development eligible area. 

  • Use the link "Single Family Housing" under "Property Eligibility". 

• Determine if your  adjusted household income is within the Agency limits,

  • Use the link "single family housing" under "income eligibility"

• What is "adjusted household income"?

• What is "repayment income"?

• Useful web links

Locate an Approved (underwriting) Participating Lender.

• Consult with your local Rural Development Office for Lenders in your area

• Rural Development Nationally Approved Lender List

• Any lender may participate in the program regardless of Rural Development approval status.  Contact Rural Development for assistance.

Brochure and guides:

• Guaranteed Loan brochure

• A “quick guide” overview to Guaranteed Loans

•  For additional information contact your local Rural Development office. 

Locate a Rural Development office. 

• Even though you will not be applying directly to Rural Development for the loan, you may want additional information.  Or perhaps you will want to pass along the Rural Development contact information to your realtor or builder, or loan officer.

  • The Rural Development Office Locator website is:  http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_maps.html  Or you can go to the home page of Rural Development for your state to find a listing of their offices.

  • You can always look us up in the telephone directory blue pages under “United States Department of Agriculture”, and then look for “Rural Development” or “Rural Housing Service.

 How do you get started?

• Educate yourself on the Guaranteed Loan Program by reviewing all of the information on this site and the "eligibility" web site.

• Set up an appointment with the mortgage lender of your choice for your pre-approval determination. The Agency maintains a list of nationally approved underwriting lenders.  Any branch of these lenders can accept your application. 

• If you have any questions, contact your local Rural Development office.

Thank you for visiting our web site.  Let us know how we can assist you with meeting your home ownership goal.