Finance Roll

In today's tight mortgage market there is no many loan products were you can buy a home with no down payment. The good old days were anyone with a pulse could get a mortgage with no money down. But there is still one great program left that has 100% financing and that program is for rural home loans by United State Agriculture Department.

Although this type of home mortgage loan has been around for years but most people are aware of it. Mainly because it was though to be for farmers only, it was known as a "farmer loan". The USDA home loan program guidelines permits people to purchase a home with 100% financing at competitive interest rates, 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and mortgage insurance (MI). Does this sound too good to you to be true?

Yes, this great program does exist but it is not for everyone. There are some restrictions and guidelines both on household income and property eligibility. You household income can not exceed certain income limitations and the property has to be located in certain areas (mostly rural areas). These rural home loans are guaranteed by USDA and are not available in high population areas like big cites and towns. If you like in New York City then you are out of luck. But if you live in a city or town with population of less than 25,000 people then you may be able to find a home that is in an eligible area.

There are a lot of benefits to the USDA Rural Home Loans program besides the no money down feature. One is the closing costs can be rolled into the loan or you can ask the seller to may all of the closing costs including prepaid items such as property taxes and homeowner's insurance. This means it is truly no money out of your pocket type of mortgage loan.

In comparison with a conventional mortgage if you do not pay at least 20% down then you will have to pay mortgage insurance thus increasing your monthly mortgage payment. The rural home loans of USDA do not have this private mortgage insurance requirement. This is one of the best financing methods available if you are eligible.

The USDA Home Loans Program is even better than FHA mortgage loans. FHA home loan requires a 3.5% down payment and they have an upfront private mortgage insurance cost plus a monthly mortgage insurance (MI) charge. If you want to buy a home in an area that is eligible for this program and you are also within the income guidelines, this would at least made sense to check into this program.

So what do you do now? This article only provides a brief description of the USDA Rural Home Loans Program. You need to get more information to see if you qualified and if you live or the area you want to buy a home is in a property eligible area. This is a great way and may also be the only way you can buy your dream home!