USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing is NOT just for Mississippi, but for the purpose of this post, the map below is for Desoto County. To see if you are in an eligible area, go to: http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do.
With the demise of 100% conventional conforming loans, there has been a large resurgence of these types of loans. Because this is a government guaranteed loan, many loan officers/ loan originators may not like to offer these programs to their prospective clients and may not even be knowledgeable enough to offer them. This is a good loan program, but like every other program, is not the "right fit" for everyone. Because this loan was specifically intended for low-to-moderate income families with minimal resources for down payment, there are some qualifying criteria...
Property eligibility - refer to map below. Property has to be located in an area designated by USDA as rural.
Debt-Ratio requirements - standard 29 (housing ratio)/41 (total debt ratio), but can be exceeded with higher credit scores and compensating factors.
Income limitations - uses total household income - number in household 1 - $49,550.00, 2 - $56,600.00, 3 - $63,700.00, 4 - $70,750.00, 5 - $76,400.00, 6 - $82,050.00, 7 - $87,750.00 and 8 - $93,400.00. These are the new 2008 income figures and represent NO GO Zone - for GO Zone, use the (family of 4) income limits for 1 through 4 family members and when there is above 4 in the household, use (family of 8) income limits.
Now for the POSITIVES:
Ask your loan officer for more information and if they know and are comfortable offering this mortgage product to your customers. If they are not, then your clients may be missing a good mortgage option!

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I like this loan program but have had only 1 client use it. They used the Direct Loan from Rural Development to purchase a home in Hernando. It worked out great for them. I hope to have the opportunity to use the Guaranteed Loan program soon.
Hey Pam,
There is a definite benefit for a buyer to use the USDA program, especially if they have no or low downpayment. We do A LOT of USDA loans here in our area and it can be more flexible than FHA. All of Tate County is eligible for USDA - so you may want to ask your mortgage friends if they are "up" on this program. Believe it or not, but as good as this program is, many banks/brokers in this area don't offer it, mainly because they don't know enough about them.
If you need any further information on this program, just let me know. Thanks for writing in!! :)