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USDA Loan Program

By
Mortgage and Lending with George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages NMLS #65149

I am fairly new to USDA Loans, because in the past they were limited in where they could be done here in Middlesex County, Connecticut, where I do about 90% of my business. However, this loan program is now available in all of Middlesex County except Middletown, and Cromwell. In fact this Loan Program is now available in most of Connecticut. There are only three Counties that now have limited number of towns that it can be done in, Hartford County, New Haven County, and Fairfield County. The rest of the Counties in the State, there are only one or two towns in each County that it is not available.

Here in Connecticut my main go to Loan Product for First Time Homebuyers has been Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) which I have blogged several times in the past about. But the USDA now gives me another Loan Product that will allow a Borrower to do 100% financing, and it is not just for First Time Homebuyers, existing homeowners can also qualify for this Loan Program as well. Also unlike CHFA, USDA does not have Sales Price Limits. Both Loan Programs do have Income Limits. CHFA has higher Income Limits for households of up to three people, but USDA has higher Income Limits for households of four or more people. CHFA allows for higher Debt-To-Income Ratio’s then USDA. CHFA Debt-To-Income Ratio’s are 31/41 for loans that have Downpayment and/or Closing Costs assistance, and 35/45 for loans without Downpayment and/or Closing Costs assistance. USDA has one Debt-To-Income Ratio 29/41 on all loans, but there is a provision for a Ratio Wavier.

This initial blog is just meant to be an introduction to the program, and a quick comparison between State Bonded Loan Programs like CHFA and USDA. I plan on doing a second blog with more detail about the USDA Loan Program. I find that if you try to put too much information into one blog, or make it too long, people are less likely to read it, and this information is to import to be lost in a lengthy blog. By the way some of you that are reading this might recognize this Loan Program by its old name, “The Farmers Loan” because it is only available in Rural Areas with a population of less than 20,000.

I hope this has interested you enough to learn more about this Loan Product, and I will try to provide more detail in a follow up blog this week.

 

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Info about the author:

George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com

Posted by

George Souto
NMLS# 65149

C (860) 573-1308
CALL 7 Days/Wk
Fax (860) 760-6891

Email Me
About Me
My Blog

I am a Mortgage Loan Officer who can assist you with all your mortgage & refinancing needs in
CT, and RI

I can assist you with your Conventional,
FHA, CHFA, VA, USDA, & 203K loan programs.

I reside in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Haddam. E. Haddam, Higganum, Chester, Essex, Deep River.

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Comments(12)

George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Erica, I am hoping to use it a lot more now that I can do it in almost every town in my County.

Mar 31, 2009 02:10 PM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Hmm this is interesting.  I thought USDA had to do with "beef"!  Oh my.  I am looking forward to reading about this program!  Where's the beef?

Mar 31, 2009 04:32 PM
Bill Gassett
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA
Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

The USDA is one of the very few no down payment loan programs. It is understandable why it would be popular to those that qualify.

Apr 01, 2009 12:31 AM
Gerry Suarez Jr.
New American Funding NMLS 6606 - Orlando, FL
FL Mortgage Guru

George,

Welcome to the USDA bandwagon! It is truly a great product that really fell out of favor due to market dynamics for a few years. Home prices outstripped income limitations to the point the program became a minor player in many markets.

Now with declining prices increasing affordability the USDA Rural Development loan has come on VERY strong. There were recently issues with funding delays from the less experienced RD lenders, but the better ones always continue to close and fund loans while awaiting government allocations.

I do want to invite you to post this and your subsequent blogs to our AR Rural Development group here:

http://activerain.com/groups/USDARD

and check out some of the info already posted.

Gerry Suarez, Jr.

Your FHA Loan Pro!

 

Apr 01, 2009 01:17 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Joan, if it helps there is a lot of beef in this program ........... LOL

Bill now that it is available to more towns in my area I will be using it more, especially since CHFA does not increase their income limits for households that are over 3 people, USDA does and as a result I will be able to use bigger households with more income.

Gerry thank for the added information in your comment, and I followed your link and joined the group.

Apr 01, 2009 05:11 AM
Sandra Cummings
William Raveis Real Estate - Guilford, CT
Real Estate Agent, Guilford Connecticut

Okay George - I have been hearing about USDA for a while now and from what I can tell it doesn't apply to any of the areas I cover. Is this correct? Which is a shame for it would certainly help many buyers here in Connecticut if the USDA only expanded their coverage.

Apr 01, 2009 09:03 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Sandra, the closest towns to you that USDA is available in is North Branford, Guilford, Madison, Woodbridge, and Bethany.  New Haven County is one of the Counties that most of the towns are not covered.

Apr 01, 2009 09:41 AM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

I'm with Joan...where's the beef lol!  I better keep reading so I can learn...stay tuned :)

Apr 01, 2009 11:06 AM
Jennifer Fivelsdal
JFIVE Home Realty LLC | 845-758-6842|162 Deer Run Rd Red Hook NY 12571 - Rhinebeck, NY
Mid Hudson Valley real estate connection

George - I need to learn more about this, any product to help a buyer realize their dream. 

Apr 01, 2009 01:53 PM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Sally, OK you and Joan need to stop thinking about food, and get your minds back on Loan Programs ....... LOL

Jennifer I would think that this program would be available for most of the towns around you.

Apr 01, 2009 02:10 PM
Michael Alter
Cascade Residential Mortgage - Lake Oswego, OR

http://100percentusda.com

Jan 16, 2010 11:43 AM