The USDA Rural Housing loan is a great program.  No money down!  Roll in closing costs!  Lower monthly mortgage insurance than FHA!  We have closed many of these Rural Housing loans where buyers get money back at the closing table.  How great is that?

Alligator Mortgage can do Rural Housing loans all over Florida, but the specific property location must be able to qualify.   As the name says; this is not a loan for the urban areas, but for small town Florida.    A property located in the city limits of Gainesville, Florida likely won’t qualify, but if it is still mailing address Gainesville, but on the edge of town it likely will.  Here is a link where you can enter in a specific address to see if it does indeed qualify.  https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do

Florida Rural Housing Loan Requirements

• Credit Score – A minimum credit score of 580 is needed to qualify.   However scores under 620 are harder to get through.  USDA really likes scores of 640 for the rural housing loan program.  Under 640 may require proof of housing payment for the past 12 months.
• Credit Depth – The Rural Housing loan requires the borrower to have 2 trade lines with 12 month payment history.  They do not need to be currently open.
• Down Payment – None!  You can put money down if you want, but if you have in your bank 20% of the purchase price then you will not qualify for this loan.  This loan is for borrowers who do not have 20% down payment saved.
• Debt to Income Requirements – A debt to income ratio (DTI) of 43% is generally the maximum to get automated loan approval.  We may be able to stretch the DTI to 45%, but probably not much higher.  If you have a high DTI then check out our FHA loans where we can approve loans up to 56.9% DTI.
• Income – Rural Housing has requirements on maximum household income.  We have to verify total income of all household members 18 and older even if they are not on the loan.  For a family of up to 4 people the maximum household income is roughly $75,000 for many counties in Florida.
• Property Requirements – All properties must meet certain security, safety, and structural integrity requirements.  We can do single family houses and townhouses.  USDA is testing existing Manufactured Housing (Mobile Homes), but not approved in Florida yet unless they are brand new from a Dealer.

Contact us today for more information on Florida rural housing loans or to begin the pre-qualification process.