USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing announced late yesterday that they are going to delay implementing any USDA Home Loan Map Changes until late September, 2013.
This is GREAT NEWS for folks who are interested in purchasing a home in one of the 40 plus areas of North Carolina that could lose the ability to qualify for USDA Home Loan Financing.
USDA No Money Down Loans really have two parts to the qualifying process. The property must be within the USDA Loan “Footprint,” and the household income can not be more than the limits for that County.
In an effort to update the USDA “Boundaries” (footprint) to match the new census data, over 20 communities in North Carolina grew to the point that they no longer meet the current definition of Rural. In addition to that, some areas might be “re-classified” making almost one third of North Carolina ineligible for USDA Home Loans.
USDA Loan requirements are fairly straight forward. Credit scores need to be above 600 (in some cases you will need a 640), you must meet the Income Requirements for your area, and if you have Student Loans, you need to know how USDA underwriters will treat the type of Student Loan you have in calculating your ratios.
There area three basic UDSA Home Loan requirements for getting a Home Loan in NC.
- The home must be located within the USDA Home Loan footprint (obviously, these boundaries could be changing in NC based on a new definition of “rural” mandated by Congress).
- Each borrower needs at least 2 credit scores of at least 640. There are exceptions, and if you qualify for a NC Housing Finance Agency loan, you might qualify with scores as low as 620. In general, the underwriters for USDA Home Loans in NC are looking for 12 months of Clean Credit.
- You must be under the Maximum Income Requirements for the County you are purchasing a home in to qualify for this No Money Down Home Loan Program.
If you are considering a new home purchase in North Carolina, or have questions about USDA Home Loan Map Changes,. please call Steve and Eleanor Thorne 919 649 5057. We do tons of USDA Home Loans in NC, and we’d love to help you before these changes go into place!
Is there a map out for the 2013 USDA property eligibility?
There’s no list provided by USDA that I can find – however, this looks at the changes likely to be made / hope this helps
http://ruralhousingcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/USDA-List-of-Impacted-Communities_06272012.pdf
Hello me and my husband are currently building in Wake Forest we are using USDA but due to delays in building the home we may not be able to close on it until March/April. Is there any way we can still use USDA or does the home need to be complete by the change date?
Misty – The way we understand it – If your mortgage loan is APPROVED prior to the deadline, you should be fine. You can call us if you have more questions 919 649 5058 and we’ll be glad to give you a quote.
Hello my husband put in for a usda loan in feb,21 2013 my lender said that the usda is behind in wake county do you know how much longer it will be before we are approved
oh also do we have to pay for our housing insurance up front for the whole year
Lori – Wake County is indeed behind and underwriting is typically taking at least 10 business days. You will need to pay for the entire year plus 2 months of homeowners insurance at closing.