I wrote a recent post about the possible return of Down Payment Assistance for FHA loans, with a bill that has been proposed in Congress. The Down Payment Assistance programs, administered through non-profits such as Nehemiah or Ameridream, allowed for the equivalent of 100% financing for home purchases.
But, if you are looking for a home right now, while mortgage rates are so low, then why wait for the return of anything, when you can have 100% financing right now? Hint: You may just want to look a little further out than you have been up until now.
A USDA, Rural Housing Loan is the best option for financing a home, and not bringing a down payment. In fact, you will also not have a monthly PMI payment with this loan. And interest rates are quite competitive, currently in the mid-5′s.
As you can see in the diagram above, areas in the lighter colored areas are eligible for Rural Housing loans. And a lot of places around metro Atlanta do qualify, but your drive times may stretch a little to move to those homes.
For example, homes in Bartow, or northern Cherokee counties qualify. But southern Cherokee or Cobb do not.
Other counties that qaulify for Rural housing are parts of Dawson, norther Forsyth county, northern Hall county, Jackson and Barrow. Just to name a few. Yet, no properties in Gwinnett qualify. You get the picture, it is outlying areas.
There are upper income limitations and maximum loan limits for these loans as well. The loan limts will be increasing in March, so a lot more people will qualify for these loans. When the new income and loan limits are published, I will write about it here. In the meantime, if you want to know if a particular property that you are considering buying qualifies for a Rural Housing loan, just call me with the address, and I will look it up for you.
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