A USDA loan is a mortgage an approved lender writes under USDA Rural Development's Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. Two of the things that decide whether you can use one: the property has to sit inside USDA's eligible area, and your household's income has to fall under a ceiling USDA sets for the area. Parts of San Luis Obispo County qualify, so we check the exact address on USDA's own map.
What a lender weighs before this program is on the table. A lender can add rules of its own, and those rules can differ from one lender to the next.
USDA publishes an eligibility map and the answer is address by address. A house on one side of a road can qualify when the one opposite does not, so we look up the specific address rather than reasoning from the town it sits in.
USDA sets the ceiling for the area, and household members' income counts toward it, not only the income of the people who will be on the loan, with some exclusions under USDA's rules.
The property has to be your primary residence. USDA's program is not for a vacation home, a short-term rental or an investment property, however rural the address is.
The borrower has to be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. non-citizen national or a qualified alien. Ask your loan officer which documents USDA accepts for this before you gather anything.
Approved lenders write these loans, so the credit and debt questions come from the lender's rules on top of USDA's.
The steps in order, so you can see what is coming. Nothing here is underwritten until a lender underwrites it.
If you have a property in mind, we can check it against USDA's eligibility map. If you are still looking, we can look at your search area on the same map.
Household members' income counts toward USDA's ceiling, not only the income of the people who will be on the loan, with some exclusions under USDA's rules.
USDA against FHA, against a conventional loan, and against what each one charges.
Your loan officer reviews the file and, if you qualify, can write a pre-qualification letter.
If yours is not here, call us. The useful answer depends on your file.
Parts of it do. USDA's eligibility map is checked address by address rather than by ZIP code, and USDA makes the final determination on a complete application. Send us the address and we can look it up with you before you make an offer.
USDA sets a household income ceiling for each area and revises it. Household members' income counts toward it, even for people who will not be on the loan, with some exclusions under USDA's rules. The lender checks your household against the current San Luis Obispo County ceiling.
Not private mortgage insurance. USDA sets a fee of its own up front and an annual fee instead, and the lender can pass both on to you. Your loan officer can show you what each one comes to on your loan before you commit to anything.
No. A Section 502 loan has to be for the home you will live in as your primary residence. If you are buying a rental or a second home, a conventional loan is one route to look at instead.
No. The program is about where the property sits, not what you do for a living. The borrower has to be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. non-citizen national or a qualified alien, the home has to be your primary residence, and the household income has to fall under USDA's ceiling for the area.
Government-insured
Government-insured, with credit score tiers HUD publishes.
State first-time buyer help
California's own first-time buyer programs: a CalHFA first mortgage, MyHome assistance, and ZIP for closing costs, written through approved lenders.
Not government-insured
A loan for solid credit and income, with private mortgage insurance that does not have to be permanent.
Where this program fits:Buying a homeRefinancingThe county's loan limitsThe Central CoastServices
Side by side:FHA vs USDA
Where it comes up in the county:Paso RoblesAtascaderoTempletonMorro BayLos OsosCambriaNipomo
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This page is general information about a loan program, not an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. What a lender will do with your file depends on the file.
Answer a few questions and your loan officer can talk you through which programs could fit your file, including when this one does not.
No credit pull to get started. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.
