When financing a home, one of the biggest hurdles is often coming up with enough cash to make a down payment on your loan. But with a USDA loan, you don’t have to worry about this.  USDA loans are the only non-military loans that offer $0 down payment even with 100% financing, so you don’t have to wait to start looking for a home.
In addition to no down payments, USDA loans save you money in other ways as well. While conventional loans require PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) that can cost a few hundred dollars every month, USDA loans do not. USDA loans also have lower interest rates than conventional loans, as well as lower closing costs that you can include in your loan amount. As 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, they’re easy to manage as well.
To qualify for a USDA loan, you don’t have to worry too much about your credit history. Even if you’ve had some credit trouble in the past, as long as you’ve recovered you’ll probably be okay. The main thing to keep an eye on is the population of where you’re looking to buy your home; because USDA loans are meant for rural areas, population must be under 10,000 (although sometimes this limit is raised to 25,000 if you’re in a town or small city). There are income limits as well, but they vary depending on where you are in the country.
A USDA loan may your golden ticket to finally owning your own home. With no down payments and plenty of money-saving benefits, there’s no reason not to look and see if they’re an option for you. Thanks to a government-backed mortgage program specifically for service members, eligible veterans can breathe easy and buy a new home with less hassle.