When you think of USDA I know the first thing you think is HOME LOAN FINANCING!  Right?  Actually, if you're like most Americans you probably think of Milk, Cows, Pigs, Corn, Farms and a beautiful farm house.  Anything but mortgages.

Rural really isn't all that rural.  Here is a picture of a farm, and you'd probably have to go to an agricultural banker to finance it.  Below is a picture of a house, and you can finance it with a Rural Housing loan through a Mortgage Lender, like myself!

A USDA Rural Home Loan is designed to help families in areas that are "designated" as rural to get into a home with zero money down!  In Florida, the average cash out of pocket to buy a home with this program is "currently" $158.70 and USDA Rural Home Loan demand has BOOMED upward by 475% over the last 12 months.

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Here are a couple of hot buttons for those considering financing a home:

1. You can buy a home without a down payment
2. You don't get charged an expensive (or any at all) monthly mortgage insurance payment
3. Credit requirements are VERY FLEXIBLE
4. A Rural designation may look and feel like the 'burbs.

In the Panhandle of Florida, there are many areas that qualify for Rural Housing loans: all of Santa Rosa County, all of Walton County, Destin, Niceville, Crestview, Valparaiso, and areas in Okaloosa County west of Hurlburt Field.  When was the last time you heard someone refer to Destin as "rural"??!!

If you are thinking of financing a home for any reason give me a call or contact me through this blog.  Or, you can apply for a rural housing loan here.

Sue Botelho

Northstar Mortgage Group, Destin, FL