Rural Development for Buyers - 100% Financing

USDA has a program called Rural Development designed to help buyers purchase homes in more rural areas. Some of the towns in Chittenden County are Williston, Jericho, and Underhill to name a few. Essex, Colchester and Milton are currently available but will be off the list by October 1. Most towns in Franklin County are included -- in fact, throughout the state, very few towns are not included.

The key piece that helps buyers is that the loan is 100% financing! Yes, 100%! And the rate, which of course, is not a constant, is low! Today at a closing the buyers closed with a 3.25% interest rate! In this case, the buyers also received some closing costs from the seller.

We have done Rural Development loans that were 100% financing and the sellers contributed 100% of the closing costs! In other words, there was no money for the buyer to bring to closing. In fact, he got his contract deposit back at closing! He had to come up with money for inspection, appraisal, radon test, and other miscellaneous fees. But to be able to buy a home for no money down and pay no closing costs is amazing.

Rural Development appraisals are strict in order to transfer a safe property to the new buyer. For instance, if there are electrical issues or peeling paint in a pre-1978 home with the potential of lead paint, the appraiser notes the deficiencies. In past closings, peeling paint has been painted and electric issues repaired before the house closed. In fact, on a sale in Winooski, we as agents were told about having to scrape and peel paint only a few weeks before closing. The sellers couldn't afford to have the work done. Dave and I are certified for safe handling of lead paint. So, what did we do? We scraped and painted with a team of REALTORS in our office! I hope we never have to do that again, but we go the extra mile!

For the right buyer, in the right town, this is a great program. Be sure to talk to your mortgage officer about USDA's Rural Develpment to see if you qualify.