Zero down · two eligibility gates

Don't let the name fool you.

USDA covers considerably more small-town and outer-suburban ground than people assume — it is not just farmland. It is zero down, and it is genuinely one of the most useful programs available if the address and your household qualify. Both have to.

Start your application Call (580) 284-7244

What it takes

The requirements, in plain terms.

The address

Must sit inside a USDA-eligible area. USDA publishes the map itself, so this can be checked in about ten seconds before you get attached to a house.

Household income

Total household income must fall under the local cap. This is the gate people miss: everyone's income counts, not only the people on the loan.

Credit

Documented and reasonably clean. Lenders apply their own overlays on top of USDA's own guidance.

Occupancy

Primary residence only.

The property

An appraisal is required, and the home must be structurally sound and modest for the area.

Documents

What to have ready.

Requested once, up front, rather than in dribs — missing paperwork is what actually delays a file. The full checklist by how you're paid is on the loan programs page.

The property address, up front — so eligibility can be checked before anything else
Income documents for every adult in the household, not just the borrowers
Pay stubs covering the last 30 days
W-2s and tax returns for the last two years
Two months of bank statements, every page
Photo ID, and two years of addresses and employment

Full document checklist

The part worth knowing

What people find out too late.

The household income test catches people out. An adult child working part-time, or a parent living with you on a pension, can push a household over the cap even though their income is not being used to qualify. Send Lucy the full picture at the start rather than at underwriting.

Answers

Questions about usda rural loans.

General answers. Every file is different, so treat these as a starting point rather than a quote.

How do I know if an address qualifies?

USDA's own eligibility map will answer it immediately, and there is a link to it on the loan programs page. Lucy will also check it for you, along with the income side, which the map does not cover.

Is it really only for rural areas?

The eligible map is much broader than the word 'rural' suggests, and includes a lot of the ground just outside metro areas. It costs nothing to check.

Is there a fee, given there is no down payment?

Yes — USDA charges a guarantee fee, structured as an upfront amount plus an annual one. Lucy will show you how it lands in your specific numbers rather than describing it in the abstract.