USDA is the most overlooked loan in the country. It is one hundred percent financing on a normal thirty-year fixed, and the two things everyone believes about it — that it is for farms, and that it ended years ago — are both wrong.
You are buying outside a metro core, which covers a great deal more ground than it sounds
Your household income is within the limit for your county, which is higher than most people guess
You have little or nothing saved for a down payment
You intend to live in the home as your primary residence
How it works
Eligibility is drawn by map, not by acreage
USDA publishes a property eligibility map, and whether a house qualifies has nothing to do with land, livestock or how rural it feels. Plenty of ordinary subdivisions inside a twenty-minute commute of a mid-sized city are eligible. Outside Lebanon, across much of Wilson County, and through large parts of Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio, eligibility is the rule rather than the exception. It costs nothing to check the address before you assume you need a down payment.
Income limits are household-wide and generous
The limit counts everyone in the household, not just the borrowers, and it scales up with household size. It is set per county and it is considerably higher than people expect — many dual-income families still qualify. There are also deductions for dependants and childcare that can bring a household back under the line.
The guarantee fee is cheaper than FHA insurance
USDA charges an upfront guarantee fee, usually financed, plus a small annual fee collected monthly. That annual fee is meaningfully lower than FHA's monthly premium, which is why USDA frequently beats FHA on total monthly cost for buyers who qualify for both.
The honest part
USDA turn times run longer than conventional because the file goes through a government guarantee step after the lender approves it, and that step slows down when funding cycles lapse. If you are in a bidding war with a two-week close, USDA is a hard sell to a listing agent. It is also strictly primary-residence — no second homes, no rentals — and the income limit is a hard ceiling, not a guideline.
Common questions
Do I have to buy a farm to get a USDA loan?
No. USDA loans are for ordinary houses in eligible areas. The programme is named for the department that runs it, not for the kind of property.
How do I know if a property is USDA eligible?
USDA publishes an address-level eligibility map. Send us the address and we will check it in about a minute.
What is the income limit for a USDA loan?
It is set per county and scales with household size, and it is higher than most buyers assume. Deductions for dependants and childcare can bring a household under the limit even when the gross figure looks too high.
USDA Loans near you
Tyler McCain is based in Lebanon, TN and works across the Nashville metro.
That depends on numbers we have not seen yet. Two minutes, no credit pull, and
Tyler will tell you straight — including if the answer is a
different programme entirely.
