low down - The Mortgage Porter

Changes to USDA Mortgages

USDA offers mortgages with no down payment for homes that are located in designated rural areas to borrowers who meet household income limits. The mortgage rates are very competitive and the mortgage insurance (technically called “guarantee fees”) are very affordable. It’s truly a great program for those who qualify and are buying a home in rural areas, like Duvall, Enumclaw or Anacortes.

Recently, USDA issued Handbook 3555 with updated regulations for USDA mortgages. Here are just a few of the changes:

⚠ Program Ended October 2014: Fannie Mae retired the HomePath Mortgage program in October 2014. If you found this page searching for HomePath, read on to learn what replaced it — there are several strong low-down-payment programs available today for buying homes in Washington State.

Fannie Mae’s HomePath Mortgage was one of the most popular low-down-payment programs of its era. From its launch through October 2014, it offered buyers a way to purchase Fannie Mae-owned foreclosures with reduced down payments, no appraisal requirement, and no private mortgage insurance — a genuinely attractive combination that many Washington State buyers took advantage of.

When the program ended, I had helped many homebuyers use HomePath successfully. The good news is that the programs that replaced it are in many ways better and more broadly available — you no longer need to limit your home search to Fannie Mae-owned foreclosures to get similar benefits. [Read more…]