Washington State Mortgages, Made Clear. Buying or Refinancing? Let's find the right loan together.
USDA has increased the upfront funding fee (aka “upfront guarantee fee”) by an additional 0.75 percent as of October 1, 2015. From USDA:
On October 1, 2015 the upfront guarantee fee for purchase and refinance loans will increase from 2 percent to 2.75 percent. The annual fee will remain at 0.50 percent for purchase and refinance loans. This change is necessary to maintain the program’s operational cost structure, which requires no congressional subsidy support to offset credit costs.
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:
USDA, which offers zero down loans for homes located in designated rural areas, was effectively shuttered during the government shutdown. Once the shutdown was over, USDA had a delay in getting their cogs moving at full speed. We’ve received word that USDA is back to “normal”.
There’s just 10 days remaining before the boundaries determining eligible properties for USDA financing are set to change unless Congress takes action. I shared with you USDA had posted the “future” boundaries on their website back in April.
