Loan Programs

Nothing down, if the address qualifies.

Backed by the Department of Agriculture, and the only other program besides VA that routinely finances a house in full.

What Is a USDA Loan?

A no-down-payment loan decided by the address first.

A USDA loan is guaranteed by the Department of Agriculture for homes in eligible rural and suburban areas. Where it applies it finances the whole purchase, with a guarantee fee charged in place of mortgage insurance.

A white farmhouse with a wraparound porch at the end of a gravel lane, open fields and a red barn behind it

Why Buyers Choose USDA Financing

Four reasons an eligible address is worth more than a bigger down payment.

Nothing down, if the map says yes. USDA finances the full purchase price for an eligible address, which puts the question on where you are buying rather than on how much you have managed to save.
More of Utah qualifies than buyers expect. The boundaries take in towns along the Wasatch Front that nobody would describe as farmland, which is why this is the program worth checking rather than assuming.
Keep your savings where they are. A buyer who does not empty their cushion at closing still has it for the furnace, the roof and the first year of owning — the year that tests a budget hardest.
A lighter ongoing cost than FHA. USDA charges guarantee fees rather than mortgage insurance, and the annual fee is set at a lower level than an FHA premium.

More Than a Loan Program

The one program worth checking before you rule it out.

The catch is not the borrower, it is the map. Eligibility is decided by the property address against USDA's own boundaries, so the same buyer qualifies on one street and not on the next — which makes this the one program worth checking rather than assuming.

Alliance checks before you rule it out. With more than 20 years of mortgage experience, Alliance pairs market knowledge with a dedicated loan officer who can look an address up in a minute and tell you what it changes.

Is a USDA Loan a Good Fit?

Four things USDA does that the programs beside it on this site do not.

Nothing down, without service history. A VA loan is the other program that finances a house in full, and it asks for service history — USDA asks about the address instead.
Cheaper to carry than FHA. The annual guarantee fee sits below FHA mortgage insurance, and across thirty years of payments that difference compounds into real money.
No 3% or 3.5% to find first. A conventional loan starts at 3% down and FHA at 3.5%; for an eligible address and household, USDA starts at nothing.
Closing costs can be covered too. A seller may contribute toward closing costs and, where the appraisal supports it, some can be financed into the loan — which is what makes nothing down actually mean nothing down.

A printed map of fields, lanes and a small settlement spread on a pale oak desk, a single red pin in it and reading glasses at its corner

Compare the Paths With Alliance

One conversation, one address checked, and every program you qualify for read together.

The address is the first thing we check. Your Alliance loan officer looks the property up against the USDA map, then reads the answer beside conventional, FHA and VA on cash at closing and what the loan costs to carry.

Income limits cut both ways. USDA is built for moderate household incomes, so a raise or a second earner can move a household out of the program — which is worth knowing before you plan a purchase around it.

Getting USDA-ready

Five things decide whether USDA is open to you, and the first is not about you at all.

A round kitchen table in a farmhouse kitchen with an open notepad of handwritten figures, a calculator, two mugs of coffee and two chairs drawn up

The property address. Eligibility runs on the address first, against USDA's own boundaries rather than any common-sense reading of the word rural. Have a loan officer check the map before you rule the program in or out.
Household income limits. There are income limits by county, and they count everyone living in the house rather than only the borrowers on the loan. A household above the limit is not eligible, however strong the rest of the file looks.
Primary residence only. USDA does not finance second homes or investment property, and the house has to be one you actually move into. It also has to meet the condition standards the program applies at appraisal.
Guarantee fees. USDA charges a fee up front, which can usually be financed into the loan rather than paid at closing, and a smaller one every year. They sit below FHA mortgage insurance, but they are not nothing.
Credit and debt-to-income. USDA publishes no hard credit floor, though most lenders work from around 640, and total debt-to-income is read the way any other underwrite reads it. Compensating factors still count.

USDA Loan FAQs

The questions buyers ask most before ruling the rural program in or out.

Does my address really have to be rural?

Rural is USDA's definition rather than the everyday one, and the eligible map takes in a great deal of suburban Utah — including towns along the Wasatch Front nobody would call farmland. It costs a loan officer a minute to look an address up.

Is a USDA loan really nothing down?

For an eligible property and an eligible household, yes — the program finances the full purchase price. Guarantee fees still apply, and the upfront one can usually be financed into the loan rather than paid at closing.

What are the household income limits?

They are set by county and by household size, and they count everyone living in the home rather than only the people on the loan. A loan officer can check yours against the county you are buying in.

Can I buy a rental or a second home with it?

No — USDA finances a primary residence only. If the plan is an investment property, conventional financing is the program that reaches it, and a loan officer can tell you what that changes.

How is USDA different from FHA?

USDA asks nothing down where FHA asks 3.5%, and its annual fee sits below FHA mortgage insurance. FHA has no map and no income ceiling, though, so which one wins depends entirely on the address and the household.