Get Paid to Buy a House !

Yes, you read that correctly! You can get PAID to buy your home!! WHATTT?! 😳😳😳

I actually got paid to buy my first home! I received a check at closing, thanks to the USDA Rural Development Loan. This is a ZERO DOWN mortgage loan! No-Money-Down!

When I originally applied for a mortgage, I didn’t have my credit score up to par, but I was also new to the home-buying process. I wasn’t aware of a true loan that required no down payment. My Loan Officer told me about the USDA program, and informed me that it is possible to get a home with minimal funds upfront. There were also not as many requirements for the USDA loan as there were for the FHA or Conventional loans. So, I chose USDA. The picture below gives a bit of information on this type of mortgage.

In order to qualify for the loan, the home must be outside of the city limits. In some states, however, entire cities may be considered Rural. Aside from the location of the home, it is best to have a credit score of 640 or above. This will make the approval process much easier. Be sure to have paystubs, W-2’s, tax returns, and any other financial documentation that applies to you (child support, secondary incomes, 401k).

There are also income requirements that vary by state. It is important to be sure that you are not above the salary cap, because you will not qualify for the loan if your salary is too high. The USDA website lists the salary information by state. On a positive note, the salary cap is set fairly high, so a salary of $70k may be approved for a family of 3.

Also, with the USDA loan, they have an e-mail set up for status updates on loans. This helped me soooo much! If you are aware of the date that your loan is submitted to them (a good loan officer will tell you this), you can send an email and an automatic response will be sent that lists the date of the loan applications that are being reviewed. I probably sent 500 emails during the time that I was waiting to close on my house! I closed on my home exactly 30 days from my initial approval!!

Now to the good part! How did I get paid?!

One of the conditions that was negotiated on my contract was that the seller would pay all closing costs. In addition, the loan was zero down, so any extra money was given to me at closing. I walked of with my house keys and an $800 check!

Give the USDA Loan a try!! It just may work for you!