USDA Direct Loan 502 Employment Gap

[Anonymous]

That’s good. My denial last year took 8 days.
Government shut down??!! Lawd I hope not!

[Anonymous]

It's been over 3 months now and besides them calling when they first received the application saying it would be a month and a half wait I've heard nothing from them. Spoke to a guy on the phone from the Phoenix office 2 weeks ago who said that they just needed to figure what amount I'm eligible for and send out the COE. Will call again tomorrow. 

[Anonymous]

It took two weeks but I finally got a hold of the person running my application today. She says she thinks she might be able to run the numbers this week and get my COE out (providing I qualify). I was expecting a long haul when I applied but this whole thing passed silly status a month or so ago. There's a whole lot of rural here in AZ, maybe they are truly overwhelmed. 

[Anonymous]

That’s good news! Mine took forever also but I should be closing by the end of February! I am beyond excited and cannot wait. This last delay has been the builder not being able to provide the RD office the required paperwork to order the appraisal but hopefully all will be taken care of this week.

[Anonymous]

My COE was issued today, I'm approved for a whopping 250K at 3 percent which exceeded my expectations quite a bit. They want fresh copies of my last 2 paystubs and last 2 bank statements. So, patience wins out in the end. Several times I was frustated with the whole process and came close to calling and withdrawing the app, I'm glad I stuck with it. I suspect I'll spend less than half that.

So, to answer the original question in case anybody reads through this thread in the future you do not need 2 years work history to qualify for the USDA Direct 502 loan. One year worked fine for me.

[Anonymous]

You went with the new build huh? Probably the smart move, everything's warranteed and you have no worries. I've never lived in a new house, I like the idea of sweat equity but it would be nice to just sit back and enjoy for once. 

[Anonymous]

Congratulations! Yes the process is tedious but well worth the wait. I did go with a new construction because mainly that is all there is in the school district and area that I wanted to be in that qualify under the USDA areas. My appraisal was ordered yesterday so hopefully I can close by the end of February. My COE was for $167500 but I was able to pay off my credit cards and my loan will be for $181000. I can’t wait to finally be a homeowner!

[Anonymous]

Sheesh, it's always something. Put in an offer Friday and the sellers don't trust that the USDA isn't a scam. IT"S THE USDA! COME'ON!

[Anonymous]

The sellers did their due diligence and got a hold of someone at the USDA office (after leaving repeated messages and not being called back) and were told it will take 3 months to close and if funding runs out they'd be out of luck. Offer denied, and I don't blame them. Going to look at new construction now. 

[Anonymous]

Update: I finally closed on my new home with a USDA direct loan on April 3rd. I had to come to the closing table with $500. My realtor gave me a 2% rebate after closing. It was well worth the wait and struggle!