Bills Introduced to Extend USDA ‘Zero Down’ Home Loans

Two members of the U.S. House of representatives have introduced bills to save the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program–one of the last ways to get into a house for no money down–which is expected to exhaust its fiscal-year funding in coming weeks. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R, WV) the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, late Tuesday introduced legislation that would increase the current 2% guarantee fee to between 3% and 4%. Separate legislation was recently introduced by Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D, Pa.), chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets. That version has the lender paying a 3.5% upfront fee...

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