We Have Landed -- Our Househunting has Begun! (Knoxville, Chattanooga: lease, mortgage broker)

[addsubtract]

I realized I could never figure out what area of East Tennessee in which to live or what house to buy without actually being here. Fortunately, our lease in Chicago had just ended. I put our belongings in storage, save a carful of toys, and relocated here to start our search. We (myself and my two children) literally just arrived Sunday.

I did get some listings for Athens. The town seems beautiful and like a wonderful place to raise children. I am wondering, though, if it would be a better fit for us to be closer to Knoxville, rather than trying to be midway between Chattanooga and Knoxville. I'm planning on homeschooling, and we did utilize our library very heavily in Chicago, so I'm thinking being close to Blount County's library in Maryville might be helpful. (Nonresidents can use the library for a small fee). The tricky part, though, is that our mortgage is through USDA. Maryville proper and other larger cities don't have qualifying properties.

Anyway, I'm excited to begin this new chapter of our life here, and appreciate all the wonderful, helpful suggestions and information people have posted.

Thank you!

[trinityjoy]

how did you get a morgage through usda there and how long did it take? was there a lot of hoops to jump? by the way check out the Seymore area very pretty and close to maryville and knoxville.

[ShastaBell]

do you have a certificate or something stating how much house you can buy? How long is it good for? What about the area? Are they just allowing you to just go anywhere as long as it is rural? What happens if you cannot find something in the price range that they give you? Lots of questions here.

[Grizzlybear34]

USDA has a site that you can plug an address into and see if it qualifies. I was talking with a mortgage officer with Regions Bank locally, and she said that there are no new USDA loans available until they get more funding. It sounds like you are already in line so to speak so good luck with your search. Hopefully, this program will be funded moving forward because it is an excellent way to be financed.

THDA is another way to get financed that is similiar. You all can talk with your local mortgage person to get details. I think income levels have to be under $55k for a single person, and the home can not be more than $200,500, and obviously a certain credit score. I am not sure those numbers are spot on accurate, but they are within shouting distance of the target.

[hiknapster]

I talked to one of my mortgage brokers, yesterday, and she said that they stopped the funds for about two weeks but they are up and running again. Apparently there is guaranteed and direct loans. One you get through a broker or bank and one you have to contact your local USDA office, which is part of the THDA.

I have a link to maps on the other thread.


These has a lot of useful info.

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/tn/TN-Pub...ogSum05-10.pdf

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDo...N%20Direct.pdf

Here is the link.

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/tn/Knox.pdf

[BRH]

There would be plenty of areas closer to Maryville and Knoxville that would qualify for the USDA loans if you decide you'd prefer to be near those. I think all of Loudon County does and it would be convenient to both Maryville and west Knoxville. I'd consider Lenoir City, Loudon, or maybe Greenback or Vonore if you want to be near Maryville.

The Lenoir City area would probably qualify for the loan and put you 10 minutes from west Knoxville and 20 min. from Maryville.

[addsubtract]

I've had extremely limited internet access until today, so my reply is belated.

Actually, USDA funding is just fine for one of their two programs: Direct Loans. USDA has two mortgage programs, Guaranteed and Direct. The references to limited funding here and elsewhere is regarding the Guaranteed program. I applied for, and received funding from, the Direct program which has NO funding issues at all.

I can go anywhere within Tennessee to fund my home. Tennessee, though, is divided into separate regions. I applied with one regional office and received a certificate enabling me to show I had pre-approval for a maximum dollar amount -- an amount that was more than adequate to buy a nice home, though not a luxurious home. I was told, and have experienced first-hand, that if you change your mind about the region in which you wish to buy, you simply get your file transferred to a new regional office that issues a new certificate valid for that region.

It's a phenomenal program -- similar to VA mortgages. I encourage everyone to look into the DIRECT USDA loan program.

[FLORIDA TO NIOTA 2010]

If you don't mind me asking what was their interest rate? And does it matter if it is a double wide? Thank you.

[addsubtract]

The interest rate can be subsidized down to 1 to 2 %. I believe it is available for new manufactured homes and some regulations apply specifically to manufactured homes.