USDA loans let qualifying buyers in El Paso, Teller, Pueblo and Fremont County buy a home with absolutely nothing down — and no second loan following you around for years.
Most down payment assistance programs loan you the money — they just hide it in a second lien. USDA is a true 0% down loan. Here's what that actually means for you.
Click your county to see exactly which towns and communities qualify for USDA financing.
The Colorado Springs metro core — including Monument, Palmer Lake, and Fountain — is not USDA-eligible. But the eastern plains and western foothills corridors are, including fast-growing Falcon and Peyton. If you're open to these areas you can buy with zero down and no second lien.
Teller County is essentially 100% USDA-eligible. The entire county sits west of the Colorado Springs MSA and qualifies as rural for USDA purposes. If you love the mountain lifestyle — Woodland Park, Divide, Florissant — you can buy here with zero down. Home prices are more affordable than Denver or Colorado Springs proper, and the lifestyle is second to none.
Pueblo city has some ineligible areas, but the vast majority of Pueblo County — including surrounding communities, the western foothills, and Pueblo West — qualifies for USDA financing. Pueblo County has some of the most affordable home prices in the entire state, making the USDA 0% down an extraordinary opportunity here.
Fremont County has absolutely no USDA geographic restrictions — the entire county qualifies. This means Canon City (pop. 16,400) and Florence are fully eligible. With a median household income of around $50,000 and highly affordable home prices, Fremont County is one of the single best opportunities in Colorado to use USDA financing. Every eligible address in the county qualifies.
No fluff. Here's exactly what a USDA loan looks like.
100% financing — you don't bring a single dollar to the down payment. The 1% upfront guarantee fee gets rolled into the loan, so your out-of-pocket at closing is just closing costs (which can also be covered by seller concessions).
0% Down RequiredUSDA's annual fee is just 0.35% of the loan balance. Compare that to FHA at 0.55–0.85%. On a $300,000 loan, that's roughly $87.50/month vs. $165–$212/month for FHA. That difference adds up fast.
0.35% Annual FeeUnlike forgivable DPA programs where you're stuck for 3–5 years, USDA has no forgiveness clock and no second lien. When rates come down, you refinance. Simple. No subordination requests, no repayment penalties.
Refinance After 7 Payments640+ credit score gets you streamlined automated approval. Borrowers with lower scores may still qualify through manual underwriting. This isn't as rigid as many buyers think.
640+ PreferredUp to 115% of area median income qualifies. For most of our four-county area, that's $130,250 for a 1–4 person household and $171,950 for 5–8 person households. Many working families in these areas qualify.
Up to $130,250 / $171,950Single-family primary residence. No vacation homes or investment properties. The home must be in decent condition — no major deferred maintenance. No in-ground pools or income-generating structures. Standard rural residential.
Primary Residence OnlyUSDA income limits are set at 115% of area median income. Here's the breakdown for your counties.
Note: USDA counts total household income — including all earners in the home, not just borrowers. These are 2025 figures and subject to USDA annual updates. Limits may be higher in some specific zip codes. Verify with your loan officer.
There is no shortcut to real answers. Complete the survey and Emma will reach out by text — or grab a time directly below. Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage. We will never sell it.
Emma will reach out by text shortly — or schedule your consultation directly below. Either way, this is one step.
Free. No obligation. No pressure.
Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage. We will never sell it or share it.
Speak Straight Mortgage LLC · NMLS# 2426226 · Matthew Wentz NMLS# 1852397
Answer a few quick questions about your income, household size, and which county you're looking in. No credit pull, no commitment. Emma will reach out by text — or you can schedule directly. We never call unless you ask.
This is what sets Speak Straight apart. Before you do anything, you sit down (virtually) with our USDA loan specialists — and we bring in our network of realtors and contacts who have direct experience originating and closing USDA loans in these four counties. You get real answers, real numbers, and a real plan. No sales pitch, no pressure.
We pull income, credit, and household info. USDA has specific income limits and a 640+ credit preference, but many buyers are surprised to find they qualify. We'll tell you straight — no runaround.
Shop in eligible areas with a fully pre-qualified USDA letter. Sellers take this seriously — a USDA pre-approval from Speak Straight carries weight because we close what we commit to. Our connected realtors know USDA-eligible inventory across all four counties.
The 1% guarantee fee rolls into your loan. Closing costs can be covered by seller concessions. With an experienced USDA originator, the USDA Rural Development review is an additional step — not a slow one. We close USDA loans in 21 days. Many buyers close having paid almost nothing out of pocket.
Takes 60 seconds. No credit pull. Emma will reach out by text — or schedule below.
Payment comparisons, buying power, income limits, real drawbacks. Everything you need to make the decision.
The honest numbers on why USDA beats DPA programs — and the real drawbacks you need to know before you buy.
At any given monthly budget, USDA financing buys you significantly more home than FHA + DPA — because a lower rate and lower MIP mean more of your payment goes toward principal, not insurance and interest.
Comparing a standard USDA loan at 5.5% vs a typical FHA loan paired with a DPA silent second at 6.375%. Same purchase price, same buyer — very different monthly payment.
USDA does not publish official front-end DTI thresholds — but based on our experience originating USDA loans through GUS, files consistently hit resistance at 34% front-end (PITI/gross income — before tax). The table below shows what that means in practice at your income level, at 5.5% with rural property tax (0.5%) and standard insurance. The $7k–$130k income range is the sweet spot where USDA buying power is strongest. Note: the heavily wooded area insurance impact decreases as purchase price rises — $350/mo flat matters more at $200k than at $500k.
| Monthly Income gross, before tax |
Annual Income gross, before tax |
~34% PITI Threshold | Max Purchase Price* | Teller Co. Max Price† | Buying Power Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4,000 / mo | $48,000 | $1,360 | $195,000 | $157,000 | −$38k wooded |
| $5,000 / mo | $60,000 | $1,700 | $243,000 | $210,000 | −$33k wooded |
| $6,000 / mo | $72,000 | $2,040 | $292,000 | $262,000 | −$30k wooded |
| $7,000 / mo | $84,000 | $2,380 | $341,000 | $315,000 | −$26k wooded |
| $7,500 / mo | $90,000 | $2,550 | $365,000 | $341,000 | −$24k wooded |
| $8,000 / mo | $96,000 | $2,720 | $389,000 | $368,000 | −$21k wooded |
| $8,500 / mo | $102,000 | $2,890 | $414,000 | $394,000 | −$20k wooded |
| $9,000 / mo | $108,000 | $3,060 | $438,000 | $421,000 | −$17k wooded |
| $9,500 / mo | $114,000 | $3,230 | $462,000 | $447,000 | −$15k wooded |
| $10,000 / mo | $120,000 | $3,400 | $487,000 | $473,000 | −$14k wooded |
| $10,500 / mo | $126,000 | $3,570 | $511,000 | $500,000 | −$11k wooded |
| $10,854 / mo | $130,248 ← Income limit | $3,690 | $528,000 | $518,000 | Max eligible HH |
Any high-risk wooded property in Colorado can present a serious insurance problem. In USDA-eligible areas — Teller County, the wooded corridors of El Paso County (Cascade, Chipita Park, parts of Falcon), and forested areas of Fremont and Pueblo counties — properties in high wildfire risk zones face two compounding issues: (1) standard carriers increasingly refuse to write policies on high-risk wooded parcels, and (2) when they do write, surplus-line and FAIR Plan premiums can run $250–$450+ per month — two to three times a standard rural policy. A property that is uninsurable through standard markets cannot close. A property with a $400/mo insurance bill can blow the DTI before you even get to purchase price.
High-risk wooded does not mean unbuyable — it means you must shop insurance before submitting an offer, not after. Get a quote on the specific address. Properties with recent defensible space clearing, metal roofs, or open-area buffers are more insurable and attract better rates. Your insurance agent needs to assess wildfire risk scores at the parcel level, not just the zip code.
No program is perfect. Here's the straight talk on where USDA shines and where it can trip you up.