Dirt Decisions

Which land actually qualifies for a USDA single-close construction loan?

USDA backs a loan that buys the land and builds the house in one closing, with no down payment, for eligible buyers in rural areas. The catch is that the land itself has to qualify — and most doesn't. We check that part, free.

Sample result · real screening output

BREVARD : 20G3423-AI-5-3

Vacant land
off Harrison Rd

Brevard County · 9.93 acres · no street address assigned

6cleared 3to verify

Nothing found here disqualifies this land. Three answers cannot be settled from public records — they need a utility, a health department, and a title search. That is the normal ceiling: no parcel clears all nine from mapping alone.

Still to verify

3 of 9

Cleared

6 of 9
Screened Jul 31, 2026 · on a full parcel page every requirement cites 7 CFR Part 3555 and HB-1-3555 by section.

What the program is

The USDA single-close construction loan is one government-backed loan that covers buying the lot and building the house together: no down payment, one set of closing costs, and the mortgage payment starts when the house is finished. It's meant for working families in rural areas, and most people have never heard of it — only about 1,000 to 1,500 close in the entire country each year.

For it to work, the land has to qualify. It must sit in a USDA rural-eligible area, be zoned for a house, have legal road access, enough dry buildable ground, power nearby, room for a well and septic, and enough comparable sales that the finished home appraises for what it costs to build. Miss one and the loan doesn't close.

Buyer income matters too. USDA publishes household income limits by county — commonly around $112,450 for a 1–4 person household and $148,450 for 5–8, though you should confirm the current figure for your county on USDA's own site. That part is between you and a lender; we only check the land.

What we check, and why it matters

A mapped floodplain, a lot smaller than its zoning minimum, no legal road frontage, or soil that won't take a septic system — each one can stop a construction loan after real money has been spent on a survey, a soil test, or a lot deposit.

Type in an address and you get an answer on all nine, each one showing the authority it came from and the date it was pulled:

On a parcel page, every requirement cites 7 CFR Part 3555 and HB-1-3555 by section.

One parcel, checked in full — free. No charge and no account. Search any address in Levy, Citrus, or Brevard County above.
Records last checked 2026-07-31.

Lenders, builders and land agents

Searching one address is the demo. The working tool searches all 536,324 parcels at once and ranks the ones closest to qualifying — and placement in front of the buyers who arrive here is available at a flat monthly rate.

See how this works for your team →