Editorial standards
Our purpose is to help a visitor use the correct USDA resource and understand the next question—not to replace USDA, a participating lender, or individualized professional review.
Primary sources
Consequential USDA program statements should link to a current primary source, normally USDA Rural Development, the official Income and Property Eligibility Site, a current USDA handbook, regulation, form, or fact sheet. A source link is placed near the claim when practical.
Map and tool results
A property-map or self-assessment result must be described as preliminary and dated when recorded. It must not be presented as an official household determination, lender approval, or guarantee that a transaction will qualify.
Our income comparison uses U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Communications Commission geographic services to identify a likely county and state from a ZIP, then compares two visitor-controlled household variables with a dated USDA FY 2026 Guaranteed-program baseline. The baseline is sourced from USDA’s published table and moves with the 1–4 or 5–8 person household group. For household sizes above eight, the comparison follows USDA’s instruction to add 8% of the four-person limit for each additional person. The result is not represented as the visitor’s county or metro-area limit. ZIP boundaries can cross counties, and the tool does not reproduce USDA’s adjusted-income or property-eligibility calculation.
Dates and changes
Pages with program guidance should show when their sources were checked. A new date should reflect a real source review or material edit, not an automated freshness change.
Human accountability
Automation may assist research organization, drafting, consistency checks, or technical implementation. A person must review consequential mortgage guidance before publication. We identify a named professional reviewer only when that person has actually reviewed the material and their role or credentials can be verified.
Boundaries
Content must distinguish location, household-income, Direct-versus-Guaranteed, property, occupancy, and lender decisions. It must not imply government affiliation, lender status, approval, guaranteed eligibility, a guaranteed rate, zero total costs, or a guaranteed outcome.
Corrections
When a material error or outdated rule is confirmed, the page should be corrected promptly and its reviewed date updated. Correction requests may be sent to contact@timpsonapps.com with the subject “Correction Request.”
Official verification
Use USDA Rural Development’s current Single Family Housing and eligibility resources.
Last updated: July 24, 2026