The USDA Home Loan has several benefits that attract home buyers to the loan product. One of the greatest benefits is the credit standards set forth by the loan product. While there is no minimum credit score in place by USDA most lenders require scores of at least 620. USDA recently put trade line requirements in place. Borrowers are required to have at least 3 trade lines (they do not need to be currently open) that have a 12 month payment history. If a would be borrwer does not have these trade lines they can use whats called non traditional trade lines. These are things that are typically paid monthly by the but do not report to their credit report. Some examples are water bills, electric bills, and even cell phone bills. The lender must be able to obtain a 12 month payment history on the non traditional credit. The USDA Rural Development Loan also allows borrowers to obtain a loan after only being out of bankruptcy for 2 years and foreclosure 3 years.