November 22, 2024 • 36 mins
Unlock the door to homeownership with Brendon Bland, our go-to VA loans expert, who returns to enlighten us on an often-overlooked benefit for veterans: the VA loan. Gain insights into the transformative potential of these loans, including a 0% down payment option that could be a life-changer for veterans and their families. Brendon helps us navigate the sometimes murky waters of VA loans, ensuring that veterans can maximize their benefits and explore programs tailored to their needs.
Bust through the myths and misconceptions surrounding VA loan appraisals and processes. Brendon demystifies fears around VA and FHA loans, revealing how these options are not just beneficial but protective for both veterans and taxpayers. He also introduces the innovative VA renovation product, a tool for veterans to modernize their homes without the burden of mortgage insurance, offering practical tips to smooth out the appraisal process from a seller's standpoint.
Strategically explore your home-buying options with VA loans, FHA, or conventional loans as Brendon walks us through making informed decisions. Consider the dynamic landscape of financial scenarios, and discover how house hunting parallels dating in finding your perfect match. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be ready to make informed choices, and we're here to support you every step of the way—just reach out, and don't forget to follow us for more invaluable insights. Share this episode with someone who could benefit, and let us know what you think through your ratings and reviews.
To connect with Brendon:
Brendon Bland
614-747-3530
bbland@neighborhoodloans.com
https://www.instagram.com/mortgagemademodern/
https://www.facebook.com/brendon.bland
Sarah Thress
614-893-5885
First Time Home Buyer course: https://sarahthress.graphy.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarah_thress_realtor/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SarahThressRealtor/
https://www.youtube.com/@LIFEINCOLUMBUS
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah (00:03):
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find
Out.
This week we are talking withBrendn Bland, which, if you have
listened in at all, you willknow that he is a reoccurring
guest and is always so amazingto come on here and share his
(00:23):
knowledge, and I literally canreach out and ask him about
anything and he's always willingto come on and talk about it.
So thank you so much, brendan,I really appreciate it.
Brendon (00:34):
I am always happy to be here.
I appreciate you having me.
Sarah (00:37):
Of course, of course.
So last time that we recorded,obviously you know, we just had
Veterans Day, and the last timethat we recorded we talked about
, you know, the other thing thathappened recently, which was
the election.
But in that episode, you know,for anyone that listened, you'll
know what we're talking about.
But if you didn't, no big deal.
(00:58):
We were talking about VA loans,so benefits that veterans get,
and Brendan shared a veryalarming statistic about the
lack of knowledge that some ofthe veterans have about their
benefits.
So I really just wanted to haveBrendon come back on talk about
(01:20):
the VA loan, because it is likeif you're able to get it, it is
the best loan to have.
You're going to have the bestterms, all of that.
So I wanted you to come on andjust kind of explain everything.
And then I also just learnedthat Neighborhood Loans which is
you know, obviously, who youwork with or work for has an
(01:43):
amazing program that is just forneighborhood loans clients.
So we'd love for you to kind oftalk about that and that way we
can make sure that everyonekind of knows what their
benefits are.
Brendon (01:55):
Yeah, absolutely Well, I appreciate you dedicating an
episode of this because you know, while I don't exclusively work
with veterans who are buyinghomes, it's probably my favorite
population of folks to workwith.
You know, my wife and I justwent to Washington DC about a
week or so ago and you know,working with this population has
(02:18):
been something I've beenpassionate about for a long time
.
But when you go to somewherelike DC and you realize just the
the enormity of the sacrificethat you know people, the men
and women who serve in ourmilitary, um, at any capacity,
over any amount of time, um,what they give up, it's, it's,
it's like it's amazing Um, andwe're all very fortunate to um,
(02:40):
you know kind of live under theprotection they provide.
So, um, you know, in the realestate world, um, you know kind
of live under the protectionthey provide.
So you know, in the real estateworld, you know we have the
opportunity to help that thosefolks when it comes time for
them to want to take the nextstep in their home ownership
journey.
I know Sarah is reallypassionate about working with
veteran clients as well andthere's a whole side of you know
(03:01):
kind of the home buying sidethat she can help with.
But on the loan of, you knowkind of the home buying side
that she can help with.
But on the loan side, you knowthere are specific benefits that
veterans have that can makehome ownership more accessible,
easier and ultimately justbetter terms in a lot of ways
than other types of loans.
Because you know, as a veteran,you've earned that.
(03:22):
So you know, kind of you knowthere's like I said, we could
talk about this for a long time,but you know, as a veteran,
you've earned that.
So you know, kind of you knowthere's, like I said, we could
talk about this for a long time,but you know, I think, just
taking a couple of minutes tofamiliarize ourselves with what
those options are and thoseopportunities are.
And if you're someone who'sserved our country or serving
our country in the military, inany of the branches, you know,
and you have questions aboutthis, we could always, you know,
(03:45):
connect offline.
But, yeah, I'll stay a coupleminutes here to chat about what
a VA loan looks like, what thebenefits are and kind of some of
the basic qualifications, andthen, yeah, I'll also kind of
talk about this other program.
I think it's a really goodoption for folks, whether they
currently own a home right nowor they're looking to buy their
next home but a VA loan.
So obviously, first andforemost need to be a veteran or
(04:13):
someone who's currently servingour country.
These loans are, once again,great for not just a veteran but
also the family.
So I think a lot of times somefolks will say, well, hey, does
my spouse have to be a veteranfor us to get the loan?
And the answer is no, if youare, you know, if you're married
to someone who is not a veteran, they can be on the loan with
you and help you qualify, kindof.
The only caveat there where itgets tricky is if you know I've
(04:36):
had some folks say, hey, youknow, we're engaged to get
married.
You know, can that work?
You do have to be married to beon a VA loan.
You have to be married to aveteran to be on a VA loan,
unless you are also a veteran.
But yeah, married spouses canhelp qualify, but that's, of
course, first and foremost.
There's a couple other thingsthat most veterans are going to
(05:00):
kind of meet the requirementsfor, and one-off situations we
can talk about those.
But yeah, if you're a veteran,you honorably served our country
, you very likely are going toqualify to use a VA loan.
The benefits of a VA loan?
There's quite a few, I think.
First and foremost, the thingthat people most commonly think
about is the low down payment.
You can do as little as 0% downon a VA loan and, realistically
(05:23):
speaking, there's no other loanproduct out there that allows
you to do that.
There's a couple onesy-twosyones out there, but for all
intents and purposes, this isthe most accessible zero percent
down program that's out thereand it's available to veterans
exclusively in their families.
So that's a huge benefit andcan really allow you to take
(05:43):
steps into homeownership alittle bit sooner versus, like I
said, having to save thetraditional 3.5%, 3%, 5%, 10%,
20% down, whatever it is.
The other nice thing with thatis, let's say you're doing a
non-VA loan and you're puttingthe minimum down let's say a 3%
you're going to have somethingcalled mortgage insurance and VA
loans don't have mortgageinsurance, no matter what.
(06:05):
So you know, if you're puttingdown um 0%, you're not going to
have an additional 50, a hundred, a hundred, $1,200 worth of uh
kind of built into your monthlypayment.
It just doesn't exist.
The monthly, you know, mi doesnot exist.
So that's another huge benefitfor VA loans.
Um, I think really you know whenwe when I think really as a
lender, when I'm looking atdifferent rate options for
(06:27):
people comparing VA to FHA, toconventional loans VA loans,
consistently, are just better atany given time.
So you're going to save moremoney, both from not having the
mortgage insurance and havingbetter rate offerings, dollar
for dollar, just a better,better loan, and so there's a
lot of cost savings that you cansee early on and over time,
(06:49):
which I think is really, reallygreat.
You don't have to do the 0%down too.
I've had some folks ask me thatdo I have to do 0% down on a VA
loan?
Most definitely not.
If you've saved money and youwanna put 20% down or 10% down,
you can.
You.
Just you have the ability to dothat.
I think one of the other reallynice things you know, just for
me, that's unique about VA loansis, from a qualification
standpoint, there's a little bitmore flexibility with what we
(07:15):
call debt versus income ratios.
At your scenario and trying tohelp you figure out what monthly
payment you're going to qualifyfor and ultimately what
purchase price you're going toqualify for, one of the things
that we're tasked to do isfigure out, okay, how much debt
do you currently have, how muchincome do you have, and then
(07:35):
that's a ratio and there's a maxnumber that you can hit.
With VA loans they use adifferent calculation.
It's called residual income.
I won't really get into that onthis call, just in terms of how
that works.
But the nice thing about it isit's a lot more flexible than
that debt-to-income ratio and soreally it allows us to work
(07:56):
with our veteran clients tofigure out okay, hey, here's the
monthly payment that you'recomfortable with, and maybe in a
traditional conventional loanthat monthly payment doesn't
work, but in a VA loan it mightwork, and so there's some
flexibility there.
This especially, I think, isbeneficial, for, you know, we
have some clients who go off andstart their own business right
(08:19):
and just with how they filetheir taxes or maybe they're
early on in their you knowownership, on in their ownership
journey.
Sometimes, when you're lookingat other types of loans, like
how we calculate that income,can be a little bit challenging.
But once again, with a VA loan,because there's that
flexibility, that can open upsome opportunities a little bit
earlier.
So I think that's anotherreally big benefit, especially
if you own a business and you'retrying to qualify.
(08:42):
So I think that's anotherreally really nice thing.
But by and large, va loans justlike I said, when we just look
at all those different factors,it's just a really really good
loan.
There's all those benefits and,yeah, I think if you're someone
who's served our country, youshould look into leveraging that
(09:04):
, this type of financing to helpyou take take next steps, and
that's kind of like the baselineof of a VA loan.
Any anything else.
You want to be a cover on that,sarah, before I kind of
transition into the kind of thenext component of what you know
what neighborhood loans is tooffer.
Sarah (09:22):
No, not other than you know.
I know we kind of touched onthis, you know, in our last few
podcasts that we've donetogether.
But you know I have clientsthat will come to me.
That you know.
Of course everyone wants toknow is now the right time to
buy?
And you know, especially ifyou're a VA, you know and you
(09:43):
have that VA benefit, right nowis honestly the best time to buy
because right now sellers thatare sellers that have listed are
motivated.
They, you know, if you'relisting your house near a
holiday, so in the fourthquarter or even the first
quarter, you know, right afterthe first of the year,
(10:05):
especially in Ohio, if you'redoing that, no one goes wow, I
really want to move in thewinter.
I hope it snows too, becausethat's going to be awesome, you
know, because I mean it's like30 degrees right now, I would
hate moving right now.
But if someone is listing theirhouse right now, they are
serious.
But that also means that rightnow we have less buyers in the
(10:29):
market than we will in, say,like a springtime.
So right now you actually couldask the seller to pay your
closing costs and so then you'vegot your VA benefit that's
covering your down payment andyou've got the sellers covering
the closing costs.
Ultimately, you could come tothe table to sign and get a
(10:50):
brand new house with putting $0down 100%.
Brendon (10:54):
Yeah, 100%, that's exactly correct.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause, yeah, I think you know,
once again, you know a lot ofpeople, I think, hold off
because of various degrees offears, concerns around monthly
payment or around upfrontinvestment.
And certainly we want to makesure that when you walk into the
(11:15):
door of this new home, thatyou're really comfortable with
everything.
You know, even if you have themoney for closing costs and down
payment, you know, you knowwe'll look at, I'll look at
scenarios with people wherewe're like, okay, hey, brendan,
(11:36):
we have enough money for downpayment, for closing costs, but
you know, once we pay thosethings, we're going to be kind
of, you know, tapped out.
You know, so for the first fewmonths we live in the house,
we're not going to have a lot ofmoney saved, and so what we'll
look at is well, hey, what if wedo the 0% down?
What if we have the seller'scover, the closing costs?
Instead of negotiating for alower price, you keep that
$10,000, $15,000 in the bank.
One, you're going to feel justmore comfortable in your home
(11:56):
and two, maybe some of thethings that you were thinking
about doing like, hey, great, wehave this new house, we have
this new house, we have thisextra bedroom, but we don't have
any money to put anything in it.
Well, now you do right.
So I think there's a lot ofthings to think about and right
now, with the market we'recurrently in, where sellers are
more motivated, you can reallyleverage the power of the VA
(12:17):
loan, your power as a buyer, ina market where sellers are more
motivated.
Sarah (12:23):
So I think it's a great point in a market where sellers
are more motivated.
So I think it's a great point.
Yeah, the other thing I wantedto ask you about, though, so I
know again that we've touched onthis before, but, like back in
2020 and 2021, a lot of peoplethere was a lot of chatter about
agents not wanting to take VAloans.
(12:43):
All they wanted wasconventional, they wanted no FHA
, they wanted no VA, and to methat was dumb, because you know,
like we've already said, the VAloan is the best loan, but when
it comes to appraisals, youknow, a lot of times people will
hear that the appraisal is alittle bit more strict when it
(13:06):
comes to an FHA loan versus aconventional.
How does the VA appraisal looklike?
Is it as strict as an FHA wherethere can't be any peeling
paint, there has to be handrailsin certain points?
You know no rotten wood, youknow all of those things that if
(13:28):
it was going through aconventional appraisal,
obviously they want you to havea functioning house, but if
they're peeling paint, it's nota big deal.
So just wondered if you couldkind of touch on.
You know, obviously appraisalis not what you do day in and
day out.
You at least see the lendingside.
What kind of comes up?
Brendon (13:48):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's important to look at this
with the context of like okay,how, how often are there actual
appraisal issues in reality?
And when it comes to the thingsyou're talking about, and I
think the answer is very few,very few times.
So I think, regardless if it'sa conventional loan, a VA loan,
(14:09):
an FHA loan, a lot of thosefears are overblown regardless.
But I certainly understandwhere they come from.
From a seller's perspective,Listen, the VA wants to protect
their veterans and it wants toprotect their investment, which,
by the way, is a good thing,because let's think about this
(14:31):
for a second the VA and the FHAare federally backed programs,
which means, as taxpayers, we'rehelping to support.
And if the government's goingto invest in real estate, we
want to make sure that they'remaking sound investments and
obviously we want them toprotect our veterans right.
So that's all good stuff.
So I don't think, in reality,the VA having requirements to
(14:55):
make sure that the appraisers,you know the home's in good
shape is a bad thing.
I think it's a good thing foreverybody.
I think it's a good thing forour veterans, I think it's a
good thing for, you know, theinvestment the taxpayers are
making.
All that to say, I alsorecognize that, you know.
You know, as people we tend tobe like that's great, but here
we are in my I'm in my bubbleand I don't care about everybody
else, Right about everybodyelse, right.
(15:20):
So I get that side of it too Toanswer your question.
I mean, yeah, it's going to besimilar to the FHA profile, but
once again, I don't really seethat many issues regardless.
Listen, if you're a sellerlistening to this and you're
concerned about someone comingwith an FHA or VA loan, I would
ask myself a few questions Is myhouse unsafe to live in If the
answer is yes then one maybe youshouldn't be living there.
(15:42):
And then two yeah, there'sprobably going to be some
problems when you go to try andsell it and someone wants to get
a loan.
Then if the answer to that isno, it's not unsafe, it's like
okay, now there's some commonsense things that we need to
have.
Right, Okay, we have a flightof stairs.
(16:03):
There's no handrail here.
You probably need a handrail,right?
Okay, that's not going to bethat expensive and it's
something you need to have.
Right?
Okay, do we have broken glassin the house?
Once again, I would assume,sarah, you could tell me, as a
listing agent, you wouldprobably recommend someone fix
broken glass before they try andsell their house, right?
Regardless, because it's goingto help them get more top dollar
for that home.
Right?
Similarly, for you know, reallybad shipping and peeling paint.
(16:23):
That's the same thing.
Right?
Once again, we want to get topdollar for this house,
especially in a market wherebuyers have more leverage.
So all that to say is likethese are things that most of
the time, most sellers areaddressing anyway.
So it's just not really thatcommon of an issue, but
certainly I think it issomething to think about, you
know, and but I really justdon't see it being as a big of a
(16:45):
deal or a challenge as peopleperceived during COVID.
You know, I don't know if thatanswers your question, but
that's my opinions on it.
Sarah (16:55):
Yeah, no, it does, and I agree, I don't think it's that
big of a deal at all.
In fact, I love whenever youknow, like even during COVID,
you know, during 2020, 2021, allof those years where it was so
crazy I still would, you know,submit offers for FHA or VA or
whatever, and I still was ableto get people at them.
(17:17):
Because you know, once youexplain to the listing agent,
like hey, calm your body, likethere's anything in this house
that's even going to remotelyred flag this, so we'll be fine,
you know, and I tend to likekind of flip it back on them too
, like, well, is there somethingthat you're concerned about
that's not going to pass anappraisal?
(17:39):
Because, from what I see,everything you know should be
fine.
Brendon (17:43):
So, yeah, I think there's also a misconception
that that maybe VA loans take along time to get done.
We can do them the same amountof time we do conventional loans
, Certainly depending on thelender.
You know, if they're unfamiliarwith a VA loan they don't have
a good relationship with.
You know the VA regionalservicing center.
Then like, yeah, that's goingto be potentially a hurdle, but
(18:04):
any reputable lender who's doneVA business at any regularity,
they should be able to get VAloans done, If not as quick,
just about as quick asconventional loans.
So I think that's the otherthing too.
They're not that complicated.
Complicated for and really forthe seller it's nothing
additional at all.
So, yeah, yeah, Now to kind of,I guess that is available
(18:41):
within the VA that can maybeaddress some of those concerns
is a renovation product.
So the VA and neighborhoodloans.
We have a renovation productthat allows folks who are
looking to buy a home and wantto do some modernization of that
home through the purchaseprocess they can actually do
that utilizing a VA loan, Stilldoing the 0% down, still no
mortgage insurance, still withbetter rates than what they
(19:02):
would get on a conventionalrenovation loan, and so it's a
really, really nice way.
If you're looking at a home andyou're thinking, hey, this home
would be great if we could justdo a couple things to it, you
can leverage this VA renovationproduct to do that, and you know
, high level.
What that looks like is there'skind of two sides of it.
Some of the renovation projectsyou can do.
(19:22):
You can do structuralrenovation projects which are
like hey, we got to do somethings to make this house more
structurally sound and you knowto do what we need to do there.
And then you can also domodernization, right.
So like, hey, we really want torip the carpets out, we want to
paint the walls, we want to putin new appliances, that kind of
stuff, right, to make the homebring it to 2024.
(19:44):
You know there's a lot.
There was a big housing boomhere in Columbus, Ohio, in the
70s, right, and you know, ifsomeone lived in that house in
the 70s and hasn't sold it, youwant to bring it into 2024.
Well, you can use this VArenovation product to do that,
and so it's a really nice way tofind like, hey, this home,
maybe we're going to get alittle bit better of a deal on
(20:05):
it, right, Because hey, it's not2024, moving ready.
That's okay.
We can do some things to it.
We can use the loan, Because alot of times people ask me hey,
Brendan, can I take out a littlebit more money to do, you know
to, to do some work on the house?
And the answer is generally no.
But when you use a renovationproducts, and especially this VA
(20:25):
product, the answer is yes, youcan do that.
That's kind of the way it's theway that it's built and the why
that it's built that way.
Sarah (20:31):
So it's a really great product to do that.
Brendon (20:33):
You can also do it if you're a veteran and you own
your home and you want to dosome projects as well and you
have equity in the home.
You can also use this to dothat, and so you can do a
refinance with a VA loan tobasically do some of this
renovation work.
So it's both ways Great option,and it can help you identify
(20:56):
maybe some homes that you'regoing to be able to get a little
bit better of a deal on bydoing some of the work yourself
Well, not yourself, but byfinancing some of that work and
having it done, instead ofbuying maybe that move-in ready
home that's going to be 15% to20% to 30% more expensive.
So, great, great option as well, yeah, yeah, and I think that's
(21:19):
probably what.
I'm going to talk about yeah.
Sarah (21:21):
Yeah, no, I love that and in fact, um, you brought up a
really good point.
Uh, I will have people thatwill ask me all the time like,
can't I, you know, just take outmore money on my loan, and then
I can, you know, get the newflooring, or I can, you know,
renovate the kitchen or renovatethe bathrooms or whatever?
And, um, you know, again, I'm,I'm not a lender, you are, um,
(21:46):
so I will tend to just tell themlike, I don't think that's an
option, but please feel free totalk to your lender about that.
You know, that's not really howthis works, but it's great to
know that.
You know.
And and I do know that thereare renovation loans, so it's
great to know that there is onethat VA specific.
But you brought up a reallygreat point.
A lot of times, people want themoney to buy the materials, but
(22:09):
they're going to do the work,you know, themselves instead of
hiring someone.
And I'd love for you to justkind of address that, because
it's my understanding that ifyou're taking out a renovation
loan, you know, like not just ahome equity line of credit, but
a renovation loan, you have touse contractors that are
(22:31):
licensed, bonded.
You know all of that and youknow, and to my understanding,
it's because that you know thebank wants to make sure that
they're protecting their asset,because until you made your
final, the bank, yeah, actuallywants you.
You know, they actually own it.
So I'd love for you to kind oftouch on that.
I just want to make sure that Iwas correct in what I've been
(22:53):
telling people.
Brendon (22:54):
That's yeah, that's 100% correct.
So, yeah, I mean, let's, let'skind of just step out once again
, remind ourselves, you know,once again, this is really any
any loan, but it's definitely aVA loan.
Once again is is is guaranteedby the government.
The government wants to makesure that the investment they're
making is a sound investment.
(23:15):
And listen, I get it.
You know, I know a lot of usfeel like we're super handy
people and you know like, hey, Ican change a mean light bulb.
I could probably put inbacksplash you know what I mean.
I can probably, you know, putin this flooring.
But yeah, this is not that typeof program.
So the way that this programworks is that you know we're
(23:38):
getting a, you know aprofessional who does this full
time to come in and complete thework.
And so you know you know, andyou know, once again, the bank
knows and the VA knows that, hey, the work that's being done is
being done properly, safely, andultimately it's going to be
done the right way.
So, yeah, the way that it worksis, you know, when you've
(24:02):
identified a potentialopportunity or a home, what
you're going to do is you'regoing to get a contractor and
you know you can have someonethat you know who does a great
job, as long as, once again, asyou mentioned, they're licensed
and bonded.
They do have to get approvedwith a lender if it's not
someone the lenders work withalready, but that's a process
that can be done.
(24:22):
But basically, what happens isthey go out, they work with you
to basically say, like, hey,here's the work that we want to
do.
They go out, they make a bidand then that bid gets submitted
to your lender, who?
Then what happens is you gointo contract on that home.
Let's say the home is $200,000and you want to do $50,000 worth
(24:43):
of work.
So what ends up happening is wesubmit that contract and that
bid to the appraiser.
The appraiser comes out to thehome and says, yeah, based on
all the work that you want to dohere, the value of this home,
would you know, match the workthat's being done right, so
you're.
So you're not.
You're buying a $200,000 homeright now, but now it's going to
be a $250,000 home when allthis work is done right.
(25:05):
So that's kind of how thatprocess works.
In the beginning, um, you closethe loan, um, and then at that
point, that's when the that'sreally when the work begins, um,
then the contractor gets paidby the lender over time as
work's being completed once youclose on that loan.
But yeah, it is a professionaldoing professional work in the
(25:26):
home.
This is not a loan where we'retaking money and we're going to
Lowe's and doing that ourself.
Now, there is a way you coulddo that.
I mean, if you own the homealready and you want to do a VA
cash out refinance, that'ssomething you could certainly do
and, you know, take those fundsand say, hey, you know what?
I've watched a lot of YouTubevideos, I feel really good about
(25:48):
installing this shower.
Then you could do it that way.
But if we're going through therenovation process, which makes
sense for a lot of reasons, thenyeah, it is a professional
doing the work, there's a bidinvolved and that's how that
goes.
I think the other thing youknow, not to great program,
great product for the rightsituation I will put a little
(26:08):
bit of a caveat on this is thatthis does have to fit the right
scenario, and what I mean bythat is, even though right now
in the wintertime we or headinginto the wintertime there is a
little bit less, you know,activity from the buyer side,
right, so we have leveragedbuyers, we still have to have a
seller who's kind of, who'swilling, to go through this
(26:29):
process, because this does takea little bit of time Because,
remember, you know, we have toget a bid, go into contract, we
have to get that bid approved.
The appraiser has to come outand say this is good.
And so usually I would say thata normal loan process takes
anywhere from three weeks to amonth, and this is anywhere
going to be from 45 to 60 days,potentially for all that work
(26:53):
that needs to get done.
And so we have to have a sellerwho is willing to kind of go
through that process.
There's plenty of scenarioswhere that's the case, but
that's where we kind of have toidentify if that is the kind of
home that we want to buy, we gotto find opportunities that
match that.
If we're trying to do this witha home that just hit the market
and has 10 offers, I don't thinkwe're going to win that offer.
(27:16):
But you know that's just beinghonest.
But once again, if we're like,hey, this is the route we want
to go, then we need to identifyand that's what Sarah can help
you do is identify opportunitieswhere it's like, hey, these
sellers, you know they'relooking for an offer, right, and
they'll be willing to kind ofgo through this process.
It's not a hard process.
It's just, you know, it cantake a little bit.
Sarah (27:40):
Yeah, no, and I think that's so good to know too,
because you know, especiallylike right now, like we've said,
it's less competitive, not inevery situation.
You know some areas still areseeing multiple offers and you
know things time right nowhistorically is a slower time
and it is much easier for us todo that.
(28:10):
So, going into spring, I guessI would love people to just kind
of keep in mind that if you'rewanting to take advantage of
this VA product, I wouldrecommend doing it before spring
, because in the spring marketit is going to be a little bit
more difficult.
It's not impossible.
I always tell people whatever'smeant to be is going to be
(28:33):
yours.
So if the house was meant foryou, it's always going to work
out for you.
Whether we're buying now or inthe spring or whatever, it
really doesn't matter.
But to set yourself up for thebest possible outcome when going
into this, you know justdefinitely kind of keep that in
mind that you know the lesscompetitive times of the year
(28:53):
are going to be much easier.
To try and use a renovationstyle loan that is going to take
longer, because most of thetime people are like, hey, let's
do a quick close.
If you can do three awesome.
So A hundred percent Right.
And you know, and let's do aquick close If you can do three
awesome, so 100 percent Right.
Brendon (29:06):
And there are situations, I think too, where
you know you know folks are like, hey, if we find the right
house, that doesn't need anywork.
Great, you know, we'd like toknow how the renovation product
works in case we find anopportunity to do that Right and
so you can kind of go into it,I think, with both ideas in mind
.
Um, it's just, you know, onceagain it's like one of those
(29:27):
scenarios where it's like, youknow, if you're, if you're dead
set on doing a renovationproject, um, and making a house
in the way you want to make it,um it's just, once again,
knowing that, hey, we got tofind those opportunities.
Um, not every opportunity, notevery, not every home is going
to match that.
So, yeah, it's greatopportunity.
Sarah (29:45):
I love that and I love that you mentioned, you know,
just kind of knowing youroptions, because I think that's
something too that a lot ofespecially first-time home
buyers whether it's VA or notjust any first-time home buyer
is always.
You know, I get feedback allthe time Like, oh, my gosh, like
I, you know, I don't want tobother my lender, I don't want
(30:06):
to ask them because I'm like, oh, have you called Brendan or
have you called your lender toask them to run those numbers?
So that you know, you know, areyou going to be comfortable in
that?
Because I know you and I aresuper passionate about making
sure that people are in amonthly payment that they feel
comfortable with, and you know.
So I always ask them.
(30:26):
You know, have you talked toyour lender?
You should, you should contactBrendan, you should ask him to
run the numbers and things likethat.
And so I love that you broughtthat up because you know I, they
always feel like they're goingto be bothering you and I'm like
you're not, like he wants tohelp you, just like I do, to
make sure that you'recomfortable in it.
So if you're trying to see, youknow, does it make sense for me
(30:47):
to use my VA benefit.
Or, for some strange reason,does it make sense for me to not
even use my VA benefit becauseI'm going to get a better deal
FHA or conventional or whatever,or maybe it's a rehab loan or
maybe whatever.
All of those things you know.
Obviously correct me if I'mwrong, but all of those things
are things that are scenariosthat you can run and you can
(31:08):
give, you know, exact numbersbased off of like, if they're
like hey, we saw this house andthis is what we'd want to do,
you could tell them well, if youdid this, this is how much
money you'd need to bring to thetable If you did this, you know
.
Or like this would be a longertimeline, a longer process, you
know.
But at least then they'remaking an educated decision with
all the facts.
Brendon (31:29):
Yeah, 100%, I think.
Yeah, usually for most people,you know, in the beginning,
because I don't want this to beoverwhelming, but usually we're
honed in on a couple differentideas pretty early on and then
we can kind of just build plansand ideas and strategies around
those ideas.
And then we can kind of justbuild plans and ideas and
strategies around those ideasand then, yeah, we can always
run.
You know, hey, we're looking atthis house Based on the plans
(31:52):
we've set up.
How does this look?
Right, a common one when we'retalking about VA, you know, once
again, let's say, we have oneperson who's a veteran, we have
a non-married spouse, so if wedo the VA loan, we only have one
income and that works up to acertain price point.
So then we run the numbers fora house up to that price point.
(32:12):
But then, hey, after that house, we're going to look at another
one that's, let's say, $50,000more.
Well, hey, now we need to maybepivot to a conventional loan
with both of us on the loan toqualify, and so what do those
numbers look like?
And so, yeah, we can, you know,we can do that pretty
seamlessly and easily.
And then you know, even take ita step further and say, hey,
(32:33):
listen, you know we're going toget, you know we're going to buy
this house now.
We're getting married in sixmonths.
So then you know, six months toa year from now, when it comes
time to refinance, we'll do thaton a VA loan.
And here's what that looks like, right, so we can we'll kind of
, you know, move the chesspieces around the board, um, at
any given time to just game itout.
But yeah, that's what we'rehere to do is to help you walk
(32:54):
through the different scenarios,um, kind of hone in on a couple
that are going to make the mostsense, so you're not
overwhelmed.
And then, um, yeah, just dothat over and over again until
we find the right one.
Sarah (33:05):
I love it.
I love it.
Yeah, well, and exactly, Ididn't want to get in too much
into the weeds, but.
I just, you know, wanted to kindof plant that seed because a
lot of people worry that they'reyou know that they're bothering
their lender, that they'rebothering their agent.
You know I get all the timelike, oh, I don't want to, I
(33:29):
don't want to make you go lookat all these houses, and I'm
like that.
I actually love doing thatbecause you know you're either
going to figure out that youlike something about this house
you love this house or you hatethis house, or you hate certain
things about it.
So, like, either way, it'shelping you to figure out what
it is that you want and what itis that you don't want.
It's a lot like dating.
Brendon (33:42):
Yeah, that's, that is true.
It is a lot like that, yeah, so?
Sarah (33:46):
I love it.
I love it Well.
So, for anyone that's listening, that has listened before, you
know that I always tell you togo to Brendan's social media, uh
, because he does post lots ofgreat videos, great content, uh,
you know, and he's alwaystrying to kind of like answer
questions and things like that.
So all of that information willbe in the show notes.
(34:09):
So definitely make sure I willhave his phone number which you
can call or text, I'll have hisemail and I'll have links to his
social media so that that wayyou can, you know, start to
follow him.
Brendon (34:22):
Thank you, would love to.
I would love to connect withanybody, yeah.
Sarah (34:27):
Perfect.
Yeah, sorry, I just kind ofstopped there.
I was waiting to see if you hadanything else you wanted to add
.
I'm sorry.
Brendon (34:32):
Oh, that's great.
No, I, I, yeah, I think that'sthat's the best way to do it.
You know, I, I know that youhave a um given outreach with
this, uh, with this podcast.
That's certainly goes beyondthe, goes beyond the borders of
I-270 here in Columbus, Ohio.
So if you're not familiar withColumbus but you still want to
get in touch with us, yeah, Ithink social media is a great
way to do it, so feel free.
Sarah (34:53):
Perfect.
I love it.
Well.
Thank you so much again,brendan, for taking time out of
your day to hop on and give suchgreat information.
I always love having you on.
Brendon (35:04):
I love being on.
Thanks for having me.
Sarah (35:06):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Please make sure that you aregoing to the page, not only to
look at the show notes to findhow to get ahold of Brendan, but
also so that you can rate andreview, because leaving feedback
is the greatest gift that youcan give, and please make sure
that you are sharing this withanyone that you think would
(35:28):
benefit from hearing about theVA loan.
That is the greatest complimentthat you can give Brendan and
myself.
And also make sure that you arefollowing along.
Make sure that you follow theshow so that you never miss
another episode.
Thanks so much, and we'll seeyou next time on Come to Find
Out.
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find
Out.
This week we are talking withBrendn Bland, which, if you have
listened in at all, you willknow that he is a reoccurring
guest and is always so amazingto come on here and share his
(00:23):
knowledge, and I literally canreach out and ask him about
anything and he's always willingto come on and talk about it.
So thank you so much, brendan,I really appreciate it.
Brendon (00:34):
I am always happy to be here.
I appreciate you having me.
Sarah (00:37):
Of course, of course.
So last time that we recorded,obviously you know, we just had
Veterans Day, and the last timethat we recorded we talked about
, you know, the other thing thathappened recently, which was
the election.
But in that episode, you know,for anyone that listened, you'll
know what we're talking about.
But if you didn't, no big deal.
(00:58):
We were talking about VA loans,so benefits that veterans get,
and Brendan shared a veryalarming statistic about the
lack of knowledge that some ofthe veterans have about their
benefits.
So I really just wanted to haveBrendon come back on talk about
(01:20):
the VA loan, because it is likeif you're able to get it, it is
the best loan to have.
You're going to have the bestterms, all of that.
So I wanted you to come on andjust kind of explain everything.
And then I also just learnedthat Neighborhood Loans which is
you know, obviously, who youwork with or work for has an
(01:43):
amazing program that is just forneighborhood loans clients.
So we'd love for you to kind oftalk about that and that way we
can make sure that everyonekind of knows what their
benefits are.
Brendon (01:55):
Yeah, absolutely Well, I appreciate you dedicating an
episode of this because you know, while I don't exclusively work
with veterans who are buyinghomes, it's probably my favorite
population of folks to workwith.
You know, my wife and I justwent to Washington DC about a
week or so ago and you know,working with this population has
(02:18):
been something I've beenpassionate about for a long time
.
But when you go to somewherelike DC and you realize just the
the enormity of the sacrificethat you know people, the men
and women who serve in ourmilitary, um, at any capacity,
over any amount of time, um,what they give up, it's, it's,
it's like it's amazing Um, andwe're all very fortunate to um,
(02:40):
you know kind of live under theprotection they provide.
So, um, you know, in the realestate world, um, you know kind
of live under the protectionthey provide.
So you know, in the real estateworld, you know we have the
opportunity to help that thosefolks when it comes time for
them to want to take the nextstep in their home ownership
journey.
I know Sarah is reallypassionate about working with
veteran clients as well andthere's a whole side of you know
(03:01):
kind of the home buying sidethat she can help with.
But on the loan of, you knowkind of the home buying side
that she can help with.
But on the loan side, you knowthere are specific benefits that
veterans have that can makehome ownership more accessible,
easier and ultimately justbetter terms in a lot of ways
than other types of loans.
Because you know, as a veteran,you've earned that.
(03:22):
So you know, kind of you knowthere's like I said, we could
talk about this for a long time,but you know, as a veteran,
you've earned that.
So you know, kind of you knowthere's, like I said, we could
talk about this for a long time,but you know, I think, just
taking a couple of minutes tofamiliarize ourselves with what
those options are and thoseopportunities are.
And if you're someone who'sserved our country or serving
our country in the military, inany of the branches, you know,
and you have questions aboutthis, we could always, you know,
(03:45):
connect offline.
But, yeah, I'll stay a coupleminutes here to chat about what
a VA loan looks like, what thebenefits are and kind of some of
the basic qualifications, andthen, yeah, I'll also kind of
talk about this other program.
I think it's a really goodoption for folks, whether they
currently own a home right nowor they're looking to buy their
next home but a VA loan.
So obviously, first andforemost need to be a veteran or
(04:13):
someone who's currently servingour country.
These loans are, once again,great for not just a veteran but
also the family.
So I think a lot of times somefolks will say, well, hey, does
my spouse have to be a veteranfor us to get the loan?
And the answer is no, if youare, you know, if you're married
to someone who is not a veteran, they can be on the loan with
you and help you qualify, kindof.
The only caveat there where itgets tricky is if you know I've
(04:36):
had some folks say, hey, youknow, we're engaged to get
married.
You know, can that work?
You do have to be married to beon a VA loan.
You have to be married to aveteran to be on a VA loan,
unless you are also a veteran.
But yeah, married spouses canhelp qualify, but that's, of
course, first and foremost.
There's a couple other thingsthat most veterans are going to
(05:00):
kind of meet the requirementsfor, and one-off situations we
can talk about those.
But yeah, if you're a veteran,you honorably served our country
, you very likely are going toqualify to use a VA loan.
The benefits of a VA loan?
There's quite a few, I think.
First and foremost, the thingthat people most commonly think
about is the low down payment.
You can do as little as 0% downon a VA loan and, realistically
(05:23):
speaking, there's no other loanproduct out there that allows
you to do that.
There's a couple onesy-twosyones out there, but for all
intents and purposes, this isthe most accessible zero percent
down program that's out thereand it's available to veterans
exclusively in their families.
So that's a huge benefit andcan really allow you to take
(05:43):
steps into homeownership alittle bit sooner versus, like I
said, having to save thetraditional 3.5%, 3%, 5%, 10%,
20% down, whatever it is.
The other nice thing with thatis, let's say you're doing a
non-VA loan and you're puttingthe minimum down let's say a 3%
you're going to have somethingcalled mortgage insurance and VA
loans don't have mortgageinsurance, no matter what.
(06:05):
So you know, if you're puttingdown um 0%, you're not going to
have an additional 50, a hundred, a hundred, $1,200 worth of uh
kind of built into your monthlypayment.
It just doesn't exist.
The monthly, you know, mi doesnot exist.
So that's another huge benefitfor VA loans.
Um, I think really you know whenwe when I think really as a
lender, when I'm looking atdifferent rate options for
(06:27):
people comparing VA to FHA, toconventional loans VA loans,
consistently, are just better atany given time.
So you're going to save moremoney, both from not having the
mortgage insurance and havingbetter rate offerings, dollar
for dollar, just a better,better loan, and so there's a
lot of cost savings that you cansee early on and over time,
(06:49):
which I think is really, reallygreat.
You don't have to do the 0%down too.
I've had some folks ask me thatdo I have to do 0% down on a VA
loan?
Most definitely not.
If you've saved money and youwanna put 20% down or 10% down,
you can.
You.
Just you have the ability to dothat.
I think one of the other reallynice things you know, just for
me, that's unique about VA loansis, from a qualification
standpoint, there's a little bitmore flexibility with what we
(07:15):
call debt versus income ratios.
At your scenario and trying tohelp you figure out what monthly
payment you're going to qualifyfor and ultimately what
purchase price you're going toqualify for, one of the things
that we're tasked to do isfigure out, okay, how much debt
do you currently have, how muchincome do you have, and then
(07:35):
that's a ratio and there's a maxnumber that you can hit.
With VA loans they use adifferent calculation.
It's called residual income.
I won't really get into that onthis call, just in terms of how
that works.
But the nice thing about it isit's a lot more flexible than
that debt-to-income ratio and soreally it allows us to work
(07:56):
with our veteran clients tofigure out okay, hey, here's the
monthly payment that you'recomfortable with, and maybe in a
traditional conventional loanthat monthly payment doesn't
work, but in a VA loan it mightwork, and so there's some
flexibility there.
This especially, I think, isbeneficial, for, you know, we
have some clients who go off andstart their own business right
(08:19):
and just with how they filetheir taxes or maybe they're
early on in their you knowownership, on in their ownership
journey.
Sometimes, when you're lookingat other types of loans, like
how we calculate that income,can be a little bit challenging.
But once again, with a VA loan,because there's that
flexibility, that can open upsome opportunities a little bit
earlier.
So I think that's anotherreally big benefit, especially
if you own a business and you'retrying to qualify.
(08:42):
So I think that's anotherreally really nice thing.
But by and large, va loans justlike I said, when we just look
at all those different factors,it's just a really really good
loan.
There's all those benefits and,yeah, I think if you're someone
who's served our country, youshould look into leveraging that
(09:04):
, this type of financing to helpyou take take next steps, and
that's kind of like the baselineof of a VA loan.
Any anything else.
You want to be a cover on that,sarah, before I kind of
transition into the kind of thenext component of what you know
what neighborhood loans is tooffer.
Sarah (09:22):
No, not other than you know.
I know we kind of touched onthis, you know, in our last few
podcasts that we've donetogether.
But you know I have clientsthat will come to me.
That you know.
Of course everyone wants toknow is now the right time to
buy?
And you know, especially ifyou're a VA, you know and you
(09:43):
have that VA benefit, right nowis honestly the best time to buy
because right now sellers thatare sellers that have listed are
motivated.
They, you know, if you'relisting your house near a
holiday, so in the fourthquarter or even the first
quarter, you know, right afterthe first of the year,
(10:05):
especially in Ohio, if you'redoing that, no one goes wow, I
really want to move in thewinter.
I hope it snows too, becausethat's going to be awesome, you
know, because I mean it's like30 degrees right now, I would
hate moving right now.
But if someone is listing theirhouse right now, they are
serious.
But that also means that rightnow we have less buyers in the
(10:29):
market than we will in, say,like a springtime.
So right now you actually couldask the seller to pay your
closing costs and so then you'vegot your VA benefit that's
covering your down payment andyou've got the sellers covering
the closing costs.
Ultimately, you could come tothe table to sign and get a
(10:50):
brand new house with putting $0down 100%.
Brendon (10:54):
Yeah, 100%, that's exactly correct.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause, yeah, I think you know,
once again, you know a lot ofpeople, I think, hold off
because of various degrees offears, concerns around monthly
payment or around upfrontinvestment.
And certainly we want to makesure that when you walk into the
(11:15):
door of this new home, thatyou're really comfortable with
everything.
You know, even if you have themoney for closing costs and down
payment, you know, you knowwe'll look at, I'll look at
scenarios with people wherewe're like, okay, hey, brendan,
(11:36):
we have enough money for downpayment, for closing costs, but
you know, once we pay thosethings, we're going to be kind
of, you know, tapped out.
You know, so for the first fewmonths we live in the house,
we're not going to have a lot ofmoney saved, and so what we'll
look at is well, hey, what if wedo the 0% down?
What if we have the seller'scover, the closing costs?
Instead of negotiating for alower price, you keep that
$10,000, $15,000 in the bank.
One, you're going to feel justmore comfortable in your home
(11:56):
and two, maybe some of thethings that you were thinking
about doing like, hey, great, wehave this new house, we have
this new house, we have thisextra bedroom, but we don't have
any money to put anything in it.
Well, now you do right.
So I think there's a lot ofthings to think about and right
now, with the market we'recurrently in, where sellers are
more motivated, you can reallyleverage the power of the VA
(12:17):
loan, your power as a buyer, ina market where sellers are more
motivated.
Sarah (12:23):
So I think it's a great point in a market where sellers
are more motivated.
So I think it's a great point.
Yeah, the other thing I wantedto ask you about, though, so I
know again that we've touched onthis before, but, like back in
2020 and 2021, a lot of peoplethere was a lot of chatter about
agents not wanting to take VAloans.
(12:43):
All they wanted wasconventional, they wanted no FHA
, they wanted no VA, and to methat was dumb, because you know,
like we've already said, the VAloan is the best loan, but when
it comes to appraisals, youknow, a lot of times people will
hear that the appraisal is alittle bit more strict when it
(13:06):
comes to an FHA loan versus aconventional.
How does the VA appraisal looklike?
Is it as strict as an FHA wherethere can't be any peeling
paint, there has to be handrailsin certain points?
You know no rotten wood, youknow all of those things that if
(13:28):
it was going through aconventional appraisal,
obviously they want you to havea functioning house, but if
they're peeling paint, it's nota big deal.
So just wondered if you couldkind of touch on.
You know, obviously appraisalis not what you do day in and
day out.
You at least see the lendingside.
What kind of comes up?
Brendon (13:48):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's important to look at this
with the context of like okay,how, how often are there actual
appraisal issues in reality?
And when it comes to the thingsyou're talking about, and I
think the answer is very few,very few times.
So I think, regardless if it'sa conventional loan, a VA loan,
(14:09):
an FHA loan, a lot of thosefears are overblown regardless.
But I certainly understandwhere they come from.
From a seller's perspective,Listen, the VA wants to protect
their veterans and it wants toprotect their investment, which,
by the way, is a good thing,because let's think about this
(14:31):
for a second the VA and the FHAare federally backed programs,
which means, as taxpayers, we'rehelping to support.
And if the government's goingto invest in real estate, we
want to make sure that they'remaking sound investments and
obviously we want them toprotect our veterans right.
So that's all good stuff.
So I don't think, in reality,the VA having requirements to
(14:55):
make sure that the appraisers,you know the home's in good
shape is a bad thing.
I think it's a good thing foreverybody.
I think it's a good thing forour veterans, I think it's a
good thing for, you know, theinvestment the taxpayers are
making.
All that to say, I alsorecognize that, you know.
You know, as people we tend tobe like that's great, but here
we are in my I'm in my bubbleand I don't care about everybody
else, Right about everybodyelse, right.
(15:20):
So I get that side of it too Toanswer your question.
I mean, yeah, it's going to besimilar to the FHA profile, but
once again, I don't really seethat many issues regardless.
Listen, if you're a sellerlistening to this and you're
concerned about someone comingwith an FHA or VA loan, I would
ask myself a few questions Is myhouse unsafe to live in If the
answer is yes then one maybe youshouldn't be living there.
(15:42):
And then two yeah, there'sprobably going to be some
problems when you go to try andsell it and someone wants to get
a loan.
Then if the answer to that isno, it's not unsafe, it's like
okay, now there's some commonsense things that we need to
have.
Right, Okay, we have a flightof stairs.
(16:03):
There's no handrail here.
You probably need a handrail,right?
Okay, that's not going to bethat expensive and it's
something you need to have.
Right?
Okay, do we have broken glassin the house?
Once again, I would assume,sarah, you could tell me, as a
listing agent, you wouldprobably recommend someone fix
broken glass before they try andsell their house, right?
Regardless, because it's goingto help them get more top dollar
for that home.
Right?
Similarly, for you know, reallybad shipping and peeling paint.
(16:23):
That's the same thing.
Right?
Once again, we want to get topdollar for this house,
especially in a market wherebuyers have more leverage.
So all that to say is likethese are things that most of
the time, most sellers areaddressing anyway.
So it's just not really thatcommon of an issue, but
certainly I think it issomething to think about, you
know, and but I really justdon't see it being as a big of a
(16:45):
deal or a challenge as peopleperceived during COVID.
You know, I don't know if thatanswers your question, but
that's my opinions on it.
Sarah (16:55):
Yeah, no, it does, and I agree, I don't think it's that
big of a deal at all.
In fact, I love whenever youknow, like even during COVID,
you know, during 2020, 2021, allof those years where it was so
crazy I still would, you know,submit offers for FHA or VA or
whatever, and I still was ableto get people at them.
(17:17):
Because you know, once youexplain to the listing agent,
like hey, calm your body, likethere's anything in this house
that's even going to remotelyred flag this, so we'll be fine,
you know, and I tend to likekind of flip it back on them too
, like, well, is there somethingthat you're concerned about
that's not going to pass anappraisal?
(17:39):
Because, from what I see,everything you know should be
fine.
Brendon (17:43):
So, yeah, I think there's also a misconception
that that maybe VA loans take along time to get done.
We can do them the same amountof time we do conventional loans
, Certainly depending on thelender.
You know, if they're unfamiliarwith a VA loan they don't have
a good relationship with.
You know the VA regionalservicing center.
Then like, yeah, that's goingto be potentially a hurdle, but
(18:04):
any reputable lender who's doneVA business at any regularity,
they should be able to get VAloans done, If not as quick,
just about as quick asconventional loans.
So I think that's the otherthing too.
They're not that complicated.
Complicated for and really forthe seller it's nothing
additional at all.
So, yeah, yeah, Now to kind of,I guess that is available
(18:41):
within the VA that can maybeaddress some of those concerns
is a renovation product.
So the VA and neighborhoodloans.
We have a renovation productthat allows folks who are
looking to buy a home and wantto do some modernization of that
home through the purchaseprocess they can actually do
that utilizing a VA loan, Stilldoing the 0% down, still no
mortgage insurance, still withbetter rates than what they
(19:02):
would get on a conventionalrenovation loan, and so it's a
really, really nice way.
If you're looking at a home andyou're thinking, hey, this home
would be great if we could justdo a couple things to it, you
can leverage this VA renovationproduct to do that, and you know
, high level.
What that looks like is there'skind of two sides of it.
Some of the renovation projectsyou can do.
(19:22):
You can do structuralrenovation projects which are
like hey, we got to do somethings to make this house more
structurally sound and you knowto do what we need to do there.
And then you can also domodernization, right.
So like, hey, we really want torip the carpets out, we want to
paint the walls, we want to putin new appliances, that kind of
stuff, right, to make the homebring it to 2024.
(19:44):
You know there's a lot.
There was a big housing boomhere in Columbus, Ohio, in the
70s, right, and you know, ifsomeone lived in that house in
the 70s and hasn't sold it, youwant to bring it into 2024.
Well, you can use this VArenovation product to do that,
and so it's a really nice way tofind like, hey, this home,
maybe we're going to get alittle bit better of a deal on
(20:05):
it, right, Because hey, it's not2024, moving ready.
That's okay.
We can do some things to it.
We can use the loan, Because alot of times people ask me hey,
Brendan, can I take out a littlebit more money to do, you know
to, to do some work on the house?
And the answer is generally no.
But when you use a renovationproducts, and especially this VA
(20:25):
product, the answer is yes, youcan do that.
That's kind of the way it's theway that it's built and the why
that it's built that way.
Sarah (20:31):
So it's a really great product to do that.
Brendon (20:33):
You can also do it if you're a veteran and you own
your home and you want to dosome projects as well and you
have equity in the home.
You can also use this to dothat, and so you can do a
refinance with a VA loan tobasically do some of this
renovation work.
So it's both ways Great option,and it can help you identify
(20:56):
maybe some homes that you'regoing to be able to get a little
bit better of a deal on bydoing some of the work yourself
Well, not yourself, but byfinancing some of that work and
having it done, instead ofbuying maybe that move-in ready
home that's going to be 15% to20% to 30% more expensive.
So, great, great option as well, yeah, yeah, and I think that's
(21:19):
probably what.
I'm going to talk about yeah.
Sarah (21:21):
Yeah, no, I love that and in fact, um, you brought up a
really good point.
Uh, I will have people thatwill ask me all the time like,
can't I, you know, just take outmore money on my loan, and then
I can, you know, get the newflooring, or I can, you know,
renovate the kitchen or renovatethe bathrooms or whatever?
And, um, you know, again, I'm,I'm not a lender, you are, um,
(21:46):
so I will tend to just tell themlike, I don't think that's an
option, but please feel free totalk to your lender about that.
You know, that's not really howthis works, but it's great to
know that.
You know.
And and I do know that thereare renovation loans, so it's
great to know that there is onethat VA specific.
But you brought up a reallygreat point.
A lot of times, people want themoney to buy the materials, but
(22:09):
they're going to do the work,you know, themselves instead of
hiring someone.
And I'd love for you to justkind of address that, because
it's my understanding that ifyou're taking out a renovation
loan, you know, like not just ahome equity line of credit, but
a renovation loan, you have touse contractors that are
(22:31):
licensed, bonded.
You know all of that and youknow, and to my understanding,
it's because that you know thebank wants to make sure that
they're protecting their asset,because until you made your
final, the bank, yeah, actuallywants you.
You know, they actually own it.
So I'd love for you to kind oftouch on that.
I just want to make sure that Iwas correct in what I've been
(22:53):
telling people.
Brendon (22:54):
That's yeah, that's 100% correct.
So, yeah, I mean, let's, let'skind of just step out once again
, remind ourselves, you know,once again, this is really any
any loan, but it's definitely aVA loan.
Once again is is is guaranteedby the government.
The government wants to makesure that the investment they're
making is a sound investment.
(23:15):
And listen, I get it.
You know, I know a lot of usfeel like we're super handy
people and you know like, hey, Ican change a mean light bulb.
I could probably put inbacksplash you know what I mean.
I can probably, you know, putin this flooring.
But yeah, this is not that typeof program.
So the way that this programworks is that you know we're
(23:38):
getting a, you know aprofessional who does this full
time to come in and complete thework.
And so you know you know, andyou know, once again, the bank
knows and the VA knows that, hey, the work that's being done is
being done properly, safely, andultimately it's going to be
done the right way.
So, yeah, the way that it worksis, you know, when you've
(24:02):
identified a potentialopportunity or a home, what
you're going to do is you'regoing to get a contractor and
you know you can have someonethat you know who does a great
job, as long as, once again, asyou mentioned, they're licensed
and bonded.
They do have to get approvedwith a lender if it's not
someone the lenders work withalready, but that's a process
that can be done.
(24:22):
But basically, what happens isthey go out, they work with you
to basically say, like, hey,here's the work that we want to
do.
They go out, they make a bidand then that bid gets submitted
to your lender, who?
Then what happens is you gointo contract on that home.
Let's say the home is $200,000and you want to do $50,000 worth
(24:43):
of work.
So what ends up happening is wesubmit that contract and that
bid to the appraiser.
The appraiser comes out to thehome and says, yeah, based on
all the work that you want to dohere, the value of this home,
would you know, match the workthat's being done right, so
you're.
So you're not.
You're buying a $200,000 homeright now, but now it's going to
be a $250,000 home when allthis work is done right.
(25:05):
So that's kind of how thatprocess works.
In the beginning, um, you closethe loan, um, and then at that
point, that's when the that'sreally when the work begins, um,
then the contractor gets paidby the lender over time as
work's being completed once youclose on that loan.
But yeah, it is a professionaldoing professional work in the
(25:26):
home.
This is not a loan where we'retaking money and we're going to
Lowe's and doing that ourself.
Now, there is a way you coulddo that.
I mean, if you own the homealready and you want to do a VA
cash out refinance, that'ssomething you could certainly do
and, you know, take those fundsand say, hey, you know what?
I've watched a lot of YouTubevideos, I feel really good about
(25:48):
installing this shower.
Then you could do it that way.
But if we're going through therenovation process, which makes
sense for a lot of reasons, thenyeah, it is a professional
doing the work, there's a bidinvolved and that's how that
goes.
I think the other thing youknow, not to great program,
great product for the rightsituation I will put a little
(26:08):
bit of a caveat on this is thatthis does have to fit the right
scenario, and what I mean bythat is, even though right now
in the wintertime we or headinginto the wintertime there is a
little bit less, you know,activity from the buyer side,
right, so we have leveragedbuyers, we still have to have a
seller who's kind of, who'swilling, to go through this
(26:29):
process, because this does takea little bit of time Because,
remember, you know, we have toget a bid, go into contract, we
have to get that bid approved.
The appraiser has to come outand say this is good.
And so usually I would say thata normal loan process takes
anywhere from three weeks to amonth, and this is anywhere
going to be from 45 to 60 days,potentially for all that work
(26:53):
that needs to get done.
And so we have to have a sellerwho is willing to kind of go
through that process.
There's plenty of scenarioswhere that's the case, but
that's where we kind of have toidentify if that is the kind of
home that we want to buy, we gotto find opportunities that
match that.
If we're trying to do this witha home that just hit the market
and has 10 offers, I don't thinkwe're going to win that offer.
(27:16):
But you know that's just beinghonest.
But once again, if we're like,hey, this is the route we want
to go, then we need to identifyand that's what Sarah can help
you do is identify opportunitieswhere it's like, hey, these
sellers, you know they'relooking for an offer, right, and
they'll be willing to kind ofgo through this process.
It's not a hard process.
It's just, you know, it cantake a little bit.
Sarah (27:40):
Yeah, no, and I think that's so good to know too,
because you know, especiallylike right now, like we've said,
it's less competitive, not inevery situation.
You know some areas still areseeing multiple offers and you
know things time right nowhistorically is a slower time
and it is much easier for us todo that.
(28:10):
So, going into spring, I guessI would love people to just kind
of keep in mind that if you'rewanting to take advantage of
this VA product, I wouldrecommend doing it before spring
, because in the spring marketit is going to be a little bit
more difficult.
It's not impossible.
I always tell people whatever'smeant to be is going to be
(28:33):
yours.
So if the house was meant foryou, it's always going to work
out for you.
Whether we're buying now or inthe spring or whatever, it
really doesn't matter.
But to set yourself up for thebest possible outcome when going
into this, you know justdefinitely kind of keep that in
mind that you know the lesscompetitive times of the year
(28:53):
are going to be much easier.
To try and use a renovationstyle loan that is going to take
longer, because most of thetime people are like, hey, let's
do a quick close.
If you can do three awesome.
So A hundred percent Right.
And you know, and let's do aquick close If you can do three
awesome, so 100 percent Right.
Brendon (29:06):
And there are situations, I think too, where
you know you know folks are like, hey, if we find the right
house, that doesn't need anywork.
Great, you know, we'd like toknow how the renovation product
works in case we find anopportunity to do that Right and
so you can kind of go into it,I think, with both ideas in mind
.
Um, it's just, you know, onceagain it's like one of those
(29:27):
scenarios where it's like, youknow, if you're, if you're dead
set on doing a renovationproject, um, and making a house
in the way you want to make it,um it's just, once again,
knowing that, hey, we got tofind those opportunities.
Um, not every opportunity, notevery, not every home is going
to match that.
So, yeah, it's greatopportunity.
Sarah (29:45):
I love that and I love that you mentioned, you know,
just kind of knowing youroptions, because I think that's
something too that a lot ofespecially first-time home
buyers whether it's VA or notjust any first-time home buyer
is always.
You know, I get feedback allthe time Like, oh, my gosh, like
I, you know, I don't want tobother my lender, I don't want
(30:06):
to ask them because I'm like, oh, have you called Brendan or
have you called your lender toask them to run those numbers?
So that you know, you know, areyou going to be comfortable in
that?
Because I know you and I aresuper passionate about making
sure that people are in amonthly payment that they feel
comfortable with, and you know.
So I always ask them.
(30:26):
You know, have you talked toyour lender?
You should, you should contactBrendan, you should ask him to
run the numbers and things likethat.
And so I love that you broughtthat up because you know I, they
always feel like they're goingto be bothering you and I'm like
you're not, like he wants tohelp you, just like I do, to
make sure that you'recomfortable in it.
So if you're trying to see, youknow, does it make sense for me
(30:47):
to use my VA benefit.
Or, for some strange reason,does it make sense for me to not
even use my VA benefit becauseI'm going to get a better deal
FHA or conventional or whatever,or maybe it's a rehab loan or
maybe whatever.
All of those things you know.
Obviously correct me if I'mwrong, but all of those things
are things that are scenariosthat you can run and you can
(31:08):
give, you know, exact numbersbased off of like, if they're
like hey, we saw this house andthis is what we'd want to do,
you could tell them well, if youdid this, this is how much
money you'd need to bring to thetable If you did this, you know
.
Or like this would be a longertimeline, a longer process, you
know.
But at least then they'remaking an educated decision with
all the facts.
Brendon (31:29):
Yeah, 100%, I think.
Yeah, usually for most people,you know, in the beginning,
because I don't want this to beoverwhelming, but usually we're
honed in on a couple differentideas pretty early on and then
we can kind of just build plansand ideas and strategies around
those ideas.
And then we can kind of justbuild plans and ideas and
strategies around those ideasand then, yeah, we can always
run.
You know, hey, we're looking atthis house Based on the plans
(31:52):
we've set up.
How does this look?
Right, a common one when we'retalking about VA, you know, once
again, let's say, we have oneperson who's a veteran, we have
a non-married spouse, so if wedo the VA loan, we only have one
income and that works up to acertain price point.
So then we run the numbers fora house up to that price point.
(32:12):
But then, hey, after that house, we're going to look at another
one that's, let's say, $50,000more.
Well, hey, now we need to maybepivot to a conventional loan
with both of us on the loan toqualify, and so what do those
numbers look like?
And so, yeah, we can, you know,we can do that pretty
seamlessly and easily.
And then you know, even take ita step further and say, hey,
(32:33):
listen, you know we're going toget, you know we're going to buy
this house now.
We're getting married in sixmonths.
So then you know, six months toa year from now, when it comes
time to refinance, we'll do thaton a VA loan.
And here's what that looks like, right, so we can we'll kind of
, you know, move the chesspieces around the board, um, at
any given time to just game itout.
But yeah, that's what we'rehere to do is to help you walk
(32:54):
through the different scenarios,um, kind of hone in on a couple
that are going to make the mostsense, so you're not
overwhelmed.
And then, um, yeah, just dothat over and over again until
we find the right one.
Sarah (33:05):
I love it.
I love it.
Yeah, well, and exactly, Ididn't want to get in too much
into the weeds, but.
I just, you know, wanted to kindof plant that seed because a
lot of people worry that they'reyou know that they're bothering
their lender, that they'rebothering their agent.
You know I get all the timelike, oh, I don't want to, I
(33:29):
don't want to make you go lookat all these houses, and I'm
like that.
I actually love doing thatbecause you know you're either
going to figure out that youlike something about this house
you love this house or you hatethis house, or you hate certain
things about it.
So, like, either way, it'shelping you to figure out what
it is that you want and what itis that you don't want.
It's a lot like dating.
Brendon (33:42):
Yeah, that's, that is true.
It is a lot like that, yeah, so?
Sarah (33:46):
I love it.
I love it Well.
So, for anyone that's listening, that has listened before, you
know that I always tell you togo to Brendan's social media, uh
, because he does post lots ofgreat videos, great content, uh,
you know, and he's alwaystrying to kind of like answer
questions and things like that.
So all of that information willbe in the show notes.
(34:09):
So definitely make sure I willhave his phone number which you
can call or text, I'll have hisemail and I'll have links to his
social media so that that wayyou can, you know, start to
follow him.
Brendon (34:22):
Thank you, would love to.
I would love to connect withanybody, yeah.
Sarah (34:27):
Perfect.
Yeah, sorry, I just kind ofstopped there.
I was waiting to see if you hadanything else you wanted to add
.
I'm sorry.
Brendon (34:32):
Oh, that's great.
No, I, I, yeah, I think that'sthat's the best way to do it.
You know, I, I know that youhave a um given outreach with
this, uh, with this podcast.
That's certainly goes beyondthe, goes beyond the borders of
I-270 here in Columbus, Ohio.
So if you're not familiar withColumbus but you still want to
get in touch with us, yeah, Ithink social media is a great
way to do it, so feel free.
Sarah (34:53):
Perfect.
I love it.
Well.
Thank you so much again,brendan, for taking time out of
your day to hop on and give suchgreat information.
I always love having you on.
Brendon (35:04):
I love being on.
Thanks for having me.
Sarah (35:06):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Please make sure that you aregoing to the page, not only to
look at the show notes to findhow to get ahold of Brendan, but
also so that you can rate andreview, because leaving feedback
is the greatest gift that youcan give, and please make sure
that you are sharing this withanyone that you think would
(35:28):
benefit from hearing about theVA loan.
That is the greatest complimentthat you can give Brendan and
myself.
And also make sure that you arefollowing along.
Make sure that you follow theshow so that you never miss
another episode.
Thanks so much, and we'll seeyou next time on Come to Find
Out.
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