The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a mortgage loan that can be used by those who have served or are presently serving in the military. With no down payment required, and no mortgage insurance, this is one of the best loans available.
See more eligibilty information as well as full show notes @ https://fthbpros.com/what-is-a-va-loan/
We talk about:
- Eligibility for a VA Loan
- Types of VA Loans
- The Benefits of a VA Loan
- Fees & Limits
Find all our episodes, articles, newsletter, and resources on our main site: https://FTHBPros.com
Contact Information:
Dat Nguyen – Loan Officer
(714) 331-6289
Dat@ELendingTeam.com
NMLS# 113790
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the first time home buyers podcast by LoanPros.
Today.
I want to talk about VA loans.
I'm Phil Mastroianni andI'm a licensed mortgage
loan originator as well as alicensed real estate agent.
And I'm happy to help answerany questions you have
(00:22):
I want to start off by justsaying, we're only going
to scratch the surfaceof VA loans on this one.
There's so much depthto this program.
There's so many nuanceson eligibility and limits
and things like that.
So if it is something you'reinterested in, definitely listen
to this episode and reach out,make sure that this is going to
work for you and your situation.
(00:43):
The department ofveteran affairs, VA loan.
Is an amazing loanprogram for our active
duty and our veterans.
Sometimes there's amisconception on where
you can get this loan.
You don't have to goto that credit union.
That's tied to.
a, military branch oranything like that.
(01:04):
Most lenders are going tobe able to do a VA loan.
The department of veteranaffairs VA offers a mortgage
loan that can be used by thosewho have served or are presently
serving in the military withno down payment required
and no mortgage insurance.
This is one of thebest loans available.
(01:26):
If you are a servicemember, past or present,
thank you for your service.
And I'd love to help you buy ahome with this amazing program.
Now, this was all due tothe department of veteran
affairs, which createdthis program in 1944.
So this has been aroundfor like 80 years, almost.
It's part of the GI bill thatwas intended to help returning
(01:48):
service members, purchase homeswithout having any money down.
It's helped more than 22 millionveterans realize their dreams.
If you are a veteran or anactive duty military member,
interested in purchasing a home.
Here's what you need to know.
First for eligibilityfor a VA loan.
If you're a current servicemember, if you've served for at
(02:09):
least 90 continuous days, all atonce without a break in service.
You meet the minimum activeduty service requirement
For veterans, you meetthe minimum active duty
service requirement.
If you serve for at least24 continuous months.
Or if you're a survivingspouse, as an example, there's
a lot of different scenarios.
So the best thing is talkto a loan officer and
(02:31):
they can go ahead and helpdetermine whether or not you
are eligible for a VA loan.
The next step is to get acertificate of eligibility,
C O E from the departmentof veteran affairs, to
confirm your eligibility.
Most often your loanofficer someone on their
team's going to be able torequest this from the VA.
(02:52):
So don't worry aboutnecessarily getting this doc.
But you will need tomake sure that you have
your DD214 available.
They're going to need that inorder to pull that for you.
Once you have your COE.
Your DD two 14.
And you filled out anapplication with your lender.
You're ready to startshopping for a home.
There is no technicalminimum credit score
(03:13):
required for a VA loan.
But lenders may havetheir own minimum credit
score requirements.
Typically a lender willrequire credit score of
580 or higher for approval.
I have though I have seen someget approved lower than that.
But that is lender by lender.
Now let's talk about thedifferent types of VA loans.
There's really just twomain types of VA loans.
(03:35):
The first is a purchase loan.
These loans can be used tobuy a home or to build a home.
The second is a refinance loan.
These loans can be used torefinance an existing VA
loan or a non VA mortgage.
There are several differenttypes of refinance loans,
including the interest ratereduction, refinance loan.
(03:57):
IRRRL.
And the cash out refinance loan.
A purchase loan can help youpurchase a home at a very
competitive interest rate.
Generally, you do not haveto make a down payment or
buy any mortgage insurance.
To obtain a purchase loan.
With the VA streamlinerefinance loan.
You can obtain a lowerinterest rate by refinancing
(04:19):
your existing VA loan.
You can also refinance a VAadjustable rate mortgage or an
arm into a fixed rate mortgage.
Then the cash out,refinance loan.
If you want to cash out yourhome equity so that you can
pay other debt, pay for school,tuition, home improvements.
Then the VA's cash out.
Refinance loan may actuallybe an option for you.
(04:39):
The cash out refinance loancan also be used to refinance
a non VA loan into a VA loan.
The VA guarantee loansup to a hundred percent
the value of your home.
So let's talk a littlebit about some of the
benefits of a VA loan.
Well, there are alot of benefits.
The most significant oneis that you can buy a
(04:59):
home with no money down.
This can be especiallyhelpful for first time home
buyers who may not have allthe cash saved up for a down
payment on their dream home.
In addition, there's nomortgage insurance required
with a VA loan, which cansave you thousands of dollars
over the life of your loan.
Closing costs are allowedto be covered by the seller
(05:19):
though, there are limits onhow much they can charge you.
Lastly, interestrates on VA loans.
In my experience are often someof the lowest and typically
lower than conventionalloans because of their
backing by the government.
The VA home loan programis a great benefit for
veterans, but there are fees.
(05:39):
. There is a funding feefor first time veterans
using this program.
And also there can be fundingfees and they might be higher
if you don't make that downpayment, depending on different
eligibility circumstances.
There's also situations wherethe funding fee is waived.
For example, if youhave a service connected
100% disability.
(06:00):
Or are the surviving spouse ofa veteran who died in service
or from a service connecteddisability, you are not
required to pay the funding fee.
This funding fee is typicallyrolled into the loan.
So it's not necessarily money.
You have to come up with outof pocket upfront, but it does
add to your monthly amount.
There are loan limits.
(06:20):
In a sense, veterans withtheir full entitlement.
And that's from that COE canget a loan for as much as
their chosen lender is willingto give them without anything
for their down payment.
If you are a veteran with anexisting VA loan or you have
defaulted one in the past,you will encounter a limit for
the zero down payment loan.
(06:40):
VA home loan limits are thesame as the federal housing
finance agency, FHFA limits.
These are calledconforming loan limits.
Check out the currentlist at the link I'll have
in the show notes here.
In November of 2022, theyjust updated the 2023 numbers.
We're looking at about $726,000.
(07:02):
For a single unit property.
If you're in a higher cost ofliving area, that cap is going
to be over a million dollars.
So for most people, thisisn't going to be an issue.
Any difference you can makeup with a higher down payment.
Now if you're an active dutyor a veteran, you're thinking
about buying a home, you wantto take advantage of a VA loan.
(07:25):
Flexible eligibilityrequirements, generous
benefits, like no moneydown, no mortgage insurance.
It's really pretty obviousto see why so many veterans
and military members aretaking advantage of this.
So contact us today.
We can pull your certificateof eligibility and find out
exactly what we can do for you.
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