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VA Loans

instrumentofwarinstrumentofwar Member Posts: 1,545 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited January 2002 in General Discussion
i was wondering if anyone here has had any experience in obtaining a VA loan? how does it differ from a regular loan for a house. any info in where i may start looking would be a great help. my search on the web produced over 200,000 different listings.
Rule #1: there is no easy wayRule #2: if,in fact, there is an easy way, it's mined (especially in Afghanistan or Kosovo!)
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Comments

  • edharoldedharold Member Posts: 465 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    With in price limits you can get into a house with a small or no down payment. There is usually a loan fee, if I remember right. Considering loan fees and mortgage insurance, they are not a great deal unless you can combine them with a first-time-homesowners deal. You can get info from the VA, they no doubt have a home page or if you know a mortgage office or broker, they can fill you in. Good Luck, Ed
    "They that would give up liberty to obtain safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"Benj. Franklin, 1759
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My boss bought a $150,000 home with only $800 down. Those were just closing costs. You can often borrow over the cost of the home in order to do things like fill it with furniture and still put zero down. I'll look into it more. My boss is very knowledgable about it because he did it in Colorado and then sold the home before it was paid off. The value had gone up so much that he not only paid the home off but also had a BIG chunk left overto put down on his current home. I'll ask him this week.
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  • sig-mansig-man Member Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I bought my house with a VA loan, your realitor does the paperwork after you find the property and the va does their inspection and checks your job status and credit and approves you for a maxium amount that they will guarantee. Sometimes they require extra insurance that you don't need like I have to have flood insurance, but I do not live in a flood zone. Go to there web site and get some information there, things might have changed in the past 12 years since I got my loan...Good Luck
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  • mudgemudge Member Posts: 4,225 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Contact the VA. Tell them you need a "Certificate of Eligibility". They'll send you some paperwork to fill out. The lending institution must have that CE to do anything. After that it's just paperwork. Got this house with a VA loan. Paid only closing costs. Refinanced last year to get to 6.5%. Had to pay 1.5 points but that was rolled into the loan. About $400 out of pocket. No big deal. Mudge the financier
    I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
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  • beantolebeantole Member Posts: 1,086 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In addition to the comments above one real advantage to a VA loan is you do not have to pay that stupid mortgage insurance ripoff fee every month like you do with most other loans. Also you can always pre-pay any VA loan without a penalty, which is not always true with non-VA loans. Finally, if you pay it off and want to buy another house you can go VA all over again! I used VA for my first house.
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  • susiesusie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    www.military.com has links to all the information you need including the link to print out a pdf. format form for requesting your certificate of eligibility. This website is a source of vast amounts of knowledge for active/reserve/guard and retired. This is also NOT one of those sites that for just $19.95 will sell you all the info that you can get for free. I recommend to all of the military folks here.
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