VA Home Loan
Are you familiar with the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program? I was shocked to discover (from a recent VA survey) that 1 out of 3 Veterans are not familiar with it. Only available to U.S. Veterans, the Federal Loan offers many benefits, including:
- No Down Payment Required! (100% Financing for Eligible Veterans)
- Favorable Interest Rates (See VA Loan Rates)
- Easier Qualifying Standards (More likely to be approved than other types of home financing)
- No Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio
- No Minimum Credit Score
- No Maximum Purchase Price (100% up to $453,100 in most counties for a Single Family Home)
- Limited Closing Costs
- No Mortgage Insurance
- Reusable and Assumable
VA home loan benefits don’t stop there. We compared VA mortgages to other types of Financing (Conventional, FHA, etc.), the VA Loan was more favorable for the Veteran every time.
Why aren’t more Veterans taking advantage of their VA Benefits? According to the survey, Veterans reported:
- 33.6% didn’t know about the program
- 31.8% thought a ‘conventional FHA mortgage’ was easier to obtain or less expensive (Ask for a comparison, you may be surprised with the results!)
- 9.9% didn’t apply because they didn’t think they’d qualify (Qualification Standards are actually easier!)
- 8.1% were discouraged the use of the VA program by their lender and/or REALTOR ® (Confession time…)
VA Home Loan Confession
When I first started originating loans ~20 years ago, I worked for a larger company. One day, someone called in asking about VA financing. As a new Loan Officer, I didn’t know anything about VA loans. I asked my manager about the program. My manager didn’t originate VA loans and said that other loan programs usually worked out to be better. I asked for supporting comparisons and was given an evasive response.
Then I had to call back the Veteran and give that same evasive answer. He insisted that the VA constantly boasted about the program and was surprised to hear otherwise. I had nothing and/or no one to back me up. I felt like an impostor, a traitor to my country. Maybe not to that extreme, but I did feel horrible. To this day, I’m still ashamed when I remember those conversations.
That’s when I knew. I had to make a change. I dreamed of doing what’s best for home buyers instead of what’s convenient for the company. For that reason, in 2004, we created MLS Mortgage Group. We’re pleased to offer VA Loans to eligible Veterans. MLS Mortgage Group has never discouraged Veterans from applying for a VA Home Loan. In fact, we encourage it. Thank you for your service.
