Tag Archives: va loan

VETS Need a Home Loan? The Time May Be Now

Posted on October 26, 2014 | Leave a comment

Not only has the Department of Veterans Affairs’ VA home-loan program gained significant market share compared with competing private and government mortgage options, but big banks and mortgage companies have stepped up efforts to help returning veterans obtain decent and affordable housing, including by gifting them hundreds of homes free of charge, with no mortgage attached.

Have questions about the appraisal process for a VA loan? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com; they have VA certified appraisers that are glad to help.

The VA’s home-purchase financing program is now at record levels. New loans to buy houses have more than doubled since 2007.

Since 2011, when VA-backed mortgages represented about 3 percent of total home-purchase mortgage activity, they’ve soared to roughly a 7 percent share, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

For sales of newly built homes, the VA share is much larger — it was 14.5 percent in September compared with a 16.7 percent share for the other major federal housing finance program, FHA, the Federal Housing Administration.

So VA loans are housing’s hot product, but why? Lots of reasons:

VA-guaranteed mortgages come with terms that no other financing source can match — zero down payment; flexible and generous credit underwriting that emphasizes the applicant rather than the algorithm-driven computer programs that dominate conventional lending. Plus VA interest rates are competitive, and maximum loan amounts go into the jumbo range.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

A Big Year for VA Loans

Posted on January 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

The number of loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs reached a record high in 2013, perhaps marking the peak of an upward trajectory that began after the housing market collapse.

The department guaranteed nearly 630,000 mortgage loans in fiscal year 2013, setting a new high just as the program enters its 70th year, said Mike Frueh, the director of the V.A.’s Loan Guaranty Program. The average loan was about $225,000, an amount that reflects the program’s value to “working-class America,” he said.

Contact the real estate appraisers at www.scappraisals.com; they are VA approved appraisers.

Calling the program’s growth “pretty incredible,” Chris Birk, the executive editor at Veterans United Home Loans, an online broker of V.A. loans, estimated that total loan volume has risen 372 percent since fiscal 2007.

Another factor is the tough lending climate of the last six years, which has made a V.A. loan the most viable option for many service members. “It’s become so much more difficult for military personnel and veterans to qualify for conventional financing,” Mr. Birk said. “This is the only path to homeownership for many.”

One big advantage for first-time buyers is that the loans do not require a down payment. About 90 percent of all V.A.-guaranteed purchase loans are made without any money down. “Our average borrower has about $7,000 in liquid assets at the time they close the loan,” Mr. Frueh said. “That’s not enough to make a significant down payment.”

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Marketing Tool – Taking Over a Seller’s Loan

Posted on September 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

Homeowners with a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs should consider using their loan terms as a marketing tool when it comes time to sell.

Mortgage loans from both government agencies include a little-known feature known as assumability. In other words, the buyer of a home financed with an existing F.H.A. or V.A. loan may be able to take over, or assume, the seller’s loan, under the same terms, rather than take out a new mortgage.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com they have VA and FHA certified appraisers that can answer your appraisal questions.

During periods when interest rates are rising, homes offered for sale with an assumable, lower-rate mortgage may have extra appeal for certain buyers.

“You could now have a seller saying, ‘I have a great house to sell you and a great mortgage to go with it, which is better than my neighbor, who only has a great house,’ ” said Marc Israel, an executive vice president of Kensington Vanguard National Land Services and a real estate lawyer. “It’s a very clever idea.”

The savings for buyers assuming a loan extend beyond a lower interest rate. Assuming a loan is cheaper than applying for a new one because there are fewer settlement fees. An appraisal is not required (though a buyer may want to obtain one anyway). And in New York, borrowers assuming a loan do not have to pay the hefty mortgage recording tax a second time, Mr. Israel said.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Tag Archives: va loan

VETS Need a Home Loan? The Time May Be Now

A Big Year for VA Loans

Marketing Tool – Taking Over a Seller’s Loan

Follow Blog