"Anyone ever use their VA home loan?..." Topic

I'm looking at getting a place here in Indy, and it's nice. It needs some work, but it's pretty much what I have been looking for, and the price is reasonable. I've got my VA home loan certificate and was wondering if anyone has gone through the process of using this thing…what are the good things and bad things with dealing it, (other than it being the VA?)…

Thanks In Advance…

Used it twice. First house--no problems. Second house, the homeowners association wasn't written to allow a VA loan, and had to modify their bylaws to do so. A little bit of stress invovled, but not much as I was a tech rep on the road for 8 months and if we didn't get the house, no problems (now, the chain of 5 people who were planning on using my money to buy the next house, who would then buy the next house, etc. was most stressed. They would call and beg me to go conventional, along with their realtors who wanted their fees! I told them that if they each ponied up $5,000 USD cash as a gift I'd go conventional. Shut that right up.)

VA loan--you don't need to put as much money down. That's not as much of an issue in today's loan environment. You do have to go through the VA, but's it's pretty straightforward. For some reason, I had the feeling that I was spending and extra $1,000 USD in fees to use my VA loan, tho it's been many years and I can't get specific.

Overall, I'd say it may be worth it to you, especially if you don't have a lot of down payment. My last house was strictly conventional.

I used one a few years back. I got my loan at a 1/4 percentage point below all the other loans available at the time. The best thing about VA loans is you dont have to pay PMI insurance if you dont have 20% down. Thats a big thing these days as who has 60K cash to put down if it is your first house. PMI insurance can run a couple hundred dollars a month depending on your lender and the amount you finance.

I had a very good experiance and would do it again.

Tim

I used mine and had the same experience as Stryker01. The only drawback seemed to be the property inspection standards set by the VA. I remember there being an issue with the path leading to the back door being a trip hazard and the previous owner need to remove some electrical work (that he had done) that did not meet the standards.

The VA had also just started approving Adjustable Rate Mortgages but I didn't fall for it.

I've used mine twice. The first time I don't remember any problems, the second time there was a small problem with insuring the house- the VA required the entire insured amount to be on the house itself, not including the out buildings- which were worth a sizeable chunk of the loan.
Here in Texas, we also have access to a Texas Vets loan- and you get a half precent off if you or your spouse is a teacher.

When I used mine, same thing as Stryker and WeeSParky… didn't have the full downpayment, so it helped save me a few bucks. But they do look at the house differently for inspection…. I think I had to add a piece of wood to the outside porch (well, the sellers had to add a board to the porch).

Isn't there something (and I could be wrong) about assumption of the loan with VA? If you sell it (I still live in the same house, so am not sure if I am making that bit up), makes it easier to approve assumption of the loan?

Chalfant

I had no regrets using a VA loan but I suspect the program has changed quite a bit so it might not be an apples to apples comparison. I joined up just before the 1946 GI Bill expired (1975) so I expect my benefits are/where radically different than yours.

Dave

Dad went through FHA for a home loan.

I used mine with no problem, except for the interest rate being slightly higher. But as others have said, no down payment.

Unfortunately, out here in California they're worthless- way below market rate. But I still have the certificate…

When I got around to buying my first house the VA option had a higher intrest rate than what was available to me through other channels and the $ limit was not sufficient for the market that I live in. Regardless of your situation I would verify that there are not lower interest options available to you as that is what makes the big difference $ wise in the long haul.

Good to know. My wife and I are both eligible, but we haven't started looking to buy yet.

When I used mine I had similar experiences to Stryker and the others. The only bump was the inspection. I was going to get one anyway so that wasn't an issue. For me it came down to the seller moving a sewage gas pipe from in front of the fuse box (don't ask why they put it there). Any inspector would have found it as a code violation anyway. Just needed the realator to get the work done by the owner. I've had a good experience with it and it saved me a few bucks.

I've never had to use mine (always could find a better deal) but when I sold my first house, the buyer used his VA and I had to add some strange tweaks like a brick walkway in back or something to that effect.

All of the above are typical stories. I have bought 5 houses thru the VA. Just make sure when you make an offer, it has a clause that the seller must pay for any issues found on the inspection. The VA standards are tougher than a bank or even FHA, but nothing unreasonable. Some sellers don't like to go VA, but in today's market, they may not have much leverage.

Used properly, you can build quite a portfolio of real estate. Finance your 1st house VA. Once you build up some equity, refinance conventionally, then use the VA to buy a 2d house. Repeat every few years and you have your retirement next egg (unless you ex takes everything to Atlantic City behind your back, like mine did). A VA mortgage is only for your primary home, but once you live there for 1 day, you met their requirement.

I used it when I was still in the Army back in 1979.

I used mine w/o incident in 1987.

I has no problem with mine. Everything went really smooth. Then when I refinaced it was still pretty easy.

I used mine once. Some sellers do not like them, as there are some closing costs that the VA will not allow the buyer to pay and they get shifted to the seller.

Be sure to shop your options around a little. I've had several clients insist on using their VA certificate even though there were better options for zero down loans out there simply because they felt they had earned it.

Used mine with no hassles in 1990, other than the credit union I wanted to go through wasn't registered to work with the VA so I had to use a local bank instead.