VA loans anyone??????

[nina13]

I am purchasing my first home in maryland and I'm scared to death. I am using a VA loan. The house is being sold at $325,000 with the seller paying $8000 in closing cost. The rest of the closing cost is being tacked on making the sale price $330,000. I am getting a rate of 5.75 and paying $999 at closing time after the $1000 deposit. Is this a good deal? I keep hearing different things. The VA appraised the house for $330,500. I have already been approved financially. I am just scared I could be getting a better deal in this market. I just don't know. It's always hard for me to make decisions and this is the biggest one of my life. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

[renriq02]

that sounds like a good VA deal.

[nina13]

I am purchasing my first home in maryland and I'm scared to death. I am using a VA loan. The house is being sold at $325,000 with the seller paying $8000 in closing cost. The rest of the closing cost is being tacked on making the sale price $330,000. I am getting a rate of 5.75 and paying $999 at closing time after the $1000 deposit. Is this a good deal? I keep hearing different things. The VA appraised the house for $330,500. I have already been approved financially. I am just scared I could be getting a better deal in this market. I just don't know. It's always hard for me to make decisions and this is the biggest one of my life. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

[TimtheGuy]

Sounds like a square deal. Get it closed and enjoy your new home!

[osugirl]

I'm not a realtor or a lender, but recently purchased our first home using a VA loan. It seems like many people have negative feelings about VA loans. So, I want to share our experience, which was great!

We purchased our home in 2007 using a VA Loan. We're recently out of grad school and didn't have much cash to put down (we could have put down 10 percent, maximum, although our credit scores are income are pretty high), but we did 100 percent financing. We also got the seller to pay all closing costs. We purchased when interest rates were higher, but shopped around and got a rate of 6.75 percent (this was pretty good at the time, though now it sounds outrageous).

We didn't have to pay a VA funding fee due to a service-connected disability, which was definitely our deciding factor in using a VA-guaranteed loan. We shopped around quite a bit, and found a lender who does lots of VA loans. There were no junk fees, no points, no origination fee, etc. Here is a basic summary of fees from our GFE:
Apraisal (by VA Appraiser): $350
Flood Cert: $13
Credit Report: $14.50
Settlement/Escrow Fee: $525
Title Insurance: $875
Recording Fee: $100
Survey $150

I would have to check the HUD 1, but I know we got some money back at closing because the fees were even less than the GFE.

We wanted a quick close date and our realtor and the seller's realtor were both skeptical about closing so quickly. However, the day the contract was accepted our lender ordered the VA appraisal and it was done the next day! Even our lender (who does a lot of VA loans) was shocked. The house was not in perfect condition (built in 1920s), but the VA appraiser gave a glowing report.

We were ready to close within a week or so. Everyone involved was shocked. I attribute it to a combination of a great loan officer, meticulous completion of paperwork by us and good luck.

We just refinanced at 5.5 percent with the original loan officer. We did a VA Streamline Refi, and again, the service-connected disability meant we didn't have to pay a funding fee. Our total costs came to $1200 (not including escrows of course).

You have to be careful though, because people will try to take advantage. If you are going to refinance a VA loan, don't go with a lender who will charge outrageous fees. I contacted a few companies who wanted to charge anywhere from $4k to $7k to refinance. That's just ridiculous.

(Among the worst offenders were Countrywide, VA Mortgage Center, VA Loan Program and I-Freedom Direct.)

Anyway, we had a great experience, and because we're exempt from the funding fee for as many times as we want to use a VA loan, we will definitely finance our next home using a VA-backed mortgage.

I just wanted to share our experience. After all, if you serve your country you have a VA loan entitlement, and in many cases it can be a very good deal. If anyone has questions, feel free to PM me.

[renriq02]

Also, USDA is one of the best loans also.

VA restricts fees or junk fees ...from the lender AND the attorney/title company.

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

Originally Posted by AnimalLover

Illinois has a program for Veterans than may be even better than a VA loan. Here, they can borrow 20% at 0%, 80% at a reduced rate, up to $2500 in closing cost allowance/down payment assistance and NO funding fee. Income limitations are fairly high, do not need to be a first time buyer. Last time I asked, bottom line was 30 year fixed rate at under 5%. I would LOVE to find a vet to help with this program!

nerver heard of thise before

[EllenArlingtonPark]

Originally Posted by garth

So guys . . . when does the use of a VA mortgage get surprised on the seller? I've never had a buyer use one, but I would imagine that it would be to the buyer's best interests to hide it since the seller is going to pay for things he normally doesn't have to pay for and deal with a bunch of govt headaches.

Have you ever had a seller refuse to pay for fees that are not customary or usual in the market? Or, have you had the seller raise the price on the home to cover the extra costs and time dictated by the VA's policy? I know that last one would be my option, especially if the buyer hid the fact from me during negotiations.

VA loans are real easy. The thing is that you have to increase the sales price to compensate the seller for the closing costs that the VA will not allow a vet to pay. It is not that complicated but the seller needs to know what is going on.

Often times if the sales price in increased by 5K to cover closing costs, the closing costs turn out to be 4300 and the seller pockets the difference! It is win win all around, especilly for our vets who have an opportunity to buy a home with 0 down. To me that is a great way to say thank you for serving our country!

[faabala]

Markets are all different. VA loans are about 85-90% of our business. It is customary here that the seller will pay some closing costs. A seller would not get away with increasing the sales price if the buyer was using a VA loan here. We are a military based market.

I'm personnally getting ready to use my VA entitlement for the third time.