Va Loans Oregon or Federal (Portland: real estate, to rent, insurance)

[joedonaldson]

I am a veteran and looking to use a VA loan to buy a house in Portland. Can anyone explain the benefits of each and which is better? Do you know a real estate agent in the area that can help?

Thanks,
Joe

[Steve Pickering]

Are you an Oregon Vet? (Did you enlist in Oregon?)

[brettlee000]

Both VA loans allow you to get into a home with $0 down payment and very low interest rates which is a huge benefit. The difference between the two is that the federal VA loan doesn't require mortgage insurance which can be $50-$200 a month (until 20% of the house is paid off). Mortgage insurance payments are determined by how much of a downpayment you make on the house. The higher the down payment the less mortgage insurance you will pay. Another difference is that the Federal VA allows you to rent your house out if you need to move. You cannot rent out your house and leave with the Oregon VA loan. I know a few real estate agents that can help including myself if I have time. Moderator cut: real estate advertising not permitted per TOS

p.s. You don't have to have enlisted in Oregon to get the Oregon VA loan you simply have to live here now. And you can use both VA loans at the same time because they are not connected.

[brettlee000]

Just realized I misspoke about the Oregon VA loan. It does require a downpayment of 5% typically.

[AndyAMG]

You need to go talk to a mortgage broker. They are all equally crooked and money grubbing so just choose one. They are pretty much bound by the rules of the VA loan so they can't do anything too shady. And you are correct, no PMI.

You find a house that fits your income and credit. The mortgage broker gets a crap ton of paperwork to fill out. Asks for your DD214 and before you know it you're writing an offer and then sitting in a little office for 5 hours initialing every page of a 5" stack of documents. And a lot of" This document just says" hoping that you won't take time to read it. "Go ahead and initial here." "This document just says you can never say anything bad about us sue us for anything ever, we have the right to harvest your children's organs if you miss a payment." What? "No it's just leagalese, it never really happens, just initial here."

The VA really doesn't have anything to do with it. The mortgage broker does all the work. The VA just guarantees the loan. Your mortgage will probably change hand 3 times before you ever figure out where to send the payment.

None of my home purchases required a down payment. It depends on credit, length of service, home buying history but most importantly, INCOME and current employment/employment history.

Like I said you have to get the ball rolling by contacting a random Mortgage Broker. Keep in mind some vets don't even qualify. I had a retired E-7 friend who took redux during retirement and couldn't income qualify for anything he wanted here.

[Rob Allen]

Check to see if you're eligible for USAA membership: https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/why_...lobal_usaaandu

They do not sell their mortgages on the open market - you'll know before applying who will be servicing your mortgage for its entire life. And obviously they're very familiar with VA loans.