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First house I bought using a VA loan with zero down. No issues.
Second house was in a high cost of living area with expensive real estate and a very hot market. 99% of sellers wouldn't take a VA loan. Why even bother when buyers are offering all cash no contingencies. Plus, with market prices here you would have to be very wealthy to afford a VA loan with zero down. I ended up using a 20% down conventional.
There seems to be some confusion between an earnest money deposit and a down payment. The former may be a reflection of how serious is about buying a property, while the latter has more to do with the buyer and his mortgage company.
It seems like the only way a buyer should be involved in the seller's down payment on his mortgage with the bank, is if a zero-money down buyer were thought to be be less likely to qualify for the mortgage than another buyer with a larger down payment. As long as the buyer qualifies for the mortgage, the amount of their down payment in their mortgage terms is of no consequence to the seller.
That is a buyer with no skin in the game. More than once as a seller selling my own investments I counter with 500 bucks and they manage to come up with it. I don't like dealing with a buyer that puts nothing down, so I won't do it.
IDK. Just yesterday another buyer’s slightly lower bid was chosen over ours, solely because they were putting more down. It doesn’t make sense that our lender has no issue with us only putting 8% down, but the seller does.
You know I don't think we got the lowest rate out there but I didn't check around too much. My credit union does not assign interest rates based on credit, they assign based on the loan type and the percentage of money put down. 0-10% gets the higher rate, 11-20% gets a lower rate, and 21% and higher gets the lowest rate. Having no PMI is also helpful.
We have a relatively high DTI due to student loans and some leftover consumer debt from when my husband was laid off during the recession and went back to school to change careers.
Our credit score is not bad but also not top tier due to the DTI (we have excellent payment history) so we would have not qualified for the top rates anyway.
My credit union considers existing debt and also carefully looks at payment history and income source and other assets for prequalification but either you have a credit score that approves or one that doesn't. I'm not sure their threshold on that because ours is not too low to be scary or where we otherwise have issue getting credit elsewhere.
Rent is pretty expensive in our area so it has been advantageous for us to own vs. rent because of the possibility of building equity and also not having to move each year or two when apts raise the rent. Plus we have three dogs so that is expensive and a bit much to put in a rental.
Almost the same here. I bank with Carolinas Telco FCU and so long as you meet a baseline of 680 FICO and some very nominal DTI requirements, you qualify for the advertised (best) rate. There is an internal schedule they use to calculate rates for FICO under 680.
If you meet FICO with dicey DTI it could be a reason for denial on a mortgage, but usually they'll still extend a [very small] car note or line of credit.
The home inspection is the same regardless of loan type, and the qualifying process actually less stringent for the buyer. Zero-down loans are to assist buyers in need, unlike how "0% financing" on new cars is more of a reward for well qualified buyers who don't need it.
Some "incentives" are need based, and some are merit based. It seems if you fall in the middle, you lose
Quote:
Originally Posted by luckeeesmom
It is my understanding with 0% VA loans, there is a more stringent inspection process.
Exactly, that's what I was referring to. FHA and VA loans, I am told, have strict inspection requirements (beyond appraisal). My most recent purchase was conventional and my lender never asked or required me to have an inspection.
We’re going to use a VA loan with 0% down. We have plenty of money in the bank and could do a conventional. However, we get a better interest rate with VA plus I’d like to keep my money in the bank for emergencies down the road, etc. I do plan on paying the closing costs.
The VA does require an inspection but they’re not at strict as they once were.
I was told by a realtor that people think if you’re not putting anything down, you’ll ask them to pay the closing costs. Not true in my case. If I really liked a house, I’d put something down if I thought it would help, but in this market, I’m not desperate to pay anything crazy.
IDK. Just yesterday another buyer’s slightly lower bid was chosen over ours, solely because they were putting more down. It doesn’t make sense that our lender has no issue with us only putting 8% down, but the seller does.
I think there's some fear that you may not be able to cover any gap if the house appraises for less than asking price and your current down payment is insufficient to make up the difference. In that case, the other bid may have been seen as the safer bet.
I paid for the lot I just bought with cash and I had to bring over proof of funds to the realtor from my bank. Does everyone have to do this? I'm still walking around in my shoes that are scuffed up and now torn open at the sides (what can I say - I hate to shop for shoes), so maybe that had the realtor spooked. And once when I mentioned that I could make a large down payment if any seller wanted to finance me, the owner of the realty office looked surprised and said, "Really? You have that much money?"
So I don't know if proof of funds is normal or if it was just because I dress like a street urchin. But if it's normal, I wouldn't think there would be any concern about someone not having a down payment.
I paid for the lot I just bought with cash and I had to bring over proof of funds to the realtor from my bank. Does everyone have to do this? I'm still walking around in my shoes that are scuffed up and now torn open at the sides (what can I say - I hate to shop for shoes), so maybe that had the realtor spooked. And once when I mentioned that I could make a large down payment if any seller wanted to finance me, the owner of the realty office looked surprised and said, "Really? You have that much money?"
So I don't know if proof of funds is normal or if it was just because I dress like a street urchin. But if it's normal, I wouldn't think there would be any concern about someone not having a down payment.
Almost every listing I see includes a note to the effect:
"Provide Preapproval or proof of funds with all offers."
Any of my listings certainly do.
Agents and sellers want evidence that you can perform as you say you can.
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