Va Home Loans

[KennyJ]

How hard is it to get a VA home loan. What are the requirements. Must one have good credit to get the loan?

[Berta]

Kenny- all the info is here:

http://www.homeloans.va.gov/

I do believe you must have good credit- my husband had 2 VA home loans way before I met him -he said the VA inspections were very rigid too-

He bought a brand new home on VA loan which passed VA inspections right away-then sold it to buy something else and in the few years he owned it the VA inspection criteria had changed-

so he had to put more money into it-to pass inspection- for the vet who was buying it on a VA loan.

I think you can email them too at the above link with questions

[Pete53]

I hear that the VA Loans are easier to obtain than other loans for a Veteran provided they have been keeping up with bills and judgement free. In other words some of the requirements are a little relaxed but if you have bad credit not a chance. The only way to find out is talk to someone who deals in VA Loans.

Good Luck

PS A lot of lenders do not like VA Loans cause they make less money on them.

[Philip Rogers]

The VA will generally approve loans provided the property meets their inspection standards and you can find a bank or mortgage company that will approve you. Banks like them because the loan is guaranteed for a portion of the loan, so if you default the bank won't take as much of a loss. So it is possibe to get one without perfect credit. Finding the loan agency can be the problem.

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[Ricky]

Kenny, VA has relaxed credit requirements. What that means is that even if you have a fico score of 580, which does not qualify for a prime loan at a bank, they look at what has happened in the last 12 months. If all of your bills have in order for the past 12 months you should be ok. Even if you have charge-offs you will be ok as long as a repayment plan is in place and you are complying with the repayment plan. If not they will require you to pay off the bad debt prior to approving your loan. bankruptcy is also ok as long as it occured at least 24 months ago and you have established some type of credit since then and managed it in a good way. The best way to re-establish your credit after BR is one of the limited credit limit credit cards such as capital one, premier bank etc...... they will take you to the cleaner on interest but they serve their purpose. As stated below find you a hard working broker who deals with VA loans. He will be the expert.

[calnight]

kenny,

I just bought a new home i am closing escrow this week i used my va loan. it was very easy youmust get you certifacate of eligibility from the va go to there web site fill there form out and send it in with a copy of your dd214. you can use any bank or morgatege broker to get the loan the va does not lend you the money they only garuntee the loan. I used bank of america my rate was 6%. as far as credit i had bk 2 years ago but had great payment history after the bk i also had good credit scores so check your scores and make sure you have good payment history on you bills. so the first thing is make sure your credit is good and get you cert of eligibility from the va. then start shopping for rates call banks and morgatge broker and ask them what there rates are for a va loan. and if your sc you get a break on some of the fees in the loan. then you will get pre-approved for a certian amount depending on your income and then you go house shopping. i found it to be very easy compared to fighting for my increase in my sc its simalar to having to gather a bunch of paperwork i.e. bank statements. w-2, and all your income paperwork. good luck

[Guest rickb54]

I guess it depends who is lending the money for the loan. I have had four VA loans since 1990. Yea I really have moved that much. My experience had been very different from some of the other members. First, the VA does not loan anyone any money, therefor the va does not approve or deny any loans. If a lender tells you the va denied your loan they are lieing because they do not want to explain to you why the loan is denied. Some lenders will not work with anyone who has a bankrupcy, while others will depending how long ago the bankrupcy was, and what your credit history is like after the bankrupcy. I had lenders who wanted me to justify some of my outstanding credit cards, and others who wanted me to pay off some creditors before they would aprove a loan. The best things about VA loans are, the intrest rate is reasonable, no downpayment is required to purchase the home, (closing cost are not down payments) most sellers will pay at least part of the closing cost, and some closing cost are probhibed by VA. (I have never paid any closing cost, and when I sell I do not pay them for someone else) The loan is guarteened for a portion of the loan if you defalt. No morgage insurance is required when using va loan entitlement. As far as VA inspectors, they are not va employees, they are contractors that the va uses. The va goes down a list of names, and when a contractors name comes up it is his turn for the easy money.The va inspector is only inspection to see if the home is worth what you are paying. If you want to make sure the home you are buying doesn't have problems better get your own home inspector, they cost $300-$500 depending what you want then to inspect. On my first home the Va inspectors did a drive by inspection, approved the value of the home. Within a years I needed a new heating system and new roof. Do not trust va inspectors to watch out for you they are watching out for the va. Some va inspectors will point out some minor things that need to be fixed but if they are too critical the mortgage companies get mad because they lose sales... also if you do get a private inspector and you should, if the seller will not pay to fix something, you can walk away or still buy the property. I walked on 6 homes before I bought the one I have now.... Any way this has just been my expierence....