VA Loan

[Anonymous]

Can some one explain - provide a good link to the VA Loan program?

I think we are eligible given my husband's service - but I have different information regarding origination fees and can't figure out if this is a good loan for us.

If you have used the VA Loan program - is there a bank / credit union you recommend?

THanks

[Anonymous]

The VA loan is great if you have no $ to put down with no PMI. It's about the only option out there right now that does that. But it does have more fees associated with it. However... if your DH has any disability rating, he is eligible for reduced fee or no fee.

[Anonymous]

http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/lp.asp#cost

[Anonymous]

We used one recently for a SFH with a $455K purchase price. The origination fee was a couple thousand dollars, I think, and totally worth it. For us, it was a no-brainer to use that loan. Since we were counting on the sale of a previous TH for down payment, we had some fear that we might not be able to sell before we purchased (didn't wind up being an issue in the end). We definitely didn't have 20% laying around for a conventional loan, but didn't want to get involved with an FHA and have to pay PMI. The VA would have allowed us to put next to nothing down, purchase a home, and then reset the loan without a refinance within a certain grace period (I think it was 90 days?) AND avoided PMI. Also, since we were looking at some homes that were short sales and foreclosures, we knew we couldn't finance renovations-yes, there are those 203k loans for the worst of the worst properties, but most renovations need to be paid in cash.

So, in the end, we bought a SFH that was a regular sale in need of updating. We put down 10% to get the best interest rate available (it didn't drop any lower after 10% down) and used the $30K that was left to renovate our kitchen, install hardwood and pay down some debt.

These loans don't work for everyone, as you likely will be told. If you're in a bidding war, these loans aren't as competitive. But the flexibility it offered us for financing and renovation was key for us and absolutely was the right choice.

[Anonymous]

Yes the VA loan is great and a better low downpayment option then FHA. You do have to pay a fee up front but you don't have that STUPID pmi to pay each month.