VA Loan qualification

When considering a va home loan many veterans ask “Do I qualify for a va loan”. The short answer is if you served time in the military you are eligible for a va loan under the VA program, but that does not guarantee the lender will loan the money. There are three main factors that determines if an applicant qualifies for a va loan.

1.       VA Eligibility – The member must be eligible for va benefits. Most anyone that served on active duty, guard or reserve honorably will most likely be eligible for the va program. But this only means the Department OF Veteran Affairs will issue the va certificate. This does not guarantee you qualify for the loan.

2.       Debt to Income Ratio – The VA allows veteran with as much as 41% debt to qualify. This means the lender offering the money is allowed to fund the loan even if you have  41% of your income going to debts.

3.       Credit History – Veterans with poor credit can still get a loan but its difficult. The two largest factors affecting your credit worthiness, according to the VA is if filed for bankruptcy in the last three years and if you have any 30 day late payments reflecting on your credit report. If you have a history of paying your bills on time, but have poor credit because of other reasons, you may still qualify.

If you want to check your VA qualification, please try our VA Loan Qualification worksheet. You can download this form and get an idea if you may qualify even before you speak to a loan officer.

This past week we saw interest rates rise slightly to above the 5% rate. However the markets are moving so we could see va rates move between 4.75% and 5.5% over the next couple weeks. If you’re looking to buy a new home, this is still considered a very acceptable range. Contact us today for current rates and let us get you qualified so you’re ready to lock in your rate when you find the perfect home.

It’s a new year and new opportunities. The economy is down but so are home prices and va interest rates. For Veterans this makes a buying frenzy, because they have a steady income and their va loan benefits to take advantage of the low costs of home ownership. I’ll take a moment to caution veterans that buying a home in these conditions are great! However, selling a home in these conditions ids very difficult. So active duty members looking to buy a home should careful consider if the reward is worth the risk. When you relocate in 2-3 years, you may take a significant loss on your home if the economy hasn’t improved by them.

But for all those retirees that are looking to settle down in the same spot and grow roots, now is YOUR time. Contact us today about your new home in 2009!

We have added VA loan videos and information on our home page. These videos and pdf documents are from the Department of Veteran Affairs website. Please review this important information about buying, selling and refinancing your home.

Is it time to refinance your VA Loan? It could be if your existing va interest rate is 6.25% or higher and you plan to keep your home. We will start the new year with some of the best VA rates ever. Reducing your interest rate by 1% or more can save you $100/month on a $200,000 loan. If your current mortgage is larger, the more you can save.

 Here are just some of the benefits:

• Reduced monthly payment
• Save thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan
• NO credit checks to qualify
• NO Income requirements
• NO Appraisal
• NO out of pocket costs (fees can be rolled into the new loan)
• Low 0.5% VA funding fee
• Very little paperwork
• Fast and Easy
• Convert to a low va Fixed rate from your adjustable rate

 Ask about the VA Streamline Refinance option with your loan officer. Or visit http://www.va-loans.com/refinance.html

Best VA rate of 2008

The markets have driven the VA Loan rate down to levels we have not seen in a long time. Starting in Early December the VA rate dropped below 6% and has continued to decline. Over the last two weeks we have seen 5% for a fixed rate va loan. Now today those rates have dropped again. We are seeing rates between 4.875% and 5%.

These rates should last into early January 2009, but there is never a guarantee. If your shopping for a home, apply and lock in the best va rate of the year!

What does it mean? When you see a va loan rate of 5% Fixed, it means when you lock your rate at 5% it will never go up. Unlike adjustable rates that we have seen go up, in some cases adding hundreds of dollars to a monthly mortgage payment. When you apply for a va loan, make sure your rate is fixed.

“0″ points means you don’t pay a fee to get the rate. Some lenders will quote a low internest rate, but tell you must must pay points (a fee) to buy down the rate. With todays very low fixed rates there is no need to buy the rate down.

If your looking for the best low va rates, apply with va-loans.com today.

A month ago we said that 6% was considered a good rate. However with the current market conditions we are now saying 5.25% is a great rate to lock. If you are buying a home in the next 60 days, I strongly recommend you lock in your rate. Currently we are seeing rates approach the 5.0% mark which is truly an incredible rate to have. The difference 1% makes on a $200,000 loan is $126 per month!

The loan officers working with va-loans.com work hard to find the best va rate from dozens of local and national lenders nationwide. Contact us today and let us find you the best va rate.

In the past two weeks we have seen the best va rates all year. What a great way to end 2008 and start 2009, with a low fixed va rate for your new home. There are thousands of military families preparing for purchasing a home in 2009 becuase home prices have dropped and rates are low.

Inquire now about our low va rate mortgages.

VA Rates are dropping today to levels we have not seen in a long time. The markets are reacting to the feds decision to lower rates to help people refinance out of high interest rate loans. If you considering buying a home soon, apply today and lockin this great low rate before rates go back up.

5.375% is 0 points / 30 year fixed.

Yesterday the bond markets reacted favorably to Presidential-Elect Obama’s economic team announcement. VA Rates briefly fell to 5.5% then settled at 5.75% for the day. Today’s rates will be announced soon.

Wow we have been busy processing va loans for clients at a great rate of 5.75% fixed for 30 year term. I have not had the time to post to the blog this week, but will try to catch up next week. This week started out poor and continually got better, ending today with 5.75% while many of our competitors are still advertising 6-6.125%. It just shows we are doing what we say and finding the best va loan possible for our clients, one of the many advantages of using va-loans.com!

If you’re buying a home soon or within the next 6 months, let us get you pre-approved so you know what you qualify for.

This week va rates didn’t move much. Earlier in the week they were 6.12% but fell back to 5.875% and remained there. We continue to beet the competition with our rates and will continue to work hard building relationships with investors and lenders so that we can offer our clients the best deal possible.

Rates fell significantly yesterday on favorable bond market reaction to the elections. Rates are down to 5.875% from 6.50%. They could continue to slide today to 5.75%. If you’re not locked you need to be. If you lender has you locked at a higher rate, contact us today and let us lock you with a low va rate loan.

VA Rates were at their best on Monday at 6.12% and only got worse from there. This was not a good week to lock in your VA loan. The markets continues to fluctuate and the bond market acted accordingly. We topped out the week and 6.50% but recovered slightly on Friday afternoon. We ended the week at 6.25%, about ¼ above our recommended lock. We continue to recommend a lock at 6.00%, this is a great rate to be holding for the next several years.

There continues to be uncertainty as to what the economy is going to do. In the short term I suspect it will get slightly worse, so we will continue to see fluctuations in the bond market.  If you’re looking to buy in the next couple months, I strongly suggest you get pre-qualified so you’re ready to lock at a moment notice. I think we will see 6.00% again next week.

It’s a new week, VA interest rates are on the rise this week. It is unknown how long they will remain above 6%. If you’re looking to buy a home within the next 30-45 days, I recommend you apply now and float your rate. By floating your rate it allows us to rate shop for you and when rates drop back to the 6.0 – 5.875% level we can lock you in (with your approval). Rates will remain uncertain as long as the economic crises continues to unfold. Any VA Rate at 6% should be considered a good and safe rate to lock.

We end the week where we started. On Monday rates were 6% but got a little better by the end of the day. Tuesday morning they dropped to 5.75 and remained there through Wednesday. On Thursday the rates began to rise again and hit 5.875%. The turmoil in the markets and the economic fears cause the rates to rise further this morning back to 6%.

As economic fears continue and are likely to continue in coming months, we could easily see rates rise  and fall. However, despite this fluctuation, any va rate at 6% or below Is considered a good rate and buyers should not hesitate to lock it in.

If you’re shopping for the best VA rates, then there are a couple things you should know. First rates change daily and are based on what the bond market is doing. Each mortgage company or investor determines daily what their profit margin will be for offering money for home loans. Some want premium pricing, meaning they set interest rates higher than most. Others offer lower interest rates with less profit hoping to get more loans.

Here at va-loans.com we have over 120 lenders and investors that we watch daily to find you the best va loan interest rates. We have a price engine that allows us to shop for you and identify who is offering the best va rate at that moment in time. Because we watch the market conditions and also the rates we know a good rate when we see it.

Currently the best VA Rates will be 6% and below. In the past couple of weeks we have seen rates jump to 6.5% them fall back again hovering at 6% most of the time. So if you get a chance to lock a rate at 6%, 5.875, 5.75, or 5.625, I would highly recommend you lock it!

As noted on our home page, last week’s best rate was 5.875% while many companies were offering 6-6.25%. This week we have already seen 5.625% but that has since risen again.

Contact us for current rates, or apply and let us rate shop for you.

Ask for a Good Faith Estimate (GFE)
If you inquire about a loan with us or any other lender, ask for a good faith estimate. This document can be easily prepared and it will show all fees, and commissions associated with the loan. This will allow you to easily compare the fees for different companies. However, it will be difficult to compare rates unless you received all the GFE’s on the same day at the same time. (note: you should not give out your Social Security Number when shopping. Each time you give it out, someone will check your credit file and this could impact your credit score.)

Loan Origination Fee
Ask or review the GFE to see what the loan officer is charging you for originating your loan. This is the compensation paid for the 30 days of work usually required to process the loan package. It is acceptable to pay 1% of the loan amount but no more!

Application FEE
Don’t pay It, this is a Junk Fee. If a lender/broker tells you there is an application fee they are just wanting to make money on you before getting started. This is a bad sign that you may pay additional junk fees later on. A lender/broker should be willing to accept your loan application and process your loan without the application fee. They are compensated for all their work from the loan origination fee when the loan closes.

Rate Shopping
Ask the lender/broker if they can rate shop for you. If you contact a bank, credit union or even some direct lenders, they will only have one VA estimate to offer you. You get one choice which is not much of a choice at all. But if you contact a mortgage broker such a va-loans.com, we have access to 75 lenders nationwide allowing us to look for the best rate and the lowest fees. We will look for the best option and provide you an estimate (GFE) that will contain all the fees and interest rate associated with the loan so there are no surprises at closing.

The current economic crises has the stock market going crazy and the bond market too. Mortgage interest rates are affected by the bond market so as you can imagine rates are going crazy from one day to the next. One day last week we were seeing VA 30 year fixed at 5.875%, the next day the stock market tanked and rates went to 6.5%! On a $200,000 loan that is an $80 difference in your monthly payment.

Rate locks offer you the protection of a set rate that won’t move while you shop for a home. When you apply for a VA loan, you can opt to have your rate locked, or let it float for a while. When rates drop as they did today (5.75%), you can lock that rate in so its guaranteed. Once you lock a rate you have to close on a home within 15-30 days (ask your loan officer the exact time window). If you don’t close on a home within the window provided, you lose the rate and the current rate will apply.

We recommend all military families looking to buy a home in the very near future to apply now, and get pre-approved. Then ask your loan officer what rates have been doing. He or She can tell you what the rates have been doing and can advise you when you may want to consider locking in. Just because the rates dip one day doesn’t mean they will be as good the next.