The VA Loan program is a mortgage loan that’s guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. This program works to supply home financing to eligible veterans and help them purchase a property with no down payment. This loan is issued by qualified lenders and guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. The VA Loan program was created in 1944 to help World War II veterans buy homes and since then has helped more than 20 million veterans to become homeowners. Just in 2015, the VA guaranteed over 631,000 loans. 

You may be eligible for Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VLMI) if you’re a severely disabled veteran. This is mortgage protection insurance that can assist your family in case of your death. This program is available if you have received an SAH grant, and you own the title and have a mortgage on your home. This is something you have to apply for before your 70th birthday. 

Working with an agent that knows VA loans is a must. They’ll be able to understand and fully help with your needs and the process of buying a home will become much easier to manage. Something important to note is that VA loans can be for any age. If you’ve served and passed the eligibility requirements, no matter how old you are you can still get the loan. Your VA loan can be used for many things like; building a home, refinancing an existing a loan, or even refinancing a current VA loan to get a better rate.

Even though you don’t have to make a down payment, there can still be some cost that comes with the VA loan. Usually, it has an upfront funding fee. This is rolled into your VA loan and increases your monthly payments through the life of the loan. This fee can be waived if a veteran has a 10 percent or more disability rating. 

You can have more than one VA loan! Depending on the amount of entitlement from your military profile, you can be eligible for more than one. Some can even have two VA loans at the exact same time. 

Benefits of a VA loan are plentiful. Most importantly, there’s the no down payment. Other than that there are a few other benefits you might not know. Mortgage insurance isn’t necessary, some of the lenders fee are limited, and the borrower is allowed to prepay part or even the entire loan without getting a prepayment penalty. 

Home Loan Guaranty Program states that the VA with guaranty a portion of your loan to protect lenders against loss if you can’t pay it yourself. This exists for remodeling your home, purchasing one, or even building upon it. Private banks and mortgage companies are the ones who provide the loans, but having the VA guaranty can get you better financial terms and avoid the down payment.

Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan is also known as the Streamline Refinance Loan. This can get you a lower interest rate by refinancing your current VA loan. The Cash-Out Refinance Loan helps pay your home equity to pay off your other debt. This can be school tuition or to make changes to your home, or even refinancing a different loan to turn it into a VA loan. A Purchase Loan helps you buy a home at a competitive interest rate. When the purchase loan is paid off through a refinance, it’s now a hard money loan. A hard money loan is generally granted based off of equity on property rather than the borrower’s credit.