If you are in the Armed Forces and have PCS orders to the Fort Leonard Wood, MO area, the first thing you want to do is square quarters away for your family. If you are active duty military you may very well wish to use your VA Eligibility to purchase your new Fort Leonard Wood home. Listed below is some info that may prove very useful when considering using a VA loan for your home in the Ft Wood area.  

VA Home Loans


In order to obtain a VA loan you must

• The applicant must have VA Eligibility
• The veteran must qualify for the loan
• The veteran or spouse must occupy or intend to occupy the property as a
personal residence within a reasonable time after closing

VA Eligibility is based on a person’s (or spouse’s) military service. Generally any person who has served in the United States armed forces is eligible but the length of service and discharge will be the final determination factor. For an entire list of eligible veterans for a VA home loan you may wish to visit the official site at http://www.homeloans.va.gov/eligibility.htm or your lender will be able to assist you in determining your eligibility.


QUALIFYING FOR A VA HOME LOAN

You must now qualify for a VA home loan, simply because you have VA eligibility does not mean that you automatically qualify for a VA home loan. Many armed forces members think that VA loans you the money to purchase your home, this is not true. The Department of Veterans Affairs DOES NOT lend you money for your new home The Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees the loan. Most lenders today do offer VA loans and each lender sets their rates for VA loans, so VA interest rates vary from lender to lender as do the closing cost and other fees. VA loans offer many options such as 30 and 15 year fixed rates and Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
The home loan you qualify for will depend on your credit scores, income, and liabilities; in general you must be a satisfactory credit risk for the home that you want to purchase.
I would encourage you to shop around for rates, and terms when you are thinking of purchasing a home. There are also closing cost to you the veteran to purchase a home, these closing cost also vary from lender to lender. I do advise you to shop around for rates, terms, closing cost and other fees, but do not have each lender do a credit check on you since your credit score may be lowered with multiple inquires.


VA FUNDING FEE

You do not have to have a down payment to purchase a home with a VA loan, but VA does charge a funding fee for guaranteeing your loan. This fee varies from first time users to subsequent users and if you decide to pay a down payment. For most armed forces members not paying a down payment the first time funding fee is currently at 2.15% of the price of the home that you are wanting to purchase and 3.3% for subsequent users. A person with eligibility purchasing a home for the first time with a VA loan could purchase a $100,000 house and would have to finance $102,150. There are many types of mortgages out there but most require 20% down payment or you must pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) until you get equity to equal 20% or if your credit scores are good enough you may qualify for a 100% + loan. On the 100%+ loans you normally have 2 loans and 2 payment each month with both of them having different interest rates. This is one of the beauties of a VA loan is not having to have a down payment or two mortgages or pay PMI. Maybe the funding fee does not sound so bad and the VA funding fee can be rolled into your loan. You can get a VA loan with NO down payment. Normally if you have a 10% or greater disability you should NOT be required to pay a funding fee. 

VA APPRAISERS 

Once you have a signed contract by all parties the buyer’s lender will order an appraisal to be done on the property. Please remember VA is guaranteeing the loan so they want to make sure the property is worth the price that the buyer and the seller have agreed upon. VA appraisers are assigned and rotated in the area where you purchase your new home you can NOT request a certain VA appraiser. Once the VA appraiser has received an order from the buyer’s lender the VA appraiser will go to the property and perform an appraisal on the property
The VA appraiser will be looking at many things when they go to the property. They will look at the general condition of the property. If the appraiser finds items that do NOT meet VA standards the appraiser can call for repairs to be made on the property or your VA appraiser may request an expert to look at the questioned area and give an expert opinion on the questioned area. Please, remember VA appraisers give an opinion of the value of the property the VA appraiser is NOT an inspector. The VA appraisal does not guarantee the property that you are buying is free from defects.