ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2011
There are several types of VA home loan benefits available to qualifying disabled veterans. Those benefits include special consideration for VA insured mortgages (qualifying disabled vets don’t have to pay a VA loan funding fee) and a series of grants which can help a veteran purchase and/or modi...
08/31/2011
The VA offers a range of important benefits for qualifying disabled veterans, including a waiver for the VA loan funding fee and grants for specially adapted housing. Such grants are intended to help veterans with qualifying disabilities purchase specially adapted housing, or modify an existing p...
08/31/2011
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When buying a home with a VA insured mortgage loan, the property must be appraised by a VA-assigned fee appraiser before the loan can be approved. There are many reasons for this, but the VA lender’s guide puts it like this: “An appraisal is required to help ensure that any property which will be...
08/30/2011
VA borrowers affected by Hurricane Irene or other natural disasters should contact the Department of Veterans Affairs as soon as possible to learn what help is available for disaster recovery, VA loan assistance, and help with foreclosure avoidance. VA borrowers in need of post-disaster advice or...
08/29/2011
The VA Loan Funding Fee is part of the cost of buying a home with a VA insured mortgage. Borrowers are required to pay this fee by law, unless identified as exempt by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA explains the funding fee as follows; “The fee is intended to enable the veteran who obt...
08/26/2011
A frequently asked question about the VA loan process involves the list of itemized fees and charges and the lender’s 1% flat fee. What’s the difference between the two? Or are they the same thing? There is a difference between the list of itemized fees and charges allowed by VA loan rules and th...
08/25/2011
Recently in the Federal Housing Administration released a statement announcing a lower loan limit for high-cost counties in the most expensive markets. According to a Friday, August 19, 2011 press release, “On October 1, 2011, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will implement new single-fam...
08/25/2011
The Department of Veterans Affairs has two basic types of refinancing loans; cash-out refinancing which requires a credit check and other underwriting in the same manner as a new purchase VA loan, and Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans (IRRRL) which may or may not require additional underw...
08/24/2011
In recent posts, we’ve discussed some of the fees VA loan rules say a borrower can and cannot be charged by the lender. Borrowers can be charged a 1% lender’s flat fee, for example, which is a typical cost of doing business with a participating VA lender. That flat fee is intended to cover expens...
08/23/2011
We’ve been discussing loan fees a borrower can and cannot pay. The Department of Veterans Affairs has rules in place to guide lenders as to what fees and expenses are allowable under the VA insured loan program, and which expenses may not be charged to the borrower. There is a list of allowable f...
08/23/2011
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Bruce Reichstein
FHA / VA One-Time Close Loans - Nationwide