The appeal of a VA loan is primarily the low down payment. Most conventional loans today will require a 20% down payment, and you have to have 20% down in order to avoid the requirement of private mortgage insurance (PMI). Many veterans can afford the mortgage payment but are unable to save 20% in cash. On a $400,000 home, 20% would be $80,000. So the VA loan is alive and well for those who qualify.
VA Loan Paperwork
Unfortunately, there is massive paperwork with a VA Loan. The bureaucrats and regulators have been having a heyday developing new and more regulations for a VA loan, and the qualification process has reached entirely new levels of extraordinary detail. The Purchase and Sale Agreement that is normally used in a real estate transaction will triple in size after you get done signing all the VA loan addendums and additional forms.
VA Loan Qualification
You will be required to join a conference call with a VA loan processor who will talk to your utility company, your Internet company, and your automobile insurance company to find out if you ever had a late payment over 30 days. Every aspect of your credit, your income, and your underwear size will be analyzed. These kinds of detailed inquiries will go on for weeks. We all understand the need to prevent fraud, but qualifying for a VA loan today will require extraordinary patience on your part.
Last Updated on September 7, 2019 by Chuck Marunde
I qualified for a VA Loan (US Army) but chose FHA to avoid some of the paperwork. PMI was one regret I had. Even after I’d demonstrated 15 years of on-time payments, my bank refused to remove or lessen the PMI saying they could but didn’t have to. I was so glad to pay off my home and to stop the $50 each month in PMI. Some can qualify for a refund of PMI, but I didn’t.