Tag: VA requirements

VA Loans: Multiple Properties, Federal Tax Debt, Student Loans, Trailing Spouse Income There are so many guidelines that no one can know them all, but knowing where to find the answers is important.  This is what we look to do for buyers, real estate professionals, and others who need answers to tough mortgage and real […]

Pastoral Housing Allowance We love helping pastors buy homes!  So much so, we have to share this success story and “prayer” answered.  Picture this loan scenario which involved the often misunderstood pastoral housing allowance. A pastor and military veteran buyer No down payment Almost all nontaxable income Excluded personal debts paid by the church Good […]

First Time VA Loan Buyer Options Under 640 score, over 55% debt ratio, VA home loan purchase that needs to close in 33 days?  No way?  Yes, Way!!   So often there are times when someone has some hurdles to overcome when purchasing a home and our team is one that will figure out a […]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the maximum conforming loan size limits for 2016 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans will stay the same as 2015 except for increases in 39 high cost counties in the U.S. Being that there are 3007 counties in the U.S., that is not many that are increasing.  The baseline […]

Other than the standard things most people know about, VA will allow some little known, creative ways to help a buyer qualify with a VA home loan. Here are 7 Ways Knowledge of VA Details Will Help Buyers: The seller can pay off the buyer’s debts as part of the purchase price The buyer can pay off revolving […]

VA home loans work so well for military and veteran buyers.  They offer a no money down purchase loan.  But sometimes things happen outside of the service member’s control.  Too often VA buyers have purchased a home that depreciated in value so that the home is underwater.  Therefore the borrower is unable to sell the home for enough […]

When should I refinance? Refinancing a mortgage when rates are low can save homeowners thousands to tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan term.  Too often everyone hears “You shouldn’t refinance unless you can save 2% in rate” and if everyone waited for a 2% reduction, so many could lose out […]

VA Refinance IRRRL The Department of Veteran Affairs offers a streamlined VA refinance to benefit borrowers with VA loans.   This refinance loan is called a VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan.  But, IRRRL, pronounced like Earl, is what lenders call it.  A VA IRRRL helps a Veteran refinance a current VA loan into a lower interest rate and […]

Building a new home is exciting. For a buyer to use a VA home loan on new construction, the builder must have a VA builder ID. Often, buyers and the builder find out late in the process this is required. But, do not worry. Although VA builder approval is required, it is not a daunting task. […]

UNCW continues to rack up the awards lately and is growing in popularity. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington was once again named one of the best Southeastern schools.  The award was given by the Princeton Review.   Other recent awards include: 2015-2016 College of Distinction by Colleges of Distinction 30 Most Beautiful Coastal […]

Low down payment options for today’s buyers is a popular concern among other areas.  In this series, we are providing tips to avoid the Most Common Roadblocks to Home Ownership.  So far in previous weeks, we have discussed how to solve Limited or bad credit No down payment Not having a budget Documenting rent history […]

Rent Tips to Buy a First Home In this series, we are providing tips to avoid the Most Common Roadblocks to Home Ownership.  So far we have discussed how to solve limited or bad credit, no down payment, and not having a budget.  Therefore, lets discuss overcoming Roadblock #4.  Not being able to document rent or housing history […]

Home Purchase Budget Tips In the last article (step 2), we explained lots of unique tips to save money for a down payment and an emergency fund.  Today we are providing solutions to the # 3 Roadblock mentioned for first time buyers which is NOT having a budget in place.  These home purchase budget tips help to afford the […]

No to Low Down Payment Options In the last article we talked about credit and today we are providing solutions to the # 2 roadblock mentioned for first time buyers.  This article explains solutions of low down payment options for buyers that have no or little money for down payment or reserves. To solve this popular issue, let’s talk today […]

Mortgage Approval Credit Requirements Step by Step Picture this scenario:  A happy couple or individual has never purchased a home and would love to be homeowners in the future, BUT doesn’t know the mortgage approval credit requirements.  In addition the future homeowner may have other common roadblocks such as… *  There is not a lot of credit […]

A recent VA purchase closing had 2 characteristics of a VA loan that most do not know.  First is using a VA bonus entitlement.  This allows a qualifying veteran to have 2 VA loans at once.  It is also called 2nd Tier Entitlement, which gives the veteran the ability to use over the basic $36,000 entitlement.  Next is […]

Providing the most helpful tips for buyers, realtors, homeowners, and the public in general is the main purpose of our blogs.  They are written about real world mortgage loan scenarios and we hope that these blogs provide education to our readers. Best of the Best Blogs: New 100% products with higher down payment assistance with zero […]

BAH is an important part of the military’s pay and will vary throughout the country.  For 2017, BAH rates increased by 2.4% compared to 2016.  BAH is meant to help military personnel offset housing expenses.  Besides geographic location, influences of BAH include a marine’s rank and if there are dependents or not.  Also a big advantage of […]

BAH is an important part of the military’s pay and will vary throughout the country.  BAH is meant to help military personnel offset housing expenses and it is nontaxable as well so it is not reported on a tax return.  If you are relocating to Fort Bragg or Pope Air Force Base, here are your BAH […]

When it comes to buying or refinancing a home, lenders figure the borrowers’ debt to income ratio.  In calculating the total income, there are two main categories.  Foremost, there is taxable income which covers most types.  Examples of taxable income include w2, most retirement pay, or self employment.  Additionally, there is non taxable income, which is exempt from […]

Purchase Mortgage Checklist Providing complete and accurate information to your mortgage lender up-front is paramount.  Using this mortgage checklist will help in the following ways. on-time closing Accurate pre-approval Quicker underwriting times More confidence in purchasing a home This mortgage checklist includes common items necessary to process your mortgage loan.  Although keep in mind that […]