Are YOU a Veteran? 7 Steps to Buying a Home with a VA Loan

If you can answer yes, the VA loan program is designed exclusively to help you buy a home. It is a GREAT option for financing your piece of the American Dream! And, it is one of the only ZERO down programs still available.

As a REALTOR® who works throughout Anoka, Chisago and Washington Counties, I have sold many homes using the DVA program. I have worked with sellers in Forest Lake, Wyoming and Coon Rapids who accepted offers from Veterans using the DVA financing program to purchase the home. I assisted Veteran home buyers to locate and purchase homes in Ham Lake, Lino Lakes, Blaine and Hugo using their DVA eligibility option. All of the sales went off without a hitch. It is a wonderful program.

Additionally, I know and work closely with loan officers and mortgage brokers who have extensive experience working with VA loans. We work together as a team to get veterans into the homes of their dreams!

Earlier this year I attended a seminar given by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the home assistance program that is available for those who have served or are actively serving in the military. What a great benefit to our brave men and women who have sacrificed for our country. Low and no money down home loan programs are almost unheard of for today’s homebuyers. But the DVA has offered this option to eligible veterans since 1944 and continues the program today.
So, are you a veteran homebuyer?
There are many ways to take advantage of the DVA program. Whether you are buying a single family home, condo, townhome or even a duplex or four-plex, as long as you plan to live in the home, this is a benefit you have earned and should consider when buying or refinancing a home.

Seven Simple Steps to Buying a Home with a VA Loan:

1. Apply for your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Or ask your loan officer to request online using the webLGY application.


2. Work with a REALTOR® to find your perfect home with a home seller that will accept DVA financing.


3. Present the COE to your loan officer at the time of loan application.


4. Loan officer will work with VA to order appraisal of home. A Notice of Value is issued.


5. The lender bank will review all documentation and approve your loan if the established property value and your credit and income are acceptable.


6. Attend the closing on your new home where the closer will go over all the loan terms and requirements as you sign the documents for your mortgage.


7. The lender applies to the VA for evidence of guaranty.

On the surface, many of these steps are similar to applying for a regular loan but the benefits of coming in with a very low or maybe even no down payment are not. Veterans should note that you are not alone in the process; you will have professional assistance in every step of the way. Why wouldn’t you want to check out this unique opportunity that is only available to those who have served our great country?

Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

MN Mortgage Expert Explains—There Still is 100% Financing for Buyers in Minnesota

We have heard that the party was over. Home buyers with limited funds for a down payment would be required to scrimp and save for that first house again. And in most cases this is true. Our veterans have always had a wonderful zero down program available and the VA loan program is still a great option to those who have served our country. But other buyers will have to come up with the minimum 3.5% down payment required by FHA or 5% down for a conventional loan before they can even think of purchasing their dream home. However, if you are considering buying a home in a designated rural area there is still a zero down option, the Rural Development Program.
Now when some people hear “rural”, they immediately conjure up a picture in there head of an old-time farm in the middle of nowhere. Nothing could be further from the truth! According to the USDA Rural Development website, the program was created to “build stronger, more vibrant rural communities across the nation.” This unique housing loan program does apply in many counties in the north and east metro that aren’t so far from the cities and they don’t have to be farmsteads either! Communities in Isanti and Chisago Counties including North Branch, Stacy, Chisago City, Lindstrom, Shafer, Taylors Falls and many others can possibly qualify for this program. If you are considering buying a home in any of these communities, it is a great program to look into. But very few loan officers really know the ins and outs that make a program like this work.

My go-to Minnesota loan expert, Mary Chris Gallo, is one such person. She gives a more detailed explanation of the program in her post 100% Financing is Still Available in Select Areas.

In her article she writes, this is a CONVENTIONAL LOAN program with:
• NO down payment
• NO monthly PMI
• The seller is allowed to pay all reasonable closing cost and prepaids
• NO hit to the rate for the zero down
• NOT a first time home buyer program and
• No reserves needed

Read Mary Chris Gallo's entire post here.

There are restrictions so speaking with a qualified loan officer that understands the rural development loan program is essential. Likewise, working with a REALTOR ® that knows understands the current market conditions of the communities within this program are just as critical to your dream home becoming a reality.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2008 terieckholm.com

With No Nehemiah or Genesis for Homebuyers, What will Cause the First Domino to Fall?

Most people understand the concept of the domino effect on the real estate market. The starter homes must sell first so the owners of the starter home can move up to the next price level, which allows another home to sell and another; much like a child’s game of dominos.

Fortunately the real estate market has had continued to have a reasonable pool of first time buyers in the mix these past few months due to low interest rates, home prices and unique assistance programs. Early this year, the government gave the controversial but beneficial programs like Nehemiah and Genesis a reprieve. These seller funded non-profit organizations had been scheduled to be disbanded early in the year but were allowed to continue to fund first time buyers. These programs give buyers down payment assistance for FHA loans that require a 3% down. With additional assistance from the seller for closing costs, a first time buyer with a good job and credit score, is able to purchase a home without having to save up for a down payment.

The reprieve may be over. This weekend I read an alarming news release from a Minnesota mortgage broker pointing out how the Mortgage Bailout Bill could slow the recovery of the real estate market. The senate version of the new mortgage bail out bill will put a stop to all programs offering down payment assistance. They will in essence remove the finger that starts the first domino to fall. First time buyers will again be required to save up for that down payment. With prices increasing everywhere from the corner grocery to the gas station down the street, it will be a daunting task to become a first time homebuyer.

I expect that like in the 1980’s and earlier, young people will start saving again for that first home as soon as they graduate either high school or college. But back in the decades of big hair, 8-tracks and parachute pants, homes were priced more reasonably. It was much easier to save up 3% of $60,000 ($2,000) for normal Minnesota starter home in 80's than it will be to save 3% of a $200,000 ($6000) for a starter home at today’s prices.

So whose finger will give the push that starts the domino’s chain reaction in today’s real estate market? Loans funded by the Veterans Administration? That is one possibility. VA loans have always been available to those who have served in the armed services as a way to homeownership with little or nothing down. It is a very good program that I anticipate we will be seeing more service men and women taking advantage of in the future. But those who have not served will be forced to save.

Bottom line is the mortgage bailout will save some homeowners from losing their homes but at what cost? Will it delay the recovery of the real estate market? Only time will tell.

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If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2008 terieckholm.com