New-and-Improved VA Mortgages Look Better in a Difficult Market Loss -- Washington Post
By Elizabeth RazziNovember 11, 2007
Veterans Day presents an opportunity to take a look at an important benefit available to military veterans and active-duty personnel, the zero-down payment VA mortgage.
Thanks to some needed modernization to the Department of Veterans Affairs program, combined with buyers' growing leverage in the real estate market, VA mortgages have become much more useful than they were only a few years ago. They're even relevant in an expensive housing market like the Washington area.
Considering what some real estate agents have told me recently, though, that news hasn't reached everyone. Some agents remember the VA program of old, which was shunned by home sellers -- and even some eligible buyers -- because it involved red tape, delays, extra expenses for the seller and a low cap on the amount of money a veteran could borrow.
David Billups, an associate broker with Long & Foster's Lorton office, said sellers are much more willing to accommodate extra expenses associated with a buyer using a VA mortgage. "The market is getting more difficult, so sellers are happy to get a bona fide offer on the property," Billups said.
"It is a tool that is probably going to be used more now that some of the no-money down mortgages have dried up," he said.
VA mortgages were practically mothballed during the real estate boom. Many buyers who qualified for the VA guarantee instead found it easier to take a subprime loan that required no down payment and little documentation of income or assets. Lenders were offering easy terms such as interest-only payments, which are not available through the VA program.
Craig Pierson Home Mortgage Consultant Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Victor Valley Branch
(866) 843-3899 x139 Office (866) 437- 6722 eFax
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