The 5 Best Articles About VA Home Loans

VA Mortgages Are Cheap & Forgiving

The Mortgage Reports has been published mortgage-related content for more than a decade. Each year, millions of consumers rely on our site for non-biased, consumer-friendly information.

Since our inception in 2004, we’ve posted a bevy of VA loan-related material.

VA loans are loans which are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and available to active duty members and veterans of the U.S. military, as well as members of the National Guard and surviving spouses.

VA loans offer advantages not available with other common loan types.

For example, VA loans allow for 100% financing. There is no money down required when a VA loan is used to purchase a home; and, regardless of your downpayment, mortgage insurance is never required.

Additionally, VA loans can be “assumed” by subsequent buyers, which means that your home with a 3.25% VA mortgage rate can be sold with the 3.25 percent mortgage attached.

This is especially valuable in a rising mortgage rate environment. Should mortgage rates rise to 10%, your home becomes instantly less expensive because, for qualified buyers, it comes with a 3.25 percent mortgage rate and payment.

There are other reasons to like the VA loan program, too. The articles below highlight some of our favorites.

Our 5 Best VA Articles

1. VA Loan Residual Income Guidelines

There’s a reason why VA loans default far less frequently as compared to other loan types. It’s because the VA requires that borrowers meet minimum residual income requirements.

Residual income is more commonly known as “discretionary income”. It’s the amount of money you have left over after paying all of your bills each month.

The VA knows that life can be expensive and sometimes life goes sideways.

To make sure its borrowers aren’t cash-strapped, then, the agency requires VA lenders to verify a minimum residual income amount per household, varied by family size and by state.

2.

The Department of Veterans Affairs makes a special refinance program available to its borrowers. The program’s official name is the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL), but most people know it as the VA Streamline Refinance.

The VA Streamline Refinance is unique because it waives many of the standard verifications required in a refinance.

According to VA Streamline Refinance guidelines, the program requires no verification of income, no verification of employment, no verification of credit scores, and no home appraisal whatsoever.

The main requirements for the VA Streamline Refinance is that your new mortgage payment be less than your current one; and, that your current mortgage is currently paid on-time.

The VA Streamline Refinance can be used for VA loans on non-owner occupied properties.

3.

The VA Loan Guaranty program offers 100% financing and underwrites with some of the the most common-sense rules in all of mortgage lending.

Plus, VA mortgage rates are typically lower than FHA rates and conventional ones. For qualified borrowers, then, the VA loan can be an excellent choice.

But, who exactly qualifies?

This detailed article lists minimum service requirements for veterans of all generations; and lists VA loan eligibility for non-veterans, too, including servicepersons on active duty, surviving spouses, and Reservists and National Guard members.

4.

There are dozens of reasons to choose the VA Loan Guaranty program over comparable programs such as the FHA home loan, and the conventional loan program via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This article summarizes ten key points, highlighting how easy and inexpensive it can be to get approved for a VA loan.

We are also introduced to the concept of assumability, which means that the buyer of a home with VA financing can purchase the home and the attached mortgage. When mortgage rates finally rise, an assumable loan can make your home more marketable.

Also, VA loans never require mortgage insurance.

5.

Culled from reader feedback, this article showcases some of the most common and most interesting questions asked about the VA Loan Guaranty program.

The questions range from the basic (“What is a VA loan?”) to the complex (“Can I use a VA loan to purchase a rental property?).

They also include questions about minimum credit scores required for a VA loan, and for what property types can you use VA financing.

We later did a follow-up to this post titled “".

What Are Today’s VA Mortgage Rates

VA home loans offer low mortgage rates, plus more forgiving approval standards as compared to other loan types. If you’re eligible to use VA-backed financing, get a few quotes to see how they look.

Take a look at today’s VA mortgage rates now. Your social security number is not required to get started, and all quotes come with instant access to your live credit scores.