A VA home loan (VAHL) is a mortgage loan that is guaranteed by the US Department of Veteran Affairs, also known as the VA. The VAHL program began in 1944 through the original Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or the GI Bill of Rights. The GI Bill provided veterans with a federally-guaranteed home loan with no down payment, making the dream of homeownership a reality for millions of veterans and their dependents.
VAHL are made by private lenders, such as banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies. Contrary to popular belief, there's little red tape involved with getting a VA loan. In fact, the application process for a VAHL isn't much different from the application process for any other kind of mortgage. If you're a veteran who's interested in buying a home, here are the steps you need to take in order to obtain a VAHL.
Apply for a Certificate of Eligibility
Get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by completing VA Form 26-1880 (Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VAHL Benefits) and submitting it to the VA Eligibility Center along with proof of military service. If you've already begun the loan application process, you could even ask your lender to assist you in obtaining the COE. Check the status of your application for a COE in 10 days.
Find a Lender
Locate lenders that participate in the VAHL program. Shop around for a good lender because interest rates, closing costs, and discount points vary widely from one lender to the next. Get pre-approved for a loan, so you can determine how big of a loan you'll get. The lender will review your credit history and income information to determine whether you qualify for a home loan. Consider looking for VA Lender Appraisal Processing Program (LAPP) lenders because they can process VA loans faster than other lenders.
Find a Home You Want to Buy
Shop around for homes and decide on a home that you want to buy. You could use the services of a state-licensed real estate agent to take tours of different homes and find a home that suits your requirements. Make sure that your purchase and sales agreement includes a "VA Option Clause," which is also known as a financing contingency. This clause makes the contract subject to approval for a VA guaranteed loan.
Order an Appraisal
Typically, your lender will order an appraisal from the VA. Your lender will send a VA form to a state-licensed real estate appraiser, who will visit the home to determine the market value of the property. Bear in mind that the VA's appraisal is not a home inspection or guaranty of value - the VA doesn't guarantee the condition of the house. Furthermore, lenders cannot request specific appraisers and the appraisers are not VA employees. The lender will review the appraisal and the borrower's credit, income, and assets to decide whether or not the loan should be granted.
Close the Sale and Move into Your New Home
If the loan is approved, you need to contact a state-licensed insurance agent. Typically, the title of the home is examined and insured by a title insurance company that may also prepare closing documents and enter them into public records. Once that's all taken care of, you can move into your new home!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Learn About Your Credit Report and Score
Maintaining a good credit record is a tough task. You have to be careful about paying all your bills on time and settling the mortgage installments. A late payment or a missed payment can affect your report and get you negative points. You have to be careful against identity theft in order to safeguard your credit scoring. Taking assistance from agencies offering credit reports can be very helpful. They can help you understand what exactly is going on with your goodwill statements and give you accurate evaluation based on that.
Importance of credit report
There is a lot of risk involved in lending money, and banks are very cautious with it. Before lending money the bank needs to make sure that you don't have any unpaid bills or bad debts. So for that reason they check your credit ratings. Symbolically it's like a green signal that enables them to go ahead. This is becoming important as lenders are checking credit scores rather than analyzing the actual goodwill statements for approving loans for their customers. In order to have good credit score, your goodwill statements needs to be flawless. You can get your report from goodwill statements agencies and check what score you have.
Correcting the discrepancies
Credit agencies maintain your data, and sometimes you face the misfortune of having incorrect data recorded under your name. Once you get your reports from all the three national credit agencies, look for errors. If you find any gaps, contact the respective agency and get it corrected. You can also get to know who is doing a credit search on you. If you find out that you are being credit checked, and you haven't applied for a loan or a credit card, alert the agencies about it. You can get the contact numbers and working hours of the customer services online. There are numerous websites offering to provide free credit report. No credit card company would accept your application without doing a credit check on you.
Choosing the Right Firm
When you are trying to get help from a credit reporting agency you need to be careful not to fall for traps that promises to improve your score overnight. Bad scores just do not vanish like that. You need to curb your desire for spending and focus more on saving money. A good agency will give you access to your goodwill statements. An experienced company will provide all the necessary details and break it down for easy understanding when offering a goodwill statements. Make it a practice to check your report once before applying for a loan or credit card so that you won't have to face the risk of your application being denied.
Importance of credit report
There is a lot of risk involved in lending money, and banks are very cautious with it. Before lending money the bank needs to make sure that you don't have any unpaid bills or bad debts. So for that reason they check your credit ratings. Symbolically it's like a green signal that enables them to go ahead. This is becoming important as lenders are checking credit scores rather than analyzing the actual goodwill statements for approving loans for their customers. In order to have good credit score, your goodwill statements needs to be flawless. You can get your report from goodwill statements agencies and check what score you have.
Correcting the discrepancies
Credit agencies maintain your data, and sometimes you face the misfortune of having incorrect data recorded under your name. Once you get your reports from all the three national credit agencies, look for errors. If you find any gaps, contact the respective agency and get it corrected. You can also get to know who is doing a credit search on you. If you find out that you are being credit checked, and you haven't applied for a loan or a credit card, alert the agencies about it. You can get the contact numbers and working hours of the customer services online. There are numerous websites offering to provide free credit report. No credit card company would accept your application without doing a credit check on you.
Choosing the Right Firm
When you are trying to get help from a credit reporting agency you need to be careful not to fall for traps that promises to improve your score overnight. Bad scores just do not vanish like that. You need to curb your desire for spending and focus more on saving money. A good agency will give you access to your goodwill statements. An experienced company will provide all the necessary details and break it down for easy understanding when offering a goodwill statements. Make it a practice to check your report once before applying for a loan or credit card so that you won't have to face the risk of your application being denied.
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