Question

"Buying a house" | Va Loan | Has anyone purchased a home through a VA loan? My husband and I are looking into the process, and would love some tips and any advice on the situation. In our current area it's more beneficial to actually purchase a home then rent a home. We've been debating on it back and forth for over two years now so now were trying to figure out the process. Everytime we find something we think might be in our price range and would love it's gone in a moments notice so I'm trying to finally start this process so we can move forward. So any advice would be great. Thank you.  

Answer 1

We have a VA loan. Other than needing to buy our big appliances and get them in the house before actually buying it (got permission in writing from the seller) that was the only major hoop to jump through. Other than that it was fine. We have ours through Navy Federal.  

Comments

@wit what if the house is a fixer upper. Will VA still give a loan?  

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@foveola Here's what Google says:  
https://www.ovmfinancial.com/va-ren...an-2/

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@wit thanks!  

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@wit thanks!  

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@quay5 thank you

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@quay5 thank you

Answer 2

For the home buying process in general, I would start with getting prequalified with a lender. It was a fairly easy process for us, and having it done ahead of time took the guess work out of staying in our price range. We did VA with our first home, and we were pre-qual up to X dollars. I told my lender, I don't want more than X amount to be my house payment, and he made it super simple by finding the range we needed to stay in to keep that payment. As far as VA loans go, they are pretty easy. More fees than an FHA, but the trade off is the 0% down requirement.  

Answer 3

If you apply online at navy federal they give you choices of what type of mortgage you want. VA is one of the choices. I would jump online and try to get prequalified.  

Answer 4

We are going through the process right now. If he is 10% or more disabled there is no funding fee. You don’t need the traditional down payment, no down payment is required actually and you won’t get the PMI. You will need money for closing costs and a “good faith” opening which is usually 1K-5k and can go toward the closing or the loan (still learning about this one). Our lender is offering us 9500 towards closing (1500 is a homes for hero’s program). Our required deposit to start the process was 3k and we estimated to get 2500 back at the close of escrow bc 500 will go the what’s left for closing cost. Make sure you find a lender that understands VA. You’ll also have to get an appraisal before closing escrow this is a requirement for the VA loan. A pre qualification is needed to start the process though.  

Answer 5

We did VA in 2010. We went through the real estate company we were using. They did everything for us. Every state has a different max amount that is guarenteed by the VA. If you go local, they tend to be better. We has no down payment or anything regardless of disability.  

Comments

@potage9 oh nice

Answer 6

We chose not to do VA loan. Consider your down payment and the fees they charge and see if it's worth it. All the agents i have spoken with told me agents and sellers dont like VA loans and will sometimes not accept their offer over another because of how many times they fall through for one reason or another.  

Comments

As a seller we chose to not accept VA offers because the buyer has no skin in the game and can walk away and leave us with nothing: not even an earnest money deposit. If that happens and you've turned down other offers, you might not be able to get one of the rejected offers back again.  

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Selling right now to a guy who has a VA loan and it is making me nervous! I wish we had waited for another offer with traditional financing.  

Answer 7

I've done it with both our house . It's great

Answer 8

VA loans have a funding fee and can be more expensive than taking out a conventional mortgage.  

Answer 9

We bought both our houses with a VA loan and never had any issues. With the frist we went through USAA - got prequalified, and they did all the work. With the second we went through a local bank, and again the did all the work. Just sent us paperwork to sign.  

Answer 10

We did 3 years ago. We prequalified with usaa and stuck well within our range. Its competitive market and one offer was denied and so we got our 2nd choice. Which I think was suppose to happen. It's a good spot and fits our life so well.  

Answer 11

Va loans are good for anyone that's 100% disabled, otherwise the fees are really high

Comments

@xhosa untrue. If you are more than 10% disabled then you do not have a funding fee.  

Answer 12

It makes me sad to see people against the VA Loan considering this is a "perk" earned by those who have served to protect our country. There are a lot of misconceptions about the VA Loan and it sucks that people don't educate themselves so it continues to get a bad rep. We have used the VA Loan 3x with no issues. I suggest finding a realtor who is familiar with the VA Loan (a good realtor, not just a friend of a friend), get pre-qualified, and see where you're at. You will need earnest money so keep that in mind and if you have the funding fee you can pay that up front or wrap it into your loan.  

Answer 13

We did a VA home loan and had zero issues with it. We paid for things as they came up and barely paid $1000 at closing.  

Comments

@anode this was us too. We bought a new build. Had zero issues and paid less than $1000 at closing. It was a super smooth process for us so I’m always surprised when I hear people say not to go the VA loan route.  

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@dan189 me too! Hoping to use again when we decide to relocate!  

Answer 14

I had zero issues with ours but a lot of realtors/loan officers are not very knowledgeable regarding them. Find someone who has done them before and you should be good.  

Answer 15

We did not use it the first time we bought, but we did use it with our second home. My advice would be to make sure you are working with a realtor/lender who is knowledgeable. It’s a great option to have, and I’m glad we used it.  

Answer 16

We found it rather easy to approved for a VA loan but convincing a seller to sell their home to us was a different story.  

Comments

@diella Reed yes because their realtors are ignorant.  

Answer 17

We built our home using the VA loan and it was a relatively easy process.  

Answer 18

Chose a good lender and get and actual pre-approval not just a pre-authorization. I pre-approval means the lender has looked into your income and your credit and knows what you are actually qualified to borrow. You want to do this no matter what type of loan you are planning on getting.  

Answer 19

We did it. Get a preapproval first. And get a good realtor. that’s the key ingredient. someone who knows what they are doing!  

Answer 20

I highly recommend getting pre-approved and start your loan process with Veteran's United. We used them and everything was flawless. They answered every question we had clearly and didn't treat us like dummies. They communicated on every step. They closed us quickly. In fact they were ready early and we had to wait on the builder Bought a new build) to get their act together. If you use a Veterans United approved realtor, you get $500 from VU. If we buy again, we will use them no questions asked.  

Answer 21

We have used VA mortgage twice with excellent interest rates both times. Well worth it for us.  

Answer 22

Thank you everyone for your input and advice. I'm very thankful to be apart of this community. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the responses so everyone who has responded thank you for your advice I'm reading them and soaking it in at the moment lol.  

Answer 23

We’ve done two. There is no down payment required but there is a funding fee that is added in the loan. I agree with others to first find a lender and get prequalified. You can’t do much until that is done as far as looking for a home. Also, it will give you an idea of what you can get approved for and afford. Personally, we haven’t had an issue with anyone accepting a VA loan offer but we lived in military communities both times.  

Comments

Also, We did have to put earnest money and due diligence money down which we included in our offers.  

Answer 24

Wondering if anyone has experience w VA loan on a fixer upper. The seller started fixing it up and either ran out of money energy time or had a change in their life and just quit fixing it. The house has tons of potential. I’m not afraid to fix it up. Just wondering if VA will still fund it? i have heard that VA loans have more hoops and tighter parameters but not sure if that is actually true?  

Comments

@potage9 they started fixing and updating the inside and quit. So mostly internal

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@potage9 I’ll try. Thanks!  

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@potage9 they started fixing and updating the inside and quit. So mostly internal

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@potage9 I’ll try. Thanks!  

Answer 25

Literally closed on our house two days ago with a VA loan. Had no issues at all. Closing costs came up to $600 out of pocket after everything was all said and done. Our lender was amazing and so was our realtor. Just find someone who actually knows what they are doing and you’ll be fine.  

Answer 26

We used A VA loan twice and both were smooth processes! I would definitely buy now while the interest rates are low!  

Answer 27

We have twice now. No issues ‍♀️

Answer 28

I’ve been stressing about this but it sounds like my fiancé and I have a good plan in place. We are saving up 10k for any fees/closing costs/earnest money before we buy and by then, we will be debt free too. This thread just makes me more excited!  

Answer 29

I used a VA loan to buy my house last summer. I had an AWESOME loan officer who made the process super easy.