By Thomas Carroll, REALTOR®
Today we’ll go through the 5 Ws of the VA Home Loan. For service members and veterans out there, the VA loan can be a great benefit.
WHY
The best part of the VA Loan is that you can purchase a home with NO down payment and NO private mortgage insurance (PMI). There are conventional or FHA loan products where you could purchase a home with 3-5% down but you will certainly face monthly PMI payments until you pay down enough of the principle. Not having to pay PMI will save you THOUSANDS of dollars throughout the life of the loan.
WHO
So, who is eligible for the VA loan? Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve and veterans could all be eligible to utilize a VA. To keep this simple, if you are currently on Active Duty and you have been on Active Duty for more than 90 consecutive days, you are now able to use the VA loan. If you are a Veteran, National Guardsman or Reservist eligibility varies depending on when you served and for how long. To see the details and if you are able to the use the VA loan you can visit this link: Eligibility Requirements For VA Home Loan Programs | Veterans Affairs
WHAT
What can you do with your VA loan? You can buy a single family (with up to four units in it, could be a great investment!), a condo, townhome or manufactured home and lot. You may even be able to use your loan to make home improvements or add certain new features.
WHERE
Sadly, you cannot use the VA loan if you are stationed in say Italy or South Korea. That would be awesome. But you can use the VA loan anywhere inside of the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands).
Anytime you are eligible and ready to buy! If you are looking to buy in Maryland and would like to put your VA loan to use, don’t hesitate to contact me today. I would love to go on the home buying journey with you.
Keep an eye out for next week’s blog where we will go through the step-by-step process for obtaining a VA loan!