Has anyone used the VA Loan? Have any advice?

Hi!

My wife and I just used the VA loan in San Diego.
It all depends on how good your loan agent is. Try and find one that works with military on the regular.
We did everything over DocuSign and over the phone as we were both in the middle east when we closed.
Our real estate agent and loan officer made everything ridiculously easy!! Good luck!

 

Got to get a VA certificate of eligibility first. With your credit you should be GTG on the size house you are looking for. Va inspectors are picky so thats a good thing for you, not so much for the buyer because they can nitpick on little stuff like window screen torn or porch/deck not painted, or septic not pumped if you are outside of city sewer. BUT typically they want a good condition home so like I said its good for you the buyer.

 

If you don't already have car and renter's insurance with USAA, you should switch...

...because they are AWESOME at helping you buy your house and more than happy with the loan. They also provide tools to make the home buying experience easier for you and more secure - and they will make sure you get everything you're due. Their home buyer program will also help you with a real-estate agent. They also INSIST on multiple inspections, helped us find a home inspector, and forced our builder to make all "advised" corrections that the inspector pointed out under threat of not providing the loan.

They were AWESOME!!

10/10 would use USAA's Home Buyer Program again.

 

Also the inspectors usually are really good. We havent had any major problems with this house we bought. They are a pain to the sellers but in the end they ensure the Buyer is taken care of.

 

We got to pick our own inspector...so we picked the oldest, crankiest, crustiest dude we could find. He called the builder out on all kinds of mistakes. 4 years later, many of my neighbors have minor problems that I don't have. Dude was worth the extra money we paid for him.

 

Im getting pretty excited guys. We have been looking at houses here since I moved here. I have seen some nice ones come and go and have seen some that apparently no one will touch. I have my eye on a small 2 bed 1 bath with a detached "shop" (basically 2 car garage with higher ceilings and a nice backyard. It's at 90k right now so I am hoping it's still around come May and we can drop it in price further.

 

$90K?!? OMG!! That would be north of $250K in my neighborhood. $90K gets you a single-wide on a half acre in the middle of nowhere.

Fingers crossed for you!

 

Housing is cheap here and it's certainly a buyers market. The rental market is booming and there is more demand than there are rentals (why I have to buy a house). The downside is that homes rarely sell and when they do, its dirt cheap. Hoping to buy now while the prices are down and sell when they jump again. I am also hoping I can sell and not have to rent my place out for ever if I choose to move.

 

before i joined the Army i was a Realtor in San Diego and was "VA Certified" which was basically just some classes.

any way lots of good info here, couple of notes to add you are supposed to be Owner occupied for at least 2 years meaning you have to live in your house. also VA loans can be refinanced out of and used multiple times so as long as you satisfy the loan you can reuse it. you can buy 1-4 unit properties with it as long as one unit is owner occupied. last thing there has to be a structure on the property that passes the VA inspection, basically meaning you can't just buy unimproved land or something that needs major rehab.

also the VA will loan down into the mid 600 FICO score but work on getting you scores up. other than that welcome to the world of real estate and home ownership.

 

Well guys, we found the place I think. Went to look at it yesterday. A nice 2 bed 1bath on a large lot with a shop (just bigger than a two car garage). Listed at $126. Completely renovated on the inside (well done too). We went with Wells Fargo for a pre approval and I should hear back from them today.

What lenders did everyone use? Any that people suggest? We went with Wells Fargo because they have been great working with my mothers estate the past month despite all the trouble they seem to be in lately. There is another local bank we plan to look at as well.

 

Veterans United Home Loans and USAA are your best options for financing and insurance!

 

Veterans United was appealing before I started reading reviews. USAA apparently contracts out their mortgages and the company hasn't been great?

I looked into Navy Federal. My friend banked with them when I was in the service and he loved it. They seem to do home loans in house. I really like being able to talk to representatives face to face but if the rates are higher I'll go with an online lender.

 

I never had one issue, USAA has nothing to do with my home loan. You have been misinformed. Good luck!

 

I will for sure give Veterans United a call and see what they can do. Much like trucks, people tend to only write reviews when it was a negative experience.

 

You need to speak with Mike Mange, he will make your home buying experience easy as hell.

 

USAA will do you right. They'll eventually sell it into a mortgage security, but ALL mortgage lenders do that and it has no effect on the loan itself.

 

Putting an offer on a place tonight. 2bd 1bath, 850sqft with a nice detached 1 car garage (little wider and deeper) on a 7800 sqft lot. It's for sale by owner and we are the only ones in the running.

Let's hope the va appraisal process is good to us.

 

Here we go! Offer is accepted. Let the games begin.

 

I was able to talk with veterans united today and it was a great experience. I think I'll work with them if rates are similar to the banks here in town.

They let me know my middle credit score was 803 and debt to income ratio was 17%. Not bad.

We had a home inspection done and it came back solid. Only two things to ask them to fix and they are basic problems. The inspector was surprised how nice the house has held up over the years. This is exciting guys.

 

I would recommend USAA for insurance at a minimum.

I'm on my phone, so I won't write up every detail about my current dealings. I will say that we are currently looking at $27k in repairs due to attic frosting, and this week the contractor is looking at the staining in the carpets for an addendum.

Adjuster fired the first contractor on day 1 and had a new one at my front door by 10am the next day. Noting but positive with the new folks.

She has been an advocate FOR me since minute one. She billed out 6hrs for me putting out buckets for the drips without prompting... I didn't even know that was a thing. She is also paying for my power increase in February because of the dehumidifier that was running. Right now my out of pocket is $320, and will be going down with the power bill.

There is a ton more, but USAA is the finest insurer I have ever encountered.

Good luck on the new place... the buying process is a emotional roller coaster.