Tips for Buying the Right House with a Veteran Home Loan
Buying a house is a confusing process on its own, but when you’re trying to buy one with a veteran home loan, the process just gets trickier. This isn’t designed to punish you for taking advantage of your well-earned benefits. It’s just a fact of life. Most mortgage lenders and real estate agents just don’t have experience working with VA home loans and won’t be familiar with the ins and outs of the process. You deserve better. Here are a few tips to make the buying process a breeze.
Get Approved Immediately
The first thing you should do when searching for a house, whether you’re using a veteran home loan or a standard mortgage is to get approved before you start looking. You don’t know how large of a mortgage you’ll qualify for if you don’t get approved first. This makes it hard to narrow down your search and the last thing you want to do is fall in love with a house only to learn that you won’t be able to pay for it. Contact an approved VA home loan lender as soon as possible and get the process started.
Know the Restrictions or Hire Someone Who Does
A veteran home loan is meant to fund the purchase of a house you plan to use as your primary residence. This means you can’t use the loan program to cover the purchase of an investment property. This is the main restriction, but there are others you need to be aware of and those restrictions can influence your search. Take the time to get to know the restrictions or hire a real estate agent who is familiar with VA loan funded sales.
Make Sure You Have Reliable Income Each Month
VA home loans take your credit score and debt-to-income ratio into consideration when you apply, just like standard mortgages. But they tend to focus most heavily on your ability to repay the loan. This comes down to your total disposable income each month.
Make sure you have a steady and reliable source you can depend on each month and provide your lender with proof of your income. If your income is low, you may want to consider reducing your monthly expenses to increase the amount of money you have available each month ahead of time. You may have to wait a bit to buy a house, but you’ll likely qualify for a larger loan in the end.
Don’t Go Over Budget
Regardless of how much you qualify for, make sure you buy a house that you can reasonably afford every month. If you feel that the monthly mortgage payments would be too high, don’t buy the house. This might mean you have to keep looking for the right home for a bit longer than you’d like, but in the end, it will pay off.
Apply Today
If you’re ready to start looking at homes, don’t wait. Apply for a veteran home loan and get pre-approved today. The sooner you do, the easier it will be for you to find the perfect place to call home.
