Serving the military and buying the house of your dreams is the real American Dream. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers many great programs to help those who have served in the military get a decent home loan with low rates. The bad thing about these programs is that is not flawless, there are still a lot of risks involved.
Veterans and military personnel are among those who make the biggest mistakes when buying their first home. Dealing with lenders gets so complicated and confusing that people who have purchased multiple homes still have trouble. The professionals at Property Records created a list of mistakes to avoid when buying a home as a veteran or military personnel.
Not Working With a VA-Savvy Real Estate Agent
Working with an agent that isn’t Veterans Affairs savvy is a big mistake; every agent doesn’t have the knowledge to work with military programs.
“One of the biggest mistakes a veteran can make is to work with a real estate agent that doesn’t have the knowledge of the Veterans Affairs programs. Clients may think that they qualify for any home because of their military background but this isn’t correct. I see this mistake over and over again. ” Says, Fernando Ramirez from Greenleaf Real Estate Firm in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. “I have worked with many clients who think they can pick and choose whatever house because they are in the military, this is not correct information. A VA loan program appraiser will have specific criteria, like homes that are fixer-uppers and even some older homes won’t qualify, it all depends on the house and the county where the house is located.” Says, Ramirez.
Not Being Open on What You Want with Your Mortgage Lender
Serving in the military has its perks and veterans have a powerful tool on the real estate market called arguably. The bad thing about this is that over 33% of vets don’t know why they have a mortgage benefit.
The right mortgage lender should have knowledge of the correct programs for veterans.
The biggest benefit of VA loans is that you will qualify for a 0% down payment, yes, this is right, 0% down payment. This helps many families who don’t have the money at the moment the house hits the market.
“Veterans have one of the best benefits in the real estate market I’ve seen, “says, Tom Sachs from Forever Real Estate Homes in Los Angeles, California. “Different states have different loans, but the majority qualify for waived appraisal fees waived fees for veterans with good credit scores and other lender credits. You can really accomplish the American Dream when being a veteran.”
The process becomes easier when the mortgage lender knows what the person qualifies for, so speak up.
Not Knowing About All the upfront Home-Buying Fees
While Having fees waived and getting 0% down payment are good perks the buyer still needs to have an idea of how much he or she will give down. you down payment will mainly go to home appraisal and inspection.
This will definitely not be as much as a regular homebuyer will have to pay upfront.