Hey everyone,
If you’re a service member, veteran, or surviving spouse thinking about using your VA loan benefit, stop and read this first.
This article from Military.com breaks down 10 things that can save you thousands of dollars (or cause major headaches later) that a lot of people don’t fully understand until it’s too late.
A few that really stood out to me:
- No down payment is required… but in many cases putting even 5% down can save you thousands in funding fees.
- The funding fee can be completely waived if you have any service-connected disability rating — and some veterans are even eligible for a refund.
- Subsequent use of your VA loan costs more, and restoring your entitlement doesn’t always reset the fee back to first-time rates.
- Divorce can tie up your entitlement in ways most people don’t expect.
- The VA appraisal is not the same as a home inspection (this one catches a lot of buyers off guard).
There’s also great info on no loan limits with full entitlement, assumable loans, residual income rules, and how you can sometimes use your benefit more than once (even on two properties at the same time).
Whether this is your first time using the benefit or you’re thinking about buying again, this is worth 10 minutes of your time.
What surprised you most when you used (or tried to use) your VA loan? Any horror stories or pro tips you wish someone had told you beforehand?
Let’s help each other out — drop your experiences below