Scandals at the Department of Veterans Affairs hit the news every single day. Whether vets wait in long lines to receive life-saving medical care or find their benefits canceled because they are wrongly believed to be dead, veterans are often apprehensive about believing the VA?s claims about their benefits. With all this, as a veteran, you need to know the reality of no down payment va loans.
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There stands a beacon of hope amid the VA?s snafu. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides qualifying veterans with mortgage loans backed by the federal government, and best of all, with no down payments required. Although trust for the VA is at an all-time low, former service members can bank on this program as over 30 million already have in the past 70 years.
What?s the Catch?
In a world where the ?no down payment mortgage? has gone the way of polished black boots and woodland camouflage uniforms, vets are natural sceptics when approaching deals that promise the same. The only major hurdles for getting a VA Loan are qualification and credit score, but these factors should not scare anyone away from the program.
What is a Qualifying Veteran?
Wartime and peacetime service both qualify vets for the VA Loan program, but peacetime service requires a longer consecutive time on active duty. Veterans who served outside of war must have completed 181 days of active service in order to be eligible. Those serving during a war, like every day since October of 2001, must have completed 90 consecutive days on active duty to get their loan.
The United States remains committed to the families of fallen troops. Provided a spouse of a service member killed in the line of duty does not remarry, he or she may use the VA Loan in the same way a qualifying service member could. This is one small token of thanks given to spouses of the nation?s heroes that gave their all in defense of freedom.
Paying Bills On Time?
There are no shortages of responsibilities that service members face on a daily basis in the military, not least of those is the protection of the United States and its allies, but veterans wanting VA Loans must make paying their bills on time one of those responsibilities as well. Thankfully, the credit score threshold for getting a VA Loan is substantially lower than that of a traditional mortgage loan, but established credit with no recent delinquencies will be necessary for a reputable bank to issue the loan.
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In most cases a credit score of 620 will be enough to get a VA Loan. There are plenty of lenders with questionable ethics that will issue VA Loans to individuals with lower credit scores. In most cases, these lenders will try to take advantage of vets with large fees and exorbitant interest rates. Veterans seeking mortgages would do well to work on improving their credit and waiting to take a loan instead of going with that type of lender.
You?re Qualified! Now What?
Like any big-government and banking program, large amounts of paperwork will need to be completed for the pre-screening and pre-approval process. Persevering through that process may require the veteran to tap their never-ending supply of intestinal fortitude to complete, but the end-result is the most important purchase most people make in their lives.
Once pre-approved for a VA Loan, the buyer is free to search the market for suitable homes that meet the criteria approved by the bank. In most cases, there will be little difference in this step than any other traditional purchase of home. At the end of the day though, the veteran can purchase their home with nothing down at the time of sale.