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We’ve written about VA loans many times in the past. Along the way, we have touched on some of the benefits this program has to offer for home buyers in Washington. Today, we will take that a step further by compiling all of those benefits onto one page.
So, without further ado, here are the five biggest benefits of using a VA loan when buying a house in Washington.
The state of Washington has a fairly sizable military population. As a result, there are many home buyers across the state who could benefit from using a VA loan. Along with the G.I. Bill, VA loans are one of the best benefits offered to military service members and veterans.
As you will soon see, this program offers a number of unique benefits, including the ability to avoid making a down payment. So let’s start with that as #1…
When using a VA loan, you could finance up to 100% of the purchase price. That means you can achieve the dream of homeownership with no money down whatsoever. It also means you could buy a house in Washington sooner rather than later, since you don’t have to save up as much money.
This benefit by itself gives you a good reason to use a VA loan when buying a home. After all, the down payment is typically the biggest hurdle for potential buyers. And for some people, it can put homeownership out of reach for many years.
With a conventional or regular home loan, a borrower who makes a small down payment will typically be required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). This added expense can cost anywhere from $100 – $300 per month, adding up to thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
And once again, the VA loan program comes to the rescue.
Home buyers in Washington who use this program can avoid making a down payment, while also avoiding mortgage insurance. This is a huge benefit that you won’t find with most mortgage programs.
The bottom line here is that VA loans can help you get into a home sooner, while avoiding some of the additional expenses like mortgage insurance. But the benefits don’t end there.
The interest rate you receive on your home loan will depend on several factors, including your credit score. But in general, VA loans tend to have lower interest rates than other mortgage programs such as the conventional home loan.
Even if you’ve never purchased a house before, you probably realize the benefit of getting a lower mortgage rate. It can lower the size of your monthly payments and reduce the total amount of interest paid overtime. And those are two goals worth striving for.
Moving on to another big benefit of VA loans. This mortgage program is one of the easiest to qualify for, in terms of credit and income requirements.
VA loans are a form of government-backed mortgage. The federal government provides lenders a partial guarantee that helps to shield them from losses resulting from borrower default. This also allows lenders to offer very flexible qualification criteria.
What this means to you, as a home buyer, is that you could qualify for a VA loan more easily than other types of mortgages. You don’t necessarily need perfect credit to qualify for this program.
Homeowners often refinance their existing mortgages in order to secure a lower rate, or to switch from an adjustable rate into a fixed rate. When you refinance, you basically replace your current mortgage with a new one that has different terms.
And like the initial mortgage process, refinancing requires a lot of paperwork and multiple steps. But for homeowners with a VA loan, the refinancing process can move more swiftly. That’s because of something known as the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) program.
As it states on the Department of Veterans Affairs website:
“If you have an existing VA-backed home loan and you want to reduce your monthly mortgage payments—or make your payments more stable—an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) may be right for you.”
This program can help you refinance your mortgage with minimal paperwork and no property appraisal. By extension, it can make the entire refinancing process quicker, more efficient, and less stressful for you as the homeowner.
If you’d like to use a VA loan to buy a house anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, please contact our knowledgeable staff. Located in the Seattle metro area, Sammamish Mortgage serves home buyers and homeowners throughout the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
While we offer all types of home loans, we specialize in the VA loan program for military members in the above states. We can help you navigate every step of the process, from determining your eligibility to closing the deal.
Whether you’re buying a home or ready to refinance, our professionals can help.
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No Obligation and transparency 24/7. Instantly compare live rates and costs from our network of lenders across the country. Real-time accurate rates and closing costs for a variety of loan programs custom to your specific situation.