Whether you agree with our current political situation in the United States, I think most agree that our veterans are not served as well as they should be for protecting our country. One thing our government does do for Veterans is offer them the opportunity to purchase a home with little to no money down using the VA loan. That’s great news for Veterans as most homes in St. Louis County qualify.
The VA loan allows for Veterans to finance their home with a $0 downpayment. (There are other costs that they will incur like inspection fees, however there are ways of writing an offer such that the Seller can pay for those costs. Ask your Realtor about that.)
What Can You Get With a VA Loan?
The US Department of Veteran Affairs website notes that VA loans can be used to:
- Buy a home, a condominium unit in a VA-approved project
- Build a home
- Simultaneously purchase and improve a home
- Improve a home by installing energy-related features or making energy efficient improvements
- Buy a manufactured home and/or lot.
Can a Spouse Qualify?
Additionally, the Spouse of a veteran can be eligible in certain unfortunate circumstances including
- When the veteran spouse dies while in service or from a service connected disability
- Service member missing in action or a prisoner of war
- Other situations (ask a qualified lender about scenarios)
What to Expect When Getting a VA Loan
You should be prepared, however, to go through a little more work to qualify for the VA loan than you would a conventional loan. In addition to providing documentation of your service, a VA appraiser will tour the property to determine value and condition of the property. The home must be in livable condition and safe. If the property is deemed to have a defect that would disqualify it for VA financing, you have the option to have the Seller fix the defect prior to closing or you could walk away from the deal.
It’s important to note that this is not the same as a home inspection. While the VA appraiser will note obvious defects and safety hazards, they do not provide the same level of assurance that a qualified home inspector would and you should still seek to have a home inspection performed. One major difference between a home inspection and the VA appraisal is that when a defect is noted during a VA appraisal the home could be disqualified from VA financing until he defect is repaired whereas a home inspection may note defects that don’t necessarily disqualify it for VA financing. (You can still ask the Seller to repair those items if they are significant enough.)
You can find more information about the VA appraisal process here.
Here’s a nice infographic showing the basic rules for qualifying for a $0 downpayment VA loan.
