VA Home Loans

VA LOAN TYPES
Veterans Still Benefiting from VA Loans

Despite the sharpest downturn ever recorded in the housing market, statistics show that more military servicemembers and veterans are using their VA Home Loan benefit than ever before.

For 2008, the VA showed a significant increase in home loan volume, with more than 180,000 home loan guarantees issued, an increase of over 31 percent compared with the same period one year earlier.

The Veterans Administration attributes the increase in not only to the favorable terms that have always been offered with every VA Home Loan, but also to the disappearance of many no-downpayment conventional mortgages that were once readily available. While no downpayment home loans are difficult if not impossible to obtain under today's stricter qualifications for conventional financing, the VA makes no-downpayment mortgages easier to access for veterans and military servicemembers.

VA PURCHASE LOANS

The VA Home Loan program allows veterans with qualifying income and credit to purchase a primary residence without putting any money down towards the sale price of the home, as long as that sale price does not exceed the appraised value of the home.

VA REFINANCE LOANS

Sometimes you require additional cash now, for a real need. Perhaps you need to pay college tuition, or perhaps it's time to make improvements that will increase the value of your home prior to sale. In cases like these and more, your home could be looked upon a source of equity which you can borrow against - if the terms, conditions and timing are right.

STREAMLINE REFINANCE (IRRRL)

A VA Streamline Refinance (IRRRL) allows you to refinance your current mortgage at a lower interest rate than you are currently paying. The IRRRL is available to veterans who want to refinance their original VA Home Loan, and utilized their original eligibility when they purchased it.