The 3 First Steps You Need To Take When Purchasing A Home With A VA Loan

Blog

If you are a veteran or the spouse of a veteran and you are ready to purchase a home, be sure to use your VA benefits that you have earned. VA benefits make purchasing a home much more affordable, allowing you to skip out on a traditional down payment and mortgage insurance as well. When it comes to purchasing a home with a VA loan, there are some steps you need to take to get the process started. 

Determine What You Can Afford

First, you need to figure out what you can afford. A bank can tell you how much they can lend you, but only you can figure out how much you can afford.  

One of the best ways to figure out how much you can afford is by tracking your income for a few months. Create some spreadsheets that show you how and what you spend your money on.  

Use your budget to determine what type of monthly mortgage you could afford to pay. Then, figure out the length of loan you are looking at and use that to determine how much house you can afford. You can also use an affordability calculator to figure out how expensive of a home you could comfortably afford to purchase. 

You want to come up with a number you are comfortable with. This will help you make a more informed purchasing decision and will prevent you from purchasing a home that is more than you can comfortably afford based on your own personal budget and financial needs. 

Get Pre-Approved for a Loan

Just because you can qualify for a VA loan doesn't mean you are already pre-approved for a loan. You are going to need to find a mortgage lender who is willing to check your VA loan eligibility and go through the pre-approval process. 

For the pre-approval process, they will check your credit score and verify your income. They will use this information to let you know the size of loan you are pre-approved for. Remember, this is just what you are pre-approved for, not what you have to spend.  

Find a Lender to Work With

You don't have to get a loan with the lender who pre-approved you for a loan. There are numerous venders who provide VA loans, so take your time to shop around and find a lender you want to work with. The truth is even with a VA loan, the interest rates you pay and the loan terms can vary greatly from one lender to the next, which is why it is important to do comparison mortgage loan shopping, even when you are getting a VA loan. A VA loan stipulates some of the terms of your loan, not all of them, which is why you need to compare offers from various lenders.  

If you are ready to purchase a home with the VA loan financing program, figure out how much of a home you can afford. Then, get pre-approved for a loan and find a lender to work with. Once you have all that in place, it is time to find your future home!  

Share

13 August 2019

saving money while financing a family vacation

How long has it been since your family has been on a vacation together? Do you continue to put off going on vacation because you just don't have a lump of money to pay for it? That is exactly the reason that my family hadn't been on a vacation together for about five years. Last year, we decided that our time spent together as a family on a vacation is more valuable than anything, so I began looking for options to finance the vacation. Visit my site to find out what I learned about financing a vacation and get tips that can save you money on financing and the vacation itself.