VA Home Loans in San Angelo, TX: What to Know

VA home loans can help service members and veterans become homeowners. However, VA home loans can be difficult to understand, especially when it comes to eligibility requirements.

Since San Angelo, TX has an Air Force base in town, most lending institutions local to San Angelo understand the ins and outs of VA home loans. Here are some of the questions you may have, and the facts you need.

Overview of San Angelo VA Home Loans

A VA loan helps military veterans, current and past service members, and members of the National Guard or Reserve purchase, improve, or build a home.

There are several types of VA loans. Most common are purchase loans. The VA-backed home loans feature many benefits, including better terms and an easier time buying a house than with a private-lender loan.

The VA backs you and a portion of the loan, so lending institutions are more likely to give you a home loan.

Other types of VA Loans include:

• Native American Direct Loan (NADL): Native American Veterans can receive special funds to build, buy, or improve a home, so long as that home is on federal trust land.
• Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL): This loan can be used to reduce payments on your VA-backed home loan.
• Cash-out Refinance Loan: This loan works with your current home equity, giving you the option to cash out part of your equity and receive cash for other expenses.

Read Next: 10 Safest Neighborhoods in San Angelo, TX

3 Facts about VA Loans

While most veterans know a little bit about VA loans, some facts aren’t widely known. Here are 3 things you might not know about VA loans.

You can buy a condo with a VA Loan. You can also purchase a multi-family dwelling, as long as you intend to live in one of the units. You can feel free to rent the other ‘apartments’ out.

While a funding fee is required to help the VA reduce costs associated with VA loans, not everyone has to pay a funding fee. Disabled veterans and those eligible for disability benefits, for example, don’t have to pay the funding fee.

Each lender will have separate requirements for what it takes to get a VA-backed loan.

However, the VA itself doesn’t disqualify you from eligibility based on low credit scores, past bankruptcy or credit issues, or past foreclosures.

Still, a lending institution must accept you and may include these terms.

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Pros and Cons of VA Loans

VA Loans are somewhat complicated. If you’re wondering why you should get one, consider the following pros and cons.

VA Loan Benefits

• 0% Down Payment. When you get a VA loan, you don’t have to have any down payment to get the process started.
• No PMI. There are no required insurance payments, and no Private Mortgage Insurance to worry about.
• Lower rates. Monthly payments might be lower. Interest rates may also be lower, and higher debt-to-income ratios may be allowed.
• No prepayment penalty. You can prepay for your loan without worrying about receiving a penalty or fee.
• Flexible refinancing options. Other types of VA-backed loans allow you to refinance flexibly.

VA Loan Drawbacks

• Requires a funding fee. Instead of down payment, you must pay an upfront fee to acquire loan funding.
• Must be used on a primary residence. You can’t use a VA-backed purchase loan on a vacation property or a property you intend to rent out.
• Property must be appraised and inspected. While you don’t have to take these steps with a private loan, VA-backed loans require it.
• Some sellers won’t accept them. Some sellers don’t want to deal with VA-backed loans.
• Slower closing times. It takes extra time to close the loan because it’s a more complex transaction.

How to Qualify for a VA Loan in San Angelo

Qualifying for a VA Loan in San Angelo, TX requires a set number of consecutive service days, months, or years, depending on the type of military organization you served in.

These can vary greatly depending on your services, so always make sure to check with the VA Loan department to see if you qualify.

A simple breakdown of these requirements:

• 90 consecutive days of service during wartime
• 181 consecutive days of service during peacetime
• Over six years of National Guard or Reserves service, regardless of conflict
• Your service member spouse died in the line of duty or as the result of a disability directly resulting from their service

Additionally, some branches of the military and service statuses require that you left service in a specific way to be eligible.

Those eligible exits are:

• Honorable discharge
• Placement on the retired list
• Transference to the Standby Reserve
• Continued service in the Selected Reserve

Other eligible discharges may include hardship, reduction in force, and a service-connected disability.

To determine if your special circumstances allow you to qualify for a VA Loan, you should contact your Veteran’s Affairs offices.

Once you have determined eligibility, you must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility.

This COE verifies to your lending institution that you qualify for a VA-based home loan based on your service history.

For home loans, you must also meet your lender’s requirements for income and credit status.

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Frequently Asked Questions About VA Loans

How many times can you get a VA Loan?

As long as you remain eligible (which most veterans will), you can take out a VA loan more than once. You have to qualify with the lender, though – especially when it comes to income and credit requirements.

There are entitlement limits as well, which may restrict how much of your loan allowance you can use at any given time.

Is it easy to qualify for a VA Loan?

While VA-backed loans can help you buy a house, there are certain other requirements you must meet.

These requirements vary by lender, so you should expect to have to show proof of income, a good credit score, and a low debt-to-income ratio. VA loans improve the odds of being approved for a home loan, but you still have to meet requirements set forth by lending institutions.

Can a veteran’s spouse and children qualify for a VA loan?

While a veteran’s spouse can qualify for a VA loan in certain circumstances (if the veteran died in active duty or from a service-connected disability), the children of a qualifying veteran do not have any eligibility for a home loan through the VA-backed program.

Conclusion

Getting a VA home loan in San Angelo, TX could be a great way for Air Force veterans to own their own homes.

If you are interested in purchasing a property this way, be sure to contact us to help you with the pre-approval process.

Contact us by email at info@lonestarlocals.com or by phone 325-261-0265