Victor Runkle's Blog

Depending on your past credit history and your current monthly income it is possible to get different answers with each Lender you talk to when it comes to qualifying for a VA Home Loan.  The VA has set requirements in place for the Loans they will guarantee or approve.  Those requirements are fo...

Big Advantage to VA Loans A very big advantage with a VA loan is that a seller is allowed to pay off some of your debt in order to qualify you for the loan.  We're not talking huge numbers here but we are talking numbers that could make a difference between being approved or denied for a VA Loan....

Just like auto insurance insures your car or truck in case of an accident, mortgage insurance insures your mortgage in case of foreclosure. For example, lets say you bought a home for $100,000 and had 100% financing. After a few years of making payments, you now owe approximately $90,000. At that...

How is a Realtor paid when I buy a home with my VA Loan? When you use a Realtor to buy a home you pay them nothing! The payment to a Realtor comes from the seller of the home.  When a person decides to sell their home they find a Realtor and sign a Listing Contract.  This Realtor is called the Li...

Be in control of VA appraisals Ever had that feeling of having no control when you find out your client is going VA or the buyer on your listing is going VA?  Even in a good market there's that thought the VA appraisal will come in under value.  You have a lot more control over this than you thin...

Who qualifies for a VA Loan? Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard active duty, Reserve and National Guard qualify for a VA Loan.  Active Duty If you served active duty in any branch then you have your VA Loan benefits after two years if you did not serve in theatre.  If you served in th...

What is a VA Funding Fee? The VA Funding Fee is charged by the VA and added to your loan amount. This fee is paid directly to the VA and your lender has no control over it.  It cannot be negotiated, it is set.  The only way to get out of paying the VA Funding Fee is if you are getting VA Disabili...

What's the advantage to a VA Loan? The biggest advantage being you don't have to have a down payment.  A VA loan has no property restrictions, meaning you can buy in urban and rural areas except for trailer parks.  There are also no income restrictions for the Veteran so you can make $200,000 a y...

How to qualify for a VA Loan Many Veterans have received a copy of their Certificate of Eligibility in the mail from the VA.  If you do not have one you can mail off for it yourself or have your Loan Officer do it for you.  Certificate of Eligibility is only good for six months and then you have ...