Many homebuyers have a less-than-ideal picture of what the home buying and mortgage approval processes look like. There are many misconceptions when it comes to buying a home, such as the home loan myths that you need 20 percent down or people with poor credit don’t qualify. When it comes to VA loans, the two biggest myths right now seem to be that the VA loan benefits expire and the process takes longer due to government bureaucracy.
Both of these are untrue. Let’s take a look:
Myth #1: VA loan benefits expire
If you’re a veteran of the united states armed services, including the coast guard, national guard or reservists, in good standing, you qualify for a VA home loan, no matter how long ago you left the service. In fact, all military benefits are lifelong benefits and some can even transfer to spouses and children upon your death.
Like all other military benefits, VA home loan benefits never expire. This is information that caught Sharon Townsend off guard. Townsend, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the 1980s, thought homeownership was completely out of reach, especially after a divorce destroyed her credit.
In an interview with Bankrate, Townsend, a 54-year-old disabled veteran, said she had no idea she was still eligible for a VA home loan until a chance encounter with a real estate agent. “I didn’t think I would be able to [buy a home],” she said. But she did. Townsend recently closed on a $77,000 fully renovated ranch-style home in Bellefontaine, Missouri, with no money down and zero out of pocket closing costs thanks to a VA home loan.
Myth #2: VA loans are more difficult and take longer
The second VA loan misconception we’re going to tackle today is the myth that VA loans take longer to close and are more difficult, when compared to conventional loans, due to all the government bureaucracy involved.
This simply is not true.
“This isn’t your grandfather’s VA loan,” Chris Birk, a VA loan specialist, told Bankrate. “There’s been so much investment in tech and automation that mortgage lenders have done. But there’s still this idea that because it’s a government-backed loan that it’s littered with red tape and bureaucracy, and it’s going to take forever to close.”
When you look at the numbers, VA loans close in a similar number of days as conventional loans – on average, 49 days versus 47 days in February 2019, according to Ellie Mae.
Contact us today for more information on VA home loans or to see if you qualify.
