Steps To Buying Your First Home

Buying a home with a dual entitlement va loan isn’t as complicated as people think, but it requires some work.

Get a pre-approval letter: Talk with a finance professional, either a bank or a private mortgage company, and determine how much you may be eligible for and calculate what you can do as a down payment.

In general, the lower your down payment, the higher the terms of your mortgage will be and the higher your monthly payments.

Also, if you’re offering less than 20% of the overall cost of the home as a down payment, you’ll be required to purchase mortgage insurance, raising your costs.

One exception is that military buyers have no mortgage insurance for VA Loans. Still, those loans are less attractive to certain sellers because a VA loan has more stipulations than traditional loans or cash buyers.

The advantage of a VA loan is that you don’t need to offer any down payment, but sellers may be turned off by the number of stipulations that the loan will require of the seller. When it comes to purchasing a multifamily property, using a VA loan can be a great option for eligible veterans. The advantage of a va loan multifamily is that you don’t need to offer any down payment, but sellers may be turned off by the number of stipulations that the loan will require of the seller.

Finding the most suitable offer for your home will also require some research and patience. Veterans are often looking for house loan purchase rates low enough to make homeownership more affordable. To find the best rates, it is recommended to compare offers from multiple lenders and also consider government-backed loan options like FHA loans or USDA loans.

Select an agent: Once you have a range of what you may be able to afford, the next step is selecting an agent to work with and help you.

Your agent should be knowledgeable and experienced in the market and negotiating your contract. An experienced agent will help guide you every step of the way, including being able to show you multiple homes that fit your budget and interest.

Buying A Turnkey Home

Turnkey is just an industry term for “move-in ready.” These homes typically are either brand new or the owners have invested some money in upgrading and maintaining the home.

Turnkey homes will usually ask top-dollar and may be more inclined to counter any offer for better seller terms than a buyer.

Not always, but as a generalization, turnkey homes are more competitive than homes that need some work, and that competition will tend to drive up offers and prices.

Buying A Home That Needs Some Work

On the other hand, buying a home that needs a little work can save money or time for the deal to close. Houses that need work are not rundown. They may just need a minor renovation or touch-up and are more common than you think.

These types of homes are the ones that may have scuffs on the walls, for example. Sometimes, however, a home that needs some work may need significant remodeling, and in that case, there are two advantages to buying one.

The two advantages are:

Below market price: With a home that needs work, it may be less competitive to make an acceptable offer, and typically the more work required, the lower the asking price.

Building your dream home: With a fixer-upper, depending on the needs of the house and your budget, you can remodel the home to fit your desire, basically building your dream home. In those cases, it is best to leave the work to a professional.

For example, a roof repair may need to be done, and you wouldn’t want to risk your home by doing it by yourself, so in that instance, you may want to hire expert help.

Make an offer: Once you have your pre-approval and agent and a home that interests you, it’s time to make an offer. Your agent is skilled in all the legal and ethical requirements in completing your offer to the seller, and they will explain in detail all the following steps once the deal is submitted and accepted.

Open escrow: Escrow is simply where both parties agree to put their trust and funds into a third party that acts on behalf of both the buyer and seller. Deposits and, once funded, the mortgage loans, go to the escrow account, and once a deal is finalized (close to the escrow), the funds are released to the appropriate parties.

Get a home inspection and appraisal: Once the deal is accepted, you’ll need to schedule a home inspection and get an appraisal done. A home inspection allows the buyer to request repairs (RR) on the home for the deal to be finalized. The RR is a written counter to the original agreement, and the seller can accept, reject, or counter.

An appraisal must be done for a financial institution to fund the loan, regardless of whether it’s a traditional or a VA loan.

The appraisal will take into consideration the home, similarly sold homes, and offer a perspective of whether the home selling price is on par with the market average or vastly skewed.

Negotiate repairs and other conditions: Once the RR and appraisal come back, the buyer can negotiate for repairs and other conditions for the seller to execute before the deal closes. This process can be a back-and-forth between the parties, accepted wholesale, or rejected.

Close escrow: Finally, when all terms and conditions are met, it’s time to close escrow. Once the loan is funded, the escrow company will release the funds to the seller, finalizing the financial aspect of the deal.

The final step is the title company that accepts instructions from the escrow company to transfer the title from the seller to the buyer and have it recorded in the city or county of the property.