Why It's Important to Shop Around for Your Kentucky VA Home Loan


Buying a home will likely be your largest life purchase. If you think back to your biggest milestones, like having a baby, getting married or buying your first car, you probably didn't make decisions around them without a great deal of thought.
Buying a house is no different.

But while home buyers often spend a lot of time looking for the perfect structure, they don't spend nearly enough or sometimes any time deciding what lender to use for their VA home loan.
When you make the largest investment in your life, you should shop around and find a mortgage lender that will get to know you and your family goals, educate you on the purchase and be your partner through the entire process and beyond.
Good VA home loan lenders see their reputations as the foundation of their business. They can recite most regulations faster than their kids' names, but are willing to admit when they need to go back and consult the guidelines. They believe in making sure anyone they come across in the market for a mortgage is confident and prepared for what's coming.
Getting a mortgage, including a VA home loan, often comes down to "you don't know what you don't know." And in such a technical field as mortgage lending, what you don't know is often quite a lot.
And that's why important not to just go with the first VA home loan lender you find. Take time to shop around for someone who understands you and the VA home loan process.
What questions should you ask when looking for the perfect lender match?

 Here are some suggestions.

What is your loan officer's experience with the VA loan?

You're not just looking for the dollar amount they've processed, but their number of closed transactions per year. If your loan officer is just starting out in the business, inquire as to their branch manager or trainer's numbers.

What is your average "clear to close" time frame?

This is the amount of time it takes from the day they ratify a sales contract to the day the sign the papers making the home theirs. A good time frame is between 25 and 30 days. Ask about your lender's track record, and if a closing is missed, who is going to ensure that your rate lock doesn't expire. Pro tip: smaller lenders usually have much quicker turnaround time.

What is the interest rate? The APR?

The interest rate and APR should be fairly close to each other. The interest rate is typically the first number advertised, upon which the total amount of money borrowed will be compounded. The APR, on the other hand, is the true cost of borrowing the money, and includes things such as points, origination fees, underwriting fees, etc. If the APR is quite a bit higher than the interest rate, ask to have that explained to you in detail.

Understand Section A fees.

This cannot be overstated. Often buyers say, "oh, the seller is paying the closing costs, so my loan officer told me not to worry about it." But that can be deceptive, thanks to a series of costs leveraged on VA home loans known as "Section A fees." They can include an origination fee, processing fee or underwriting fee. If you weren't paying them, you could use the seller's money to do other things, like prepay homeowner association dues, or buy down to a lower interest rate -- things that work for your financial health, and not the lender's.
The Section A fees, which can be as high as 1% of the purchase price under VA regulations, are not required and are often negotiable. Your loan officer should sit down and walk you through every single line item on your official loan estimate, line for line, and you should feel comfortable with all of it.

Do I know who my processor and underwriter are?

In larger lending institutions and banks, the processor and underwriter are often the bottleneck.
In a smaller "local" lender, there is typically one dedicated processor and one or two dedicated underwriters who can be called upon at any time to answer questions -- both before the file even makes it to them, and long after.
That ease of communication goes a long way in overcoming potential snags in the beginning, as well as at closing time. If your loan has to go to another "department" with an unknown recipient, you may or may not make a tight closing window.

What is the lender's availability to you as a client?

This should be a top question asked when shopping around for a loan.
Typically, people shop for homes on nights and weekends, when they're not out earning money to pay for the purchase. A great lender will be accessible via cell phone, text, Facebook messenger or Bat Signal -- any means necessary to make sure that, when you are ready to write an offer on a home, you are fully supported.
That availability will mean the lender can get an updated pre-approval letter in your realtor's hands, and call the listing agent to tell them that your offer is financially solid. It also means that your loan officer should have already asked for and received your supporting documentation to take you one step further from a pre-qualification and have a full pre-approval.
There are many things that can make or break a loan, but the quality of your lender doesn't have to be one of them. Shopping around and partnering with a loan officer who educates you and is proactive will put you light years ahead of the crowd!


Joel Lobb
Senior  Loan Officer
American Mortgage Solutions, Inc.
10602 Timberwood Circle Suite 3
Louisville, KY 40223
Company ID #1364 | MB73346

Text/call 502-905-3708

kentuckyloan@gmail.com
If you are an individual with disabilities who needs accommodation, or you are having difficulty using our website to apply for a loan, please contact us at 502-905-3708.
Disclaimer: No statement on this site is a commitment to make a loan. Loans are subject to borrower qualifications, including income, property evaluation, sufficient equity in the home to meet Loan-to-Value requirements, and final credit approval. Approvals are subject to underwriting guidelines, interest rates, and program guidelines and are subject to change without notice based on applicant's eligibility and market conditions. Refinancing an existing loan may result in total finance charges being higher over the life of a loan. Reduction in payments may reflect a longer loan term. Terms of any loan may be subject to payment of points and fees by the applicant  Equal Opportunity Lender. NMLS#57916http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/

5 reasons why veterans should take advantage of VA loans | Federal News Network

5 reasons why veterans should take advantage of VA loans | Federal News Network

There are several advantages of utilizing a VA loan.
First, no down payments on most loans. In fact, 80% of veterans who obtain a VA loan will not have to pay a down payment.
This is clearly a cost savings opportunity that can significantly reduce barriers to homeownership for many veterans. Even Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans geared toward veterans have a minimum down payment requirement of 3.5%, and many have up to 5% down payment requirements.
For many veteran borrowers, a down payment of 3.5% to 5% can close the door to homeownership at the application stage.
If 3.5% to 5% doesn’t sound like much, it can translate into down payments of up to $12,500, and that’s just on a home of $250,000. In many areas of the country, you could be looking at down payments of $15,000 and up.
Being able to take advantage of zero down payment options, on the other hand, can be the difference between owning a home and not being able to afford one, which makes the absence of a down payment a huge benefit for most veterans.

It’s also one of the main reasons that VA loans are popular among veterans and members of the military.
A second advantage is lower interest rates.
In a traditional loan, interest rates can act as yet another barrier to homeownership. The average interest rate on a traditional 30-year FHA loan is around 5.04%. VA loans can be accessed at a lower interest rate, often at 0.5% to 1% lower than an FHA loan.
The reason for this is that the VA guarantees a certain percentage of every loan they offer, meaning partnering financial institutions can offer lower interest rates.
While 0.5% to 1% might not sound like a big deal, over the life of a loan it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in savings.
Third, VA loans do not require mortgage insurance premiums. The initial costs of purchasing a home are just the beginning of the financial responsibilities homeowners have to undertake. Added to them are the ongoing costs of homeownership that cover everything from maintenance costs to various forms of insurance.
One form of an insurance premium that can typically add up to $180 a month to the cost of owning a home is the mortgage insurance premium. However, with most VA loans, those premiums don’t exist, removing yet another potential barrier to homeownership.
Fourth, VA loans come with foreclosure protection. Among its many substantial contributions to the military community is the VA’s success at keeping over half a million at-risk veterans in their homes during the housing crisis.
Unlike other programs that help veterans purchase a home but then offer little to no support down the road, the VA is focused not just on home acquisition for veterans but home retention, as well.
To that end, many of the VA’s loan-related policies, such as their residual income guidelines, are focused on foreclosure protection. This effort has made VA loans some of the safest loans available for eight years running.
The added security of knowing the chance of foreclosure is low can help veterans take one more stress off their plates.
Finally, VA loans limit closing costs, which are one of the most expensive aspects of the home buying process. It’s no secret that closing costs can be steep, and the inability to pay those costs acts as yet another obstacle to homeownership for many veterans.
With a VA loan, there are limits to how much lenders can charge in closing costs. Additionally, VA loan recipients can transfer closing costs to other parties, such as the seller.
This frees up cash flow, reduces the up-front costs of homeownership, and removes yet another potential barrier to owning a home for many veterans.
By removing many of the most common up-front and ongoing costs that limit access to homeownership for veterans, VA loans offer hope and security to the nation’s bravest and best.
All of these benefits mean 80% of veterans who qualify can realize the dream of homeownership who otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance.