Thursday, September 2, 2010

How Many Years Do You Have To Wait To Qualify For a Mortage After a Short Sale or Foreclosure in California?

by rob on August 5, 2010

There are thousands and thousands of homeowners across the state of California that have lost their homes to foreclosure or sold their home as a short sale.  This article will discuss how long you have to wait after a short sale or foreclosure to get a VA loan, get FHA loan or get a conventional loan.

How long do I have to wait to get a mortgage again after a Short Sale?

If you sold your house as a short sale, in most cases you will have to wait two years from the date of the short sale to be able to get any type of mortgage, VA loan, FHA loan or conventional loan.  There is only one exception when it comes to qualify FHA loan: 

  • If you did not have any mortgage late payments leading up to your short sale AND you sold your home because you had to relocate for a job transfer

That is the only exception.  So really the vast majority of homeowners that sold their home in a short sale will have to wait two years from the date of the short sale to get a VA loan, get FHA loan or get a conventional loan.

How long do I have to wait to get a mortgage again after a foreclosure?

  • VA loans 2 years
  • FHA loans 3 years
  • Conventional loans 7 years

Something to keep in mind is VA and FHA loans are only for owner occupied primary residences.   If you want to buy and investment property or second home, the only choice is a conventional loan.  So if you had a foreclosure, you will have to wait seven years before you can buy and investment property or a second home with a conventional loan.

So that is a quick summary.  The good news is if you had a short sale you will be able to buy again fairly soon, two years will go by fast.  And even if you had a foreclosure, it is only a two year wait to get a VA loan if you are VA eligible or three years to get FHA loan. 

And here is a quick reminder in the latest updates of the benefits of VA lending in California:

  • If you qualify VA loan it is a 100% financing zero down loan.  It is the only 100% financing mortgage loan available today.  The next best is FHA with 3.5% down.
  • VA loan 30 year fixed interest rates are still very, very low compared to historical norms
  • California VA loans available with 100% financing all the way up to $600,000, $700,000 and beyond depending which county you buy in California.  This allows you to buy with VA 100% financing even in coastal areas such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco and Orange County.  A VA loan over $417,000 is a jumbo VA loan.
  • VA loan credit scores do not have to be perfect, you just need a 600 score to qualify.
  • You can get a second VA loan (and 3rd, 4th, etc…) even if you have had a VA loan before, but you can only have one at a time.
  • VA loan benefits include a waived VA funding fee for veterans if you receive any VA disability pay.  This is a savings of thousands and thousands of dollars
  • VA lending has NO monthly mortgage insurance.  You have to put 20% down to get any other type of mortgage with no monthly mortgage insurance.

Give me a call (858-922-7899) or email (homeloan8@gmail.com) if you have any questions or want to apply for a VA loan.

Warmest Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer (and VA specialist)

858-922-7899

homeloan8@gmail.com

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Rent Out Current House And Get a VA Loan To Buy A New House In California

by rob on August 2, 2010

Prices are down on houses pretty much in every state and every city in the U.S.   So this makes it an excellent time to be a buyer and take advantage of the low home prices to move up to a better house in a better location.  One issue that holds many back is that they own their current home that they live in and could not qualify for a new mortgage loan with having to count both housing payments to qualify.  And FHA and conventional loans require you to have 25% equity in your current house to count as income to qualify the projected rent you will get from the house you are moving out of.  The good news for VA eligible borrowers is that VA homeloans allow you to count the projected rent you will get on your house you are moving out of as income to qualify for a VA loan on a new primary residence.  Very few VA lenders will allow this, but we will.

Generally to count the rent of the house you are moving out of as income to qualify VA loan, you will just have to supply a signed lease that will take effect when you move into the new house that you purchase. 

Because many homeowners in California are upside down or have little equity in their houses, they are NOT able to take advantage of the incredible home prices and interest rates right now because FHA and conventional financing requires them to have 25% or more equity in their current house to be able to use the projected rent it will get to qualify for a mortgage loan on a new primary residence.   This is preventing thousands and thousands of potential home buyers from moving up to a nicer house in a better neighborhood.  However if you are eligible for a VA mortgage, you may be able to take advantage of the low prices and move up to a better house because we allow you to count the projected rental income on the house you are moving out of.

So if you have any questions regarding this guideline or any other question about VA, FHA or conventional home loans feel free to give me an email at homeloan8@gmail.com or a call at 858-922-7899.

And some other general current and up-to-date advantages of VA lending:

  • VA loan credit scores do not have to be perfect, a 620 score can get you a top VA loan interest rate
  • VA loan limits in California go up above $900,000 for 100% financing in certain counties.  And many cities and counties such as Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco have very high VA loan limits
  • VA homeloans have NO monthly mortgage insurance, a big advantage over FHA and conventional loans
  • VA lending requires NO down payment, the loans are 100% financing
  • Interest rates VA loan are still at close to 50 yea historical lows
  • VA loan streamline refinance allows you to drop into a low interest rate easily if you already have a VA loan
  • You can get a second VA loan if you have paid off your first VA loan, even a 3rd, 4th etc… But you can only have one VA loan at a time

Give me a call (858-922-7899) or email (homeloan8@gmail.com) if you have any questions or want to apply for a VA, FHA or conventional loan.

Warmest Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer (and VA specialist)

858-922-7899

homeloan8@gmail.com

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Get a VA Loan to Purchase in Califorinia Until April 2011 and Still Get $8,000 Tax Credit

July 30, 2010

Just a reminder that if you are a VA eligible borrower and you were deployed for 90 days between April 30th 2009 and April 30th 2010 you can still get the $8,000 home buyer  tax credit.   As a reminder, once you close on a house, you apply for the tax credit and the IRS will send [...]

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VA Loan Streamline Refinance on A Rental Property In California

July 22, 2010

VA loan streamline refinances have a really nice feature if you have moved out of the property you once purchased with a VA loan that is now a rental.  Even though the property is now a rental, you can still do a VA loan streamline refinance on it with the same VA loan interest rates [...]

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VA Loan Limits in California and What Happens If You Go Over The Limits

July 21, 2010

Each county in California has a VA loan limit for the maximum dollar amount you can get 100% financing on a VA loan.  Below are some examples of the maximum VA loan for 100% financing in the more populated counties in California: Alameda County $962,500 Contra Costa County $962,500 Los Angeles County $593,750 Orange County [...]

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