A number of years ago the IRS created the rule where if you occupy a house as your primary residence 2 out of the last 5 years, when you sell the house you pay NO taxes at all on the profits from the sale.   This rule is perfect for active military members to take advantage of who all qualify VA loan and move every few years when they re-assigned.    Every time an active military members moves to a different part of the county, they can search hard for a really good deal on a house and get 100% financing by getting a VA loan.  During their 3 or more year stay in that area, they could perhaps add a little value to that house by fixing it up, etc…  Then when they move to a different city, they could sell the house and pay NO capital gains. 

Imagine if you did this throughout your entire military career how much cash you could amass without paying ANY taxes!   And they every time you moved and made profits from the sale of your house, you could invest that savings in additional cash flow rental property or some type of other investment that earns a good yield.   After moving 7 or 8 times you could easily amass a million dollars from just this practice.

Now is a much better time (than say the last 5 years) to use you VA loan benefits and get a VA loan to buy a house as the housing prices in much of the U.S have fallen by large percentages where there are some incredible bargains out there not seen in a decade.   To make this “VA loan serial home buyer” strategy work, you need to do your homework and make sure you are getting a good value on a house in an area and neighborhood you feel has potential.  Additionally as mentioned above, you can look for a place that you can add value to by fixing up or other methods to help force up the appreciation further.

So I hope this article makes you think about combining your VA loan benefits with the frequent re-locating involved in an active military career to increase your net worth and savings. 

Some great advantages of VA loans:

• Maximum VA loans and jumbo VA loan up to $962,500 in the San Francisco Bay Area Counties, $593,750 Los Angeles, $437,500 San Diego, $593,750 Orange County (feel free to call for your county limit)
• VA loan credit score can be as low as 600 for 100% financing, you don’t need perfect credit
• VA loan interest rates for 30 year fixed loans STILL at historic lows
• VA lending has the most generous debt-to-income ratios – VA loans can allow upwards of 55% ratios where conventional with <20% down is 41% with min 720 credit
• Second VA loan (and third, fourth, etc…) available if you have paid off your first VA loan
• 100% financing on VA loans and the seller can pay all your closing costs, so you can buy with almost zero out of pocket

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

“Serial Home Buyer” Strategy Perfect for Military Buyers Who Get a VA Loan is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

When you get a VA loan it is required that you have a termite inspection done and you get all section 1 and section 2 items on the termite report fixed and then get a termite clearance report from the termite inspection company before the lender will fund your VA loan.  Additionally, when you buy a home with a VA loan or refinance from a non VA loan to a VA loan, you will need to have a property appraisal done by a VA appraiser.  On many occasions this VA appraiser will note on the appraisal that minor repairs have to be complete before the lender will fund the VA loan.

It is very important when you apply for a VA loan that you and your Realtor are aware and prepared for the possibilities of appraisal repair costs and termite clearance costs.   Both of these costs have to be paid before you can close on the loan.  

Now the question is who usually pays for these costs in a home purchase where you are using a VA financing?   Is it the seller or the VA borrower?  The answer is it all comes down to what you negotiate.   In many cases you can get the seller to pay for both the required VA appraisal repairs and termite repairs, but in some cases you cannot.  In this current market dominated by short sales and bank owned foreclosures, it is often somewhat difficult to get the seller to pay for these costs.  If the seller has a choice to accept another offer that is not a VA loan (and will not have to pay for these costs), you may not have a lot of negotiating leverage, and you will need to be prepared to have to the cash on hand to pay for these costs.   This negotiating is why it is important to use a Realtor experienced in working with VA borrowers, which can assist greatly with this negotiating process.  I can refer you to a Realtor experienced with VA borrowers if you would like.

A minor point is the VA borrower cannot pay for the termite inspection itself (but this is a minor cost that is at most $75).  But the VA borrower is allowed to pay for the termite repairs and the appraisal repairs. 

The repair items that come up in VA appraisals are generally fairly minor, but can run from a few hundred dollars to even a few thousand to fix.  Here is a small sample list of some common items that come up in VA appraisals that need to be fixed prior to close:

• damaged stucco fixed
• scrap and re-paint areas with peeling paint
• replace missing window screens
• replace broken windows
• replace broken closet doors
• the property has to have some kind of flooring (bare concrete not OK)
• all kitchen cabinet doors attached
• no exposed wires
• security bars removed or have quick release

So in summary, be prepared for these possible expenses or issues when you are buying a home with a VA loan or refinancing into a VA loan.

So if  you have VA loan benefits and can get a VA loan, you may want to consider looking into it.  Some excellent advantages to VA loans:

• VA is the only major 100% financing, zero down home financing option available today
• VA loan credit scores do not have to be perfect to get the best VA interest rates
• Interest rates VA loans are STILL at historic lows
• VA loan limits in California cities like San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and more can get up very high to above $800,000 with zero down
• The guidelines to qualify VA loan are much more flexible than conventional and FHA loans

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

Termite Repairs and Appraisal Repairs on a VA Loan Home California is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

VA lending to active military and veterans remains the incredibly flexible, 100% zero down home loan it always has been as other types of home loans continue to significantly tighten their lending guidelines. 

Here are some examples:

VA loan credit score:

You can still get a 100% zero down VA loan with a 600 credit score where FHA you need to be at 620 (in most cases) and sometimes 640.  Conventional if you are putting less than 20% down you generally need a 720 credit score

VA loan cash out refinance

VA allows up to 90% loan-to-value on a cash out refinance where FHA and conventional loans do not allow you to go up this high on loan-to-value.

Debt-to-income ratios to qualify VA loan

VA is more concerned with a VA borrowers “residual income”, how much a VA borrower has left every month after paying income taxes, housing payment and other debt obligations.  FHA and conventional home loans are more concerned with a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio.  So a VA borrower can have a higher debt-to-income ratio than FHA or conventional loans would allow and still qualify for a VA loan.

So those are just three of many really significant areas where VA home loans have not changed and FHA and conventional loans have tightened substantially.

Some other highlights of VA lending:

• VA loan limits in many parts of California such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Orange County can go all the way up into $900,000 range with zero down
• VA loan interest rates on 30 year fixed home loans are still ridiculously low historically
• VA loan streamline refinances allow VA borrowers to drop their rate easily once they have a VA loan

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

Guidlines to Get a VA Loan Remained Unchanged Despite FHA and Conventional Loans Getting Tighter is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

Remember if you go into contract by April 31st 2010 you get a $8,000 tax credit from the IRS.  This is really an amazing once in a lifetime type of deal.  You literally get a $8,000 check from the IRS.  And if you are VA eligible you can get a VA loan with 100% financing.

One item to remember is that you have to live in the property for 36 months as your primary residence or your have to pay the tax credit back.  However there are certain exceptions.  If you are a military member and you are transferred to a different part of the county within the military, you may be exempt from this rule.

Also, you must have not owner a primary residence in the last 3 years to qualify for the full $8,000 credit.  But even if you currently do own your primary residence and you are buying a new home, you can still qualify for a $6,500 tax credit.

Just think with a zero down 100% financing VA loan you can actually get a check for $8,000 to buy.  You can actually make $8,000 by buying.  This could be used to pay down debt, furnish your property, make improvements such as remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, or just put in the bank!

So if VA loan benefits and can get a VA loan, you may want to consider looking into it.  Some advantages to VA loans:

• VA is the only major 100% financing, zero down home financing option available today
• VA loan credit scores do not have to be perfect to get the best VA interest rates
• Interest rates VA loans are STILL at historic lows
• VA loan limits in California cities like San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and more can get up very high to above $800,000 with zero down
• The guidelines to qualify VA loan are much more flexible than conventional and FHA loans

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

Important Item About $8,000 Tax Credit for VA Borrowers is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

If you are a VA eligible borrower you may want to take advantage of today’s incredible home prices in California and rent out your current primary residence and buy a new home to live in with a 100% financing VA loan.   Remember, if you currently have a VA loan on your current home, you can’t get a second VA loan until that current VA loan is paid off.  But if you do not have a VA loan and you are eligible for VA lending, what a great opportunity to use your VA benefits and buy a home with 100% financing at today’s bargain prices in California.

Here’s how it works.  VA lending guidelines are very special in that they allow the VA borrower to use a lease on their current home to offset the housing payment to qualify VA loan.  So if you current house payment is $2,500/mo and you can lease it up for $2,000, generally you can use 90% of that $2,000/mo lease amount to offset the $2,500 housing debt.  And it will have to make sense to the VA underwriter that you plan to live in the new house.  If you are moving from a very large house to a very small house they may question that.  Or if you are moving further away from work they may question that.  It has to make sense.

FHA loans and conventional loans are much more stringent.  If a borrower wants to rent out their current home to buy a new home, they must have at least 25% equity in the home in order to count the proposed rent to help qualify for the new loan.  So basically, unless they have 25% equity, they must qualify for the new FHA or conventional loan with BOTH housing payments.  This is very difficult for most.  But VA borrowers are very lucky in that VA does not have this 25% equity rule.

So take advantage of today’s low prices in California and get a California VA home loan on a new house you plan to occupy.

Some great advantages of VA loans:

• Maximum VA loans and jumbo VA loan up to $962,500 in the San Francisco Bay Area Counties, $593,750 Los Angeles, $437,500 San Diego, $593,750 Orange County (feel free to call for your county limit)
• VA loan credit score can be as low as 600 for 100% financing, you don’t need perfect credit
• VA loan interest rates for 30 year fixed loans STILL at historic lows
• VA lending has the most generous debt-to-income ratios – VA loans can allow upwards of 55% ratios where conventional with <20% down is 41% with min 720 credit
• Second VA loan (and third, fourth, etc…) available if you have paid off your first VA loan
• 100% financing on VA loans and the seller can pay all your closing costs, so you can buy with almost zero out of pocket

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

Renting Out Your Current House and Get a VA Loan On a New House in California is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

When you get a VA loan to purchase a house the great thing is your are getting 100% financing, there is no down payment.   This is the #1 of many VA loan benefits available only to veterans and active military.  There is no other mainstream loan available that is 100% financing no money down.

However, when you get a VA loan to purchase a home, there are still closing costs to be paid.  These VA loan closing costs are items such as:

• Escrow fees
• Title insurance
• Home insurance premium
• Property tax reserves collected by the lender
• Interest for the remainder of the month your are closing in
• Lender fees
• Appraisal fees
• Home inspection fees

First off, one great thing with VA lending is that when you get a VA loan, the seller must pay the escrow fee and the lenders processing and underwriting fee.  Those are fees the VA borrower is not allowed to pay.  However, there are still a significant amount of closing costs that remain that will have to be paid before closing on your house.  Sometimes as much as 2-3% of the loan amount.   There are still some ways to get around having to come out of your own pocket for closing costs.  The #1 best way is to ask the seller to credit you 3% of the purchase price for closing costs.  You can work with your real estate agent to write this into your purchase offer.  If you can negotiate this, then you can have a no money down 100% loan AND not have to pay ANY closing costs!  The nickname for this loan is the VA “no-no”.  No money down, no closing costs.

Some other nice advantages of VA homeloans:

• To qualify for a VA Loan credit does not have to be perfect, even if you think you have bad credit you may still qualify for a VA loan
• 100% financing with VA lending – VA offers the only zero down loans today
• VA loan interest rates are at historic lows – the U.S. Government is artificially pushing down rates to stimulate the economy so take advantage of it while you can!
• $8,000 home buyer tax credit available until April 2010!
• VA homeloans allow the seller to credit you for all of your closing costs – so this + 100% financing means you can buy with almost no money out of pocket

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

How to Get Around Closing Costs When You Get a VA Loan To Purchase in California is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Home Loan is a very little known 100% financing home loan available to people buying homes in rural areas of California and the rest of the U.S.  This is another option for those who qualify for VA loan, but may already have a VA in place and need another 100% financing solution (you can only have one VA loan at a time).    There are many locations that are surprisingly considered “rural” according to the USDA.   Even locations that are less than one hour from major California cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, Riverside, and San Jose.  The USDA home loan program is really a tremendous loan program that not many home buyers utilize because they just plain haven’t heard about it!

Some highlights of USDA Home Loan:

• 100% financing, ZERO down payment needed
• No monthly mortgage insurance (unlike FHA and conventional loans (with <20% down) that carry monthly mortgage insurance
• Excellent 30 year fixed interest rates at historic lows
• You do not have to be a first time buyer to qualify for a USDA loan
• Seller can pay for all your closing costs

Here are some additional requirements of USDA Home Loans:

• Your income needs to be within 115% of the area median income
• A USDA loan is only allowed on your primary residence
• USDA loans are for purchases only, not refinances

Below are some selected areas in California that qualify for USDA Loans.  This is not an exhaustive list, just a sampling:

San Diego County

• Alpine, Ramona, Valley Center, Campo, Julian, Rainbow, Pauma Valley

Riverside County

• Desert Hot Springs
• Coachella
• Sun City
• Winchester
• Idyllwild

San Bernardino County

• Lake Arrowhead
• Big Bear

Imperial County

• Almost the entire county

Sonoma County and Napa

• Windsor, Healdsburg, Guerneville, Calistoga, St. Helena, and much more

Contra Cost, Alameda, Solano

• Byron, Rio Vista, Isleton

Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, El Dorado

• Lincoln, Auburn, Ripon, Lathrop

Central Valley Counties

• Tehachapi, lots of the towns surrounding Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Merced, Redding and more qualify

Monterrey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura

• Boulder Creek, Scotts Valley, Moss Landing, Prunedale, San Juan Bautista, Paso Robles, San Miguel, Morro Bay, Solvang, Santa Ynez, Carpentaria, Ojai

So if you already have a VA loan on one property and you would like to get 100% financing, inquire about 100% USDA financing.

So give us a call or email today if you have any questions about USDA Rural Development Home Loans.  Direct 858-922-7899 and email rob@affinity-financial.com.

Warm Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer

homeloan8@gmail.com

858-922-7899 (direct)

USDA Home Loans Only Other 100% Financing Available Besides VA Loans is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

If you are planning on using a VA loan to purchase a property, they very first thing you should do before you begin to spend your valuable time driving around town looking for houses is to get fully approved for a VA loan.   There are a lot of details involved when you apply VA loan.   You want to make sure you have gone through the process and submitted all your documentation to the lender so you are 100% sure you qualify for a VA loan before you start searching and making offers.

Here is a review of the process for getting a full pre-approval for a VA loan:

• Have an up front conversation with your VA loan officer over the phone where they will take a loan application and review your information
• Have a credit check run
• Have your VA loan officer run your VA certificate of eligibility check
• Send your last 30 days paycheck stubs, last 2 years W-2’s and bank statements where you have your savings to your VA loan officer

The above information is generally enough for you VA loan officer to do a thorough pre-approval for you to know that you can get a VA loan.  This will give you peace of mind when you are searching for a home that you have gone through this process and you exactly what purchase price you can qualify for, and you will know once you get an offer accepted your loan will close.

Again, getting a full pre-approval is a critical step because there are really a ton of details that need to be factored in.  The loan officer needs to:

• Fully review your exact month income and your exact monthly debt + new housing payment and see if it fits the VA guidelines to qualify
• Items such as collections on your credit or judgments will have to be analyzed
• If you have child support, those payments will have to be factored in to your qualifying ratios
• VA has a special residual income calculation that has to fit the guidelines
• Even if your spouse is not going on the VA loan, in community property states such as California, your spouse’s debt payments (car loans, student loans, credit card payments, other mortgages) will have to be factored in

So those are just some of the items the VA loan officer must look at.  Many items can pop up and possibly deny the VA loan, so make sure your get pre-approved for your VA loan!   A full pre-approval can be done in less than an hour by an experienced VA loan officer!

Again VA is a great loan right now because…..

• 100% financing
• VA loan interest rates are at historic lows
• VA loan limits in many California counties (and other states) can go up to $900,000+ for 100% financing
• You can get a second VA loan if you have already had one in the past, as long as you have sold or refinanced the property that had the VA loan

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

Up Front Pre-Approval Important Before You Get a VA Loan to Buy is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

Starting in late 2007 the mortgage industry as a whole started a general tightening of guidelines that has continued in dramatic fashion over the last 2+ years.  Yet through all of this, VA lending has stayed pretty much the same as it was before the all the problems in the mortgage market began. 

For non-VA loans there is no more 100% financing, credit score minimums have gone way up, conventional loans require 10% down for the most part, and income ratio standards have gone tightened considerably.  But VA loans have really not changed that much.  You can still get a VA loan with 100% financing, your credit score can be as low as 600, and the qualifying debt-to-income ratios for VA remain much more flexible than conventional loans and sometimes even FHA loans.

Some other benefits of VA loans:

• VA borrowers can get a second VA loan, third VA loan, etc..  You just can’t have more than one VA loan at once
• VA loan limits in California counties can be as high as $962,500 for 100% financing jumbo VA loan
• VA loan interest rates remain at historic lows
• Sellers can pay all of a VA borrowers closing costs

So it is worthwhile to consider using your VA benefits to purchase.  With California and other state home prices being down, many active military VA borrowers can buy a house for LESS than their BAH housing allowance!  And on top of this you get a $8,000 check from the IRS if you haven’t owned in the last 3 years and $6,500 if you are a move up buyer if you buy by April 31st 2010.  And on top of that you have the standard mortgage interest and property tax write-off of owning a house vs. renting.

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

Despite All The Changes In The Mortgage Market, VA Home Loans Stay The Same is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans

If you plan to get a VA loan and you are considering buying a condo, make sure you check with me before you begin to drive around and look at condos.  To get a VA loan on a condo, the condo has to fit certain guidelines.  Many of the condos in the state of California and elsewhere are not eligible for VA loans.

Basically, the condo has to be on the VA or FHA condo list of approved condos for you to be able to get a VA loan on that condo.  Just check with me and I can look up for you to see if the condo is on the approved list.  If it is not on the FHA or VA approved condo list, one option for you even if you are VA approved is to go with a FHA loan instead and get what is called a “FHA spot condo approval”.   Spot approvals are only available at this time until February 10th 2010.  With a spot approval, the condo will need to have 50%+ of the units occupied by owners and also conform to a number of other rules.  But with a FHA loan you will have to put 3.5% down vs. zero down with a VA loan.

Conventional loans with less than 20% down can be even stricter than FHA and VA loans for condo qualification.  Because with less than 20% down on a conventional condo loan, you will need mortgage insurance.  The mortgage insurance companies have very strict guidelines for condos.  They can sometimes require 70% of the condo units to be occupied by owners.

So to save a ton of time, if you are looking for a California VA home loan (or other states as well) on a condo, make sure you contact me first and I can get you fully approved for a VA loan and also assist you with checking to see if that condo project is on the VA or FHA approved list.

Some nice advantages of VA homeloans:

• To qualify for a VA Loan credit does not have to be perfect, even if you think you have bad credit you may still qualify for a VA loan
• 100% financing with VA lending – VA offers the only zero down loans today
• VA loan interest rates are at historic lows – the U.S. Government is artificially pushing down rates to stimulate the economy so take advantage of it while you can!
• $8,000 home buyer tax credit available until April 2010!
• VA homeloans allow the seller to credit you for all of your closing costs – so this + 100% financing means you can buy with almost no money out of pocket

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

Tips to Get a VA Loan on a Condo or Townhome is a post from: VA,FHA and Conventional Loans