I purchased an INVESTMENT Property from VA here in Virginia last year. VA Repos are a great deal! I wish I had been savvy to it when I was shopping for my own Owner Occupant! It is a SUPER deal for the person who will occupy, BUT DO NOT try any Hanky-Panky with the Owner Occupant Statement! You will get a 7’X10’ 2-Family Unit, if you know what I mean!
If you locate a property on the VA’s Reacquired Website (http://www.vba-roanoke.com/rlc/pm.html) that you like, call ANY real estate agent of your choice to show it to you (Doesn’t matter VA pays commission! I made a great friend out of a RE Agent because he got 6% with very little effort) Make an offer (MUST be through a Realtor!)
I watched my property for some while as it was a real ugly/smelly house. Was unattractive but structurally sound. ONLY cosmetic work required! Houses are AS IS so have it inspected if you are uncomfortable doing this yourself! I was able to buy AS INVESTOR for Zero Down Payment, the VA provided the loan, (Does NOT use MY VA eligibility!) VA paid closing costs!
I paid $1,000 earnest money with offer (Aplied at closing towards my costs). I also had to pay 2.5% points as loan origination fee.
This is cheapest Rental Property that I have obtained out of my 4 properties. I did get a good deal on a house that had appraised 2 years previously for $62,000. I got it for $52,000 with about $1,200 total to close.
Please help me!
Me and my wife are both veterans. We would like to purchase a house with no money down. We presently live in Alexandria, Virginia. Local realtors say we need money down!
We need 3 bedrooms. Our credit is “fair”. We need suggestions like “yesterday”! Our total income is around $40,000.
HELP?
Mark,
Your credit may be an issue, but I just found out from a broker in NC that you can buy a VA repo for zero down, 7% interest, 3.5% closing costs, WITHOUT using your VA eligibility. This is a local program currently being run in NC because they have so many repos, they are trying hard to get them sold. Even better, as an investor, you can buy up to 5 homes under this program every 6 months! I am moving to NC (job transfer), and plan on using this program to buy a residence, and then continue buying rental properties.
If you are not to far from NC maybe you could commute to your present jobs. Also check to see if Virginia may have a similar program.
Best of luck.
Judd
Lenders tell you what program you qualify for, not realtors. You need to get prequalified by a lender who does VA loans and see what you qualify for–your “fair” credit could be a concern and they need to look at it. If you qualify for a VA loan (though you have the benefit, you still have to have decent credit, stable income, etc.) you CAN buy with little to no money but there are some problems. A realtor wants to see that you have “earnest” money and any seller wants to see that you are putting some money down on their house. That’s why the realtor is telling you that you need money. YOu can put money in escrow but structure the loan to cover all costs and then get the escrow money back at closing but you will need a deposit. Also, lenders need for you to pay for your credit report and appraisal upfront so you need money for that–varies by area but around $450 for both services. Again, I have collected this money via check to pay the service if my buyer walked but have given the checks back at closing if it worked out that the seller paid all costs. That’s another thing–you want a realtor who knows and wants to structure a deal for you that requires you to spend nothing or as little as possible. Don’t call the people back that tell you it can’t be done–find a realtor who works with VA buyers and knows how to do it! Just to be clear, your benefit allows you to buy with 0 down payment but there’s still closing costs and and escrow account to pay for. That’s why you need a good realtor–they can negotiate for the seller to pay all that but ALL your fees are NOT covered by having VA benefits–just the down payment. Good luck!
Since your credit is not that great, once you get your certificate of eligibility, I would go to a lender that does VA loans (most banks and mortgage companies do) and get an approval letter BEFORE you go shopping for a home. If one lender will not approve you, try another until you find one that will. With the approval letter, realtors will take you more seriously than if you simply show up and say “I’m a veteran with bad credit”. The market is too hot now for realtors to feel like they can be bothered with all but the most qualified applicants. So you need to make your self look more qualified.
Your combined income is about $40,000. If you don’t have any other significant debt that means you can afford a house costing up to about $125,000 (give or take). There are a total of ZERO 3BR houses listed in the MLS in Fairfax County under $125,000. If you want a 3BR house in your price range you will have to go further out, to either Stafford, Loudoun, or Prince William Counties.