Interest rates?

[keninaz]

I am thinking of buying a home. We have owned a few in the past but have been renters now for a number of years.
I have a VA certificate that I can use to save me money and fees and I also found found recently that VA waives the funding fees for disabled vets like me so that further encourages me to use this method to purchase as it saves me that 1% I think it is at closing
But I am almost 4 years since our BK and I was wondering what types of interest rates those that are getting loans are seeing. I have been told that interest rates can be higher for those with BKs in the past.
We have established credit again with a couple of car loans and the last time I looked our credit score was around 680 or so but that's been some time ago. We have nothing derogatory on our report with the exception of the BK and there was no real estate involved in the BK if that makes a difference.
We have enough income in our retirement that the projected payment with our present debts would leave us at around 37% and my CU told me that they like you under 45% so we should be good there.
So if what I heard is true what do you think they will hit us for in the way of a penalty? Another 1% or more?
Thanks in advance for any information.

[tobee43]

i would suggest you attempt to work with a broker or someone that can see exactly what you can qualify for if anything.

on this forum some are getting approved while others not so much. while an FHA is 3 years after a foreclosure or 2 years after a discharge, who knows anymore. it appears the banks or lenders are extremely tight with funds right now. i would seek out a loan before going house shopping, first to see if you can get a loan, and secondly, if it will go though.

there have been numerous threads lately about whether or not one will get the actual loan. i told a story about a couple i know with NO bk, perfect credit, got the approval, good rate, movers, out the door and 6 hours before the close the lender backed out. so i would just proceed carefully.

if you are a Vet, i would attempt the VA first. if you have enough cash down, maybe a conventional mortgage since the FHA guidelines are really getting taken with a grain of salt by the underwriters, while some may read them one way, another will a different way. so, if i were in your shoes i would just try to actually secure a loan first and to get interest rates you will have to see and get it from the "horses" mouth. i can say the b of a down the street is at 2.75 for a fixed 15 and 3.50 for a fixed 30...who gets those rates??? i don't know one person.

best of luck! i'm certain you will find something!

[LTN6571]

The VA waives the funding fee(which is 2.15%) for veterans at a 10% or above rated disability.

They will use your lowest score from the credit reporting agencies(or your spouse's if going jointly). The minimum is a 620.

And the biggest perk(IMHO) of going VA is no PMI, even with zero down.

With all that being said, your milage may vary.

But speaking from recent experience, I got a 4% fixed loan on a new build right after my 2 year anniversary going the VA route.

[tobee43]

problem is finding a VA home. i know we have never used it because we couldn't find a home ...or they were so far and few between and you are saying you got a new building loan? i'd say you were very lucky!

[rmcmorran]

Hello - we just closed in June of 2012 with a VA loan. Our bankruptcy was almost two years when we closed (we found a lender that would give us a loan a month before our two year mark). Our interest rate with our VA loan is 3.5% for 30 years.

[LTN6571]

problem is finding a VA home. i know we have never used it because we couldn't find a home ...or they were so far and few between and you are saying you got a new building loan? i'd say you were very lucky!

We worked with a builder in our area who handles everything from mortgage to build to close. Not to say it wasn't stressful, but relatively pain free.

[tobee43]

Hello - we just closed in June of 2012 with a VA loan. Our bankruptcy was almost two years when we closed (we found a lender that would give us a loan a month before our two year mark). Our interest rate with our VA loan is 3.5% for 30 years.

that's excellent. we did owner financing and got 30 years @ 5%, it was approx. 1.5 years ago, but we will be paid off in 20 months we hope!

[tobee43]

We worked with a builder in our area who handles everything from mortgage to build to close. Not to say it wasn't stressful, but relatively pain free.

that's great! i'm certain the stress wasn't but end result is what counts.

[ValleYum]

You can buy just about any home with a VA loan - it is not like a Rural Development loan or anything. There is a price cap, though.

From the VA's website:

VA will guarantee a maximum of 25 percent of a home loan amount up to $104,250, which limits the maximum loan amount to $417,000. Generally, the reasonable value of the property or the purchase price, whichever is less, plus the funding fee may be borrowed. All veterans must qualify, for they are not automatically eligible for the program.

VA guaranteed loans are made by private lenders, such as banks, savings & loans, or mortgage companies to eligible veterans for the purchase of a home, which must be for their own personal occupancy. The guaranty means the lender is protected against loss if you or a later owner fails to repay the loan. The guaranty replaces the protection the lender normally receives by requiring a down payment allowing you to obtain favorable financing terms.

http://www.valoans.com/va_facts_whatis.cfm

[tobee43]

You can buy just about any home with a VA loan - it is not like a Rural Development loan or anything. There is a price cap, though.

From the VA's website:



http://www.valoans.com/va_facts_whatis.cfm

i think that has to depend on where you are? we tried and couldn't both in nj and here in florida. what would happen is the we were only shown the properties that would "qualify" for the VA. all the houses we saw were similar so really it made no sense to us why one would and one wouldn't. i do know this though, of all the houses and i can't tell you how many we looked at, there were only a very few that we could go VA with. now, i have no clue why that is, but we gave up on that route due to the lack of availability or choices. i think or believe it was more the issue with the banks. but, i must say we ran into the same exact problem over 30 years ago with trying to go VA.

[ValleYum]

i think that has to depend on where you are? we tried and couldn't both in nj and here in florida. what would happen is the we were only shown the properties that would "qualify" for the VA. all the houses we saw were similar so really it made no sense to us why one would and one wouldn't. i do know this though, of all the houses and i can't tell you how many we looked at, there were only a very few that we could go VA with. now, i have no clue why that is, but we gave up on that route due to the lack of availability or choices. i think or believe it was more the issue with the banks. but, i must say we ran into the same exact problem over 30 years ago with trying to go VA.

This is the 3rd house hubby or I have lived in with a VA mortgage. All we did was pick a house, get the CoE from the VA to our broker, and qualify for the mortgage.

I swear, I sometimes think you live in some kind of alternate dimension, Tobee. LOLOL

[tobee43]

This is the 3rd house hubby or I have lived in with a VA mortgage. All we did was pick a house, get the CoE from the VA to our broker, and qualify for the mortgage.

I swear, I sometimes think you live in some kind of alternate dimension, Tobee. LOLOL

valle you are so right!!!!!! we think that as well! and it's not much fun being in this dimension at all... i just don't get it.

even when our daughter was looking for her first home after she got out of college we tried to use the VA...no way! we were also told you could only use the VA loan once in your lifetime, yet my step father said he used his 3 times as well, just like you.

[keninaz]

OK, thanks for the information.
I am going to my credit union today with an appointment to talk to them with my VA certificate in hand and income statements for them.
I am 30% disabled by VA and I found out by accident that they waived the funding fee which sure helps on closing costs.
I have never had a problem finding a seller that would go VA and have used it 3 times in the past.
And I would think in today's market that sellers would welcome any buyer but maybe not.
Lots of homes around my area for sale anyway.

[tobee43]

well, we are going to try and test the waters again shortly with the VA...again for our daughter. i'm not going to hold our breath since i guess as valle says i'm just in a different dimension. i'll bet dollars to donuts we will not be able to use it. (and we do qualify, even with still owning a bit on this house). we shall see

[keninaz]

Good luck. I see that VA has changed over the years.
It used to be that the rates for VA loans were set but not anymore.
Then again you can buy a lot more house than you used to be able to.
When I sold our last property I thought I was through owning and just rented but today's' interest rates changed my mind as rentals are as much or more than owning right now in my area.