VA Loans - Easier than regular loans?

[Nicholas82555]

I am a vet and have been through the VA twice, once about 3 yrs ago and just recently. The only reason I applied the 2nd time was a rep re enforced that the VA has gotten better in obtaining a home loan..........NOT

Even with a 640 score and a pre-approval from the Bank of America Loan Specialist for $240,000 of which the house I'm looking at is only $150,000, the VA still denied me.

All in all, Uncle Sam never surprises me))) Just alot of smoke and I"m not the only vet who has encountered this.

You serve your country and if you just so happen to have a little nick in a requirement you can forget it. If you look at the benefits from Vietnam to now, they either have been chipped away ever so unnoticeable until u realize WTH happened or there's all kinds of stipulations and please don't leave out "".

[sskkc]

The VA does not "give" you a home loan, or approve it, they only guarantee it. They do reject certain homes, but if a veteran has a COE, the VA doesn't stop the process as long as the home and home price are within the pre-determined limits.

At no point during the homebuying process this summer, did we have any contact with the VA. The mortgage broker contacted them to gain dh's COE (Certificate of Eligibility). After we had contracted to purchase the home, had the home inspection done, etc, the broker then contacted the VA to schedule THEIR inspection and appraisal of the property - which is done to protect the VET from fraud. Some homes just won't hold up to their standards, but that has nothing to do with them rejecting a Vet. The person the VA sent out to this house had a list of things we thought were petty, but they had to be fixed before we could proceed. This took about 3 days, once we received the paperwork.

There is a lot of ignorance out there about what the VA does and doesn't do. Too many vets think that they are 'entitled' to a loan and don't understand what the VA does. And being 'pre-approved' does not mean that the loan is a 'done deal', especially now. Too much can happen between first applying for a mortgage and closing. It is not unusual for a bank to pull your credit 24 hours before you are scheduled to close. Our realtor regaled us with cautionary tales of previous clients - one went shopping for new furniture and opened a furniture store credit account, charging approx $10k in furniture, setting up delivery for the day of closing. They were doing the final walk through when the call came in that the bank was denying his loan. He also was a vet and raised holy heck about what he was 'entitled' to.

Being eligible for a VA loan, does not guarantee that a bank will loan you the money. And if you're such a great candidate for a loan, why wouldn't the bank convert your application to a traditional or FHA app? No down payment perhaps?

A lot of vets (and civilians too) are misinformed about what the VA actually covers. Check their official website for the full details and figure out what went wrong. Something did, because a vet shouldn't need to speak with the VA themselves at any point during the homebuying process.