As a former military member, I feel strongly for the guardians of our great country. If supporting the troops comes in the form of passing along important information to help them, I'm all over it.  If this pertains to anyone you know, please give them a heads up as well.

Relocations are common for military families, but once a vet decides to settle down, VA loans are there to help.  Benefits such as no down payment and great interest rates ease the financial stressors of financing a home.

The first step to a VA Loan is filling out a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which assures that the VA borrower is eligible.  The form is available from the VA website or from a VA-certified lender.  Once they receive the form, the VA may take several weeks to process a COE, whereas VA-certified lenders often employ automated COE systems that process them in minutes

Active duty military, veterans, and spouses of members that were not dishonorably discharged, may be eligible for the VA program.  The following members qualify: 1) Members of the military who, while on active duty, served 90 days during wartime of 181 days during peacetime;  2) Reservists and National Guard members who served at least 6 years; 3) Spouses of service members who died in the line of duty or due to an injury related to service

The financial advantages to the VA home loan program make it a popular home-financing option.  Among the many currently using the VA loan program, there is almost unanimous consent about the program's best feature: no required down payment.  Qualified borrowers can finance up to $417,000 in OR without paying a dime down.  Seldom do VA borrowers spend anything on a down, but when they do, it is generally not more than 5%.  Other financial benefits include:   *Low interest rates, due to the VA backing up to 25% of each loan

      *No Private Mortgage Ins.

      *No prepayment penalties

      *Capped interest rates for active duty service members

Although it may seem impossible, it is in fact easier to qualify for a VA Loan than a conventional loan.  About 80% of those who qualified for a VA loan did not qualify for a conventional, in large part due to more lenient credit and financial requirements.

For more information on OR VA loans and finding the home of your dreams, contact a VA-certified lender or a veterans benefits advocate, such as Matt Polsky, who blogs for VA Benefit Blog, a blog focused on providing service members the most current news and information on the VA benefits they have earned trough serving our country.  Go to: matt@vabenefitblog.com