Are there disadvantages to a VA loan?

VA is one of the best loans available today.. you can go zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and VA protects you in a lot of ways.. Appraisal guidelines are much more stringent, certain closing costs cannot be paid by the veteran, termite report required on all transactions. etc.. also, if your disabled, you may be able to waive the VA funding fee, or a portion of it.. the only disadvantage I can see is the VA funding fee, but again, it can be waived if your disabled.. .. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Out of the two loan programs, VA loans generally have more advantages for borrowers. Contrary to FHA loans, VA loans do not require that borrowers pay a monthly mortgage insurance premium. With an FHA loan you are required to pay mortgage insurance for the entire life of the loan. VA loans also have less closing costs and slightly lower interest rates.

The quick answer is VA is absolutely the way for you to go....863-698-4962....Anyone who tells you different is WRONG!

In addition to not paying FHA Mortgage Insurance, VA also has stricter guidelines on the appraisal versus FHA - all to your benefit. For instance, the seller has to pay for a Pest Inspection and fix any issues that arises from that report. You also have a lower interest rate, no money down and less closing costs. My VA buyers typically end up coming to the closing table with less than $1500 based on a 30yr Fixed Mortgage at $150,000 sale price. If it's available to you, take it and run with it!!!

In general the VA loan is going to be a superior choice to an FHA loan. However, there some disadvantages as well. Here's a few of them: 1) The qualifying debt to income ratios are more restrictive on a VA loan than they are on an FHA; 2) The property must meet the minimum VA condition standards and the Seller may not be willing to make those necessary repairs; 3) The disadvantage of a VA loan vs. an FHA loan may be also from the Seller's perspective and whether they are willing to pick up the additional costs for the normal fees and closing costs that you are not allowed to pay according to the VA. In some instances the Seller will not be willing to pick up those costs, you're not allowed to pay them and you may end up in an impasse situation where you have to change your financing or select a different property; 4) Lastly another disadvantage of a VA loan vs. an FHA loan comes into play if it's not your first time using your VA benefit. Subsequent times you use your VA benefit the Funding Fee (VA's version of mortgage insurance premium) potentially goes from 1% the first time you use the benefit to as much as 3% on subsequent times you use the benefit. The amount of benefit and Funding Fee is also related to whether or not you're a disabled vet or not and depending upon the level of disability. However, since you are a veteran I would certainly explore all of the options and benefits available to you. Your lender should be able to provide you with an unbiased recommendation of which financing option is best for you based upon all of the circumstances. Your lender should also provide a financial analysis for you of each financing option, present them to you with the pros and cons of each so that you can make an informed and educated decision on which financing option is best for you. As a direct lender that is how we work, our job is to work for you and get you the best options available and then let you decide. If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to call or email. John Beman, john.beman@amflc.com 888-779-6500 x 7315

NO... If you are a veteran, there is absolutely no better loan option than a VA Loan. In MN and WI, visit www.VA-IRRRL-Loan-MN.com

VA loan have advantages over FHA. For one thing, there is no monthly mortgage insurance on a VA loan, whereas on FHA their is, and it's for the life of the loan. VA rates offer slighly lower rates than FHA. I do both FHA and VA loans and have been originating loans in Florida for 25 years. If you would like to discuss this with me further I would be glad to assit you with your financing. I personally handle my loans through to closing so you are not getting passed around from person to person, which happens with a lot of these large banks. You can reach me at 727-530-9404 (O) or 727-460-9418 (C). Best Regards,Linda Burek, First Choice Mortgage

Great answers previously - anyone who says FHA is better option than VA probably just isn't very experienced with VA. The costs are minimally different to you or the seller. The VA funding fee is higher but the FHA monthly mortgage insurance makes the payment MUCH higher (unless you are doing a 15 year loan with a significant downpayment). The only advantage I can think of for FHA is that the loan is assumable but I would almost NEVER put someone in a FHA loan if they qualify for a VA loan. Feel free to contact me directly (pdumouchel@primelending.com 843-619-6025) if you have additional questions, but you see that we are unanimous in agreeing that VA is almost certainly your best option.

VA may be your best choice, considering the fine comments of others on this forum.

Of course there are disadvantages to going VA. There are advantages and disadvantages of going with any program, VA, FHA, Conventional, or USDA.Now with that said, the only real disadvantage to going VA is the funding fee. The funding fee for VA is higher than the upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) of FHA. It would be 2.15% for first time use and 3.3% for any use after opposed to 1.75% for FHA. If you are a disabled veteran over 10%, then that fee would be waived. Even if the fee isn't waived, it is not much higher than the upfront MIP than FHA and it does not have monthly mortgage insurance so more often than not, unless you only plan to be in the home for about 6 months, it is always beneficial to go VA.I read on here that the VA has stricter debt to income ratios, this is not true at all. In fact, I just had a loan approved today with a 73% debt to income ratio because of the overall strength of the borrower. They had more money in the bank than what the house even cost and 780+ credit scores. The VA takes all things into consideration when an approval is issued. FHA max dti ratio is 57%, no matter what! Most likely, the person you were told this does not offer VA loans, it is not something that all lenders offer. We have a full eagle license so we are able to underwrite our VA loans in house and we offer VA loans down to 580 credit scores. Because we are direct lender we offer amazing rates and service second to none. I would be happy to assist you with your purchase. Please feel free to contact me.Joshua A. Lerette - Sales ManagerCarrington Mortgage Services, Inc.727-488-7355Joshua.Lerette@carringtonms.comTampa Bay's #1 Trusted Mortgage Professional