But because you don’t, it’s easy to miss a couple of questions when you are “interviewing” your prospective loan officer.

Remember, this is going to be one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make. Getting it right can be easy if you know the right questions to ask. Here are seven, with some guidance on what the answers should be:

1. How many VA home loans do you, personally, close each month?

In my experience, a good loan officer will close at least five VA purchase loans every month. This number could fluctuate a bit by region — areas with very few veterans may offer limited opportunities for VA loans — but experience closing these loans is critical.

2. What is the average time it takes to close on a home, from contract to closing date, with your company?

In competitive markets, the average time is 30 days or less.

3. What do you charge for the VA origination fee?

The maximum charge is 1 percent, but some lenders may charge less.

4. Do you charge “discount points”?

These points are basically fees that lower your interest rate. In many cases, especially if you are planning to move or refinance, it doesn’t make sense to pay them.

5. How does your team communicate during the home-buying process?

Be sure your lender will keep you updated. If they don’t have a plan in place to do so, find somebody else.

6. Do you have a secure way to send and receive sensitive information?

Many of the forms you’ll fill out will require strong security measures. You don’t want your Social Security number roaming the internet.

7. What additional costs are associated with the loan?

Remember, just because you’re not putting any money down doesn’t mean the loan won’t cost you anything at signing: You still have to pay for closing costs, although they can be covered by the seller or with a lender credit.

Getting clarity on these small items can help turn an average home-buying experience into a great one.

David Piatek is in the Illinois National Guard and has over 12 years of experience specializing in VA home loans. Find him via email at teamdavid@thefederalsavingsbank.com.

The bill, which is under Senate consideration, would create a fourth VA under secretary and staff up a branch dedicated to transition assistance, employment, education benefits and other non-health-related VA benefits. To pay for the extra staff, it would raise the funding fee on the VA’s Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans. That fee sits at half a percent, but the bill would up it to 0.75 percent for loans closed Jan. 1, 2019, through March 1, 2025.

The fee would revert to 0.50 percent after that date. Get the current funding fees for all VA loans, as well as a breakdown of which veterans are exempt from fees, here.

This funding tactic isn’t new: For instance, the Senate is expected to consider legislation that would expand benefits for “blue water” Vietnam veterans — tens of thousands of service members exposed to toxic chemicals while serving on ships who have been denied recompense for decades.

To afford those benefits, the bill calls for a restructuring of VA loan funding fees that would raise some rates and would make more veterans, including those with disability ratings below 100 percent, pay a funding fee to use the loan guaranty program.

Learn more about the VA loan program at our VA Loan Center.

While VA claimed to save more than 97,000 loan-holders from foreclosure in fiscal 2016, the department completed 18,519 foreclosures that year. Those with VA-backed loans who are facing financial issues should contact VA immediately; read more about what programs are available for beneficiaries in this situation here.

As the financial recovery process continues, keep this timeline in mind:

• When your mortgage is 30 days past due, the mortgage servicer can report the loan as delinquent to credit reporting agencies.
• After 36 days, the servicer must attempt to contact the borrower directly. If contact is made, the servicer should inform the borrower of any repayment or mitigation options.
• When the mortgage reaches 45 days past due, the lender is required to assign a staffer to the case who can answer any questions and work out potential repayment plans. A written notice is also required at this stage.
• If all is still not well after 121 days, the loan case can be moved to foreclosure attorneys unless an “active loss mitigation package” is in place, according to federal documents. This could include a Trial Payment Plan, where the borrower is asked to pay an lower amount over a period of time to test out a restructured mortgage. VA officials can assist with TPP setup.

More details on the foreclosure process are available through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

So, when does Skynet take over administration of the VA loan program? That could be a bit.

For now, VA’s seeking industry input on how an AI-assisted system might work. A July 2 request, outlined the next day at GCN.com, includes a 15-point list of deliverables, such as:

• “Natural Language Processing” to allow communication with veterans of all ages and education levels.
• A “human-like” interactive experience.
• The ability to start, stop and resume conversations or claim assistance, and to accept input via multiple methods, such as voice, text, clicking a drop-down menu item or filling out a form.
• “Automated Learning,” which would let the system listen into a human staffer’s successful interaction with a veteran and use the advice given for similar requests.
• “Multiple areas of ‘expertise’” including the VA loan program.

The request also outlines a variety of security requirements designed to ensure an AI system would protect medical records and other personal data from improper access.

Industry representatives have until July 16 to reply to VA’s request. No deadlines or time frames for purchase, trials or implementation of an AI program are outlined in the request.

Seeking some AI-free VA loan tips? Visit our VA Loan Center.

VA backed more than new 411,000 purchase and refinance loans from Oct. 1, 2017, through May 31. Below are some hot spots for the various types, broken out by county. While traditional military- and veteran-heavy areas are well-represented, the numbers also reflect simple census figures: Arizona’s Maricopa County, for instance, ranks fourth in the nation with about 4 million residents, and Los Angeles County’s 10 million-plus residents are enough to land it a spot on most any list, regardless of veteran concentration.

Don’t see your county on the list? Check out the full rundown, as well as stats from past years, here.

VA PURCHASE LOANS

INTEREST RATE REDUCTION REFINANCE LOANS

CASH-OUT REFINANCING LOANS

Learn more about VA loans at our VA Loan Center.

Interest rates for all home loans are at a seven-year high, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.61 percent. That figure hasn’t been reached since May 19, 2011, and it’s more than half a percentage point higher than the average from this time last year (4.02 percent).

Freddie Mac doesn’t break its figures down by loan type, but mortgage data company Ellie Mae does, and its latest report tells a similar story. The average 30-year rate for all loans that closed in April sat at 4.79 percent, per Ellie Mae data, with VA loans at 4.63 percent, up nearly a full percentage point since December 2016 (3.76 percent).

As fixed-loan rates rise, more buyers are shifting toward adjustable-rate mortgages, where initial interest rates are lower than the average but can increase after an introductory period. ARMs made up 6.6 percent of all loans closed in April, per Ellie Mae, and made up 0.6 percent of VA loans ― up from 0.1 percent in December 2016.

ARMs are fairly recent additions to the VA loan arsenal; learn more about VA-specific ARM requirements here, and find out more about all types of VA loans in our VA Loan Center.

And it could mean fewer “refinance now” mailers.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act passed the House on Tuesday, about two months after it cleared the Senate. The VA loan-related passages had legislative life before that, coming from a joint bill proposed by Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in January.

What those passages mean for VA loan-holders, should President Trump sign the bill:

• With limited exceptions, borrowers will not be able to secure a VA-backed refinance on their loan until 210 days after their first loan payment or after they’ve made six monthly payments, whichever takes longer.
• Lenders must provide borrowers with a “net tangible benefits test” that outlines the full financial scope of the refinanced loan, so borrowers have a complete picture of what they’re paying and saving over time.
• Any fees associated with the refinanced loan must be recouped within 36 months.
• Refinanced loans must have a rate at least 50 basis points lower than the original loan’s fixed rate to qualify for VA backing.

Warren and Tillis proposed the original legislation as a way to combat loan “churning,” the practice of rapidly refinancing VA-backed loans in a way that may weaken the overall VA mortgage program, according to representatives at the Government National Mortgage Association, better known as Ginnie Mae.

If lenders can’t secure VA backing for refinances until more than six months after a veteran signs a mortgage, such deals would become less attractive to the lender … and may result in less veteran-centric marketing to new borrowers often hit with mailers and email traffic that push refinancing options.

The plan solves a problem faced by some motivated sellers: Their home’s value sits below the amount of money owed on the loan, meaning a sale won’t end their financial woes. Veterans in this situation can contact their lender to arrange for a compromise sale, but only after a buyer is lined up; the borrower’s representatives (Realtor, lender, etc.) should draw up sales contracts that are pending a compromise sale approval.

There are some conditions to that approval, outlined in federal law, VA’s loan servicer handbook and regional VA publications. Among them:

• The loan’s holder must see the loan as insoluble. This may require the borrower to provide some financial information to prove the payment can’t be made, but if the payments are at least two months behind, such proof isn’t required.
• Financial hurdles must be cleared by the sale ― the total value, including any amount forgiven by the lender, must equal or exceed the value of the property backing the loan.
• Borrowers aren’t allowed to receive any cash from the arrangement.
• The sale must be for fair market value.

Remember: The loan agreement is between the veteran and the lender. While VA can assist (and sometimes advocate for) the borrower in some situations, the ultimate decision falls to the lender when it comes to deals that include partial loan forgiveness or other relief mechanisms (new payment structures, etc.).

For more about the VA loan program, including refinancing options, visit our VA Loan Center.

Ready to make the leap into home ownership? Here’s some background on the VA loan program, which took shape near the end of World War II and has been used by millions of service members and veterans since then: Nearly 3 million have VA-backed loans at present, and more than 740,000 loans were taken out in fiscal 2017.

What it is: The Veterans Affairs Department guarantees a percentage of an eligible beneficiaries home-purchase or home-refinance loan, allowing the lender to provide more favorable terms and often letting the borrower make the deal without a down payment.

What it does: Eligible service members and veterans can apply, via private-sector lenders, for:

• Home-purchase loans on properties up to $424,000 — more in some high-cost areas. These can be used to purchase manufactured homes or homes under construction, in some cases, but not mobile homes.
• Cash-out refinance loans, regardless of whether the initial loan is VA-backed.
• An Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, to reduce the rate on an existing VA-backed loan.

These loans come with funding fees that vary by loan type and veteran status. Veterans using the benefit for the first time on a no-down-payment purchase loan pay a 2.15 percent fee, for example, while a veteran making a second cash-out refinance loan would pay 3.3 percent. A full fee table is available here (PDF).

Veterans receiving VA disability compensation are exempt from fees.

Other loans, including joint loans, construction loans and loans to cover costs of energy-efficient repairs, also can be backed by VA. Consult your lender for information.

Eligibility: Service members whose time in uniform falls within these date ranges must have 90 days of active-duty service to qualify:

• Sept. 16, 1940-July 25, 1947.
• June 27, 1950-Jan. 31, 1955.
• Aug. 5, 1964-May 7, 1975 (Note: For those who served in the Republic of Vietnam, this era begins Feb. 28, 1961). 

For loan purposes, VA considers “Gulf War” service beginning Aug. 2, 1990, and continuing through the present day. Service members from that time period must have completed 24 months of continuous active-duty service to be eligible, or at least 90 days and have completed the full term of service, or been discharged for hardship cases, reduction-in-force, “convenience of the Government” or other similar reasons.

If your time in uniform doesn’t apply to the date ranges above and you were enlisted and separated on or before Sept. 7, 1980, or if you were an officer and separated on or before Oct. 16, 1981, you need 181 continuous active-duty days to qualify.

If your service came after the above date ranges, you need 24 months of time in, or at least 181 days and a) a complete term of service or b) a discharge for reasons similar to the section above.

Troops now on active duty become eligible after 90 days of service for as long as they remain on active duty. Reserve and National Guard members become eligible after six creditable years in service. Troops discharged for a service-connected disability are eligible regardless of service length; other troops must re-establish eligibility after leaving service based on the service lengths/eras listed above.

Some spouses also are eligible, as are other groups of veterans granted eligibility by Congress. For more eligibility details, visit VA’s eBenefits site.

Action items: Service members and veterans must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility, either through the eBenefits site or via their lender, to be eligible for a VA-backed loan.

Those seeking to refinance existing loans should read lenders’ advertising material carefully: VA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a “warning order” in November against deceptive lending practices.

Among the red flags: Aggressive sales tactics, low interest rates with unspecified terms and promises that borrowers can skip a mortgage payment as part of the new loan — a practice prohibited by VA.

Deadline: VA loan eligibility does not expire, though the entitlement can only be used for the borrower’s place of residence (not a rental property). It can be reinstated after the loan is paid off or under other circumstances — another veteran can assume the loan, for instance.

Need more? Visit our VA Loan Center.

Mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been since 2014, per multiple media reports, and while VA loan rates remain the lowest of the loan types, they’re also on the rise. VA-backed 30-year notes that closed in March averaged a 4.5 percent rate, according to a recent Ellie Mae report ― up half a percentage point in six months.

Anyone who’s been in the market for a loan knows that most lenders aren’t shy about advertising their wares. But promises online or in leaflets don’t often translate to real-world pricing, and every borrower will see fluctuations based on everything from loan amounts to credit scores to regional market trends.

Fortunately for borrowers, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau offers an online tool that lets users compare rates while accounting for several factors:

• State where the property is located.
• Type of loan (VA, conventional or Federal Housing Administration) and type of rate (fixed or adjustable).
• Length of loan (15 or 30 years)
• Credit score.
• Home price and down payment.

The tool isn’t perfect: It’s still in beta status, meaning it’s not fully finished, and it doesn’t account for differences within states ― an Army family at Fort Drum may have a different experience than a veteran in Brooklyn, for instance.

Still, it will provide users a more individualized rate than the national average. If your lender is well below that figure, or below the lowest rate provided on CFPB’s lender chart, proceed with caution.

Need more on mortgages? Visit our VA Loan Center.