4 Steps To Help You Land A VA Loan
If you want to obtain a VA mortgage loan, there are a few things you need to do. Just being a United States Armed Forces service member or former service member is not enough. You need to meet certain criteria, obtain a certificate of eligibility, find a lender, and use the loan on the right type of loan.
1. Check Your Credit Score
If you want to get a VA loan, you need to have a someone decent credit score. You are going to want to aim for a credit score at least above 600 before you apply for a VA loan. VA loans are generally offered to individuals who have lower credit scores than those in the "ideal" range of a perfect borrower between 800-700 points. You are going to want to request your credit report so you can find out what your score is. That way, you'll know what your score is, and if it is too low, you can take steps to improve your credit score before applying for a VA loan.
2. Know What You Can Use the Loan for
Next, you need to know what you can use the loan for. A VA loan is for purchasing a primary residency. It is not for purchasing a vacation home or for buying an investment property. Also, most VA loan lenders will not lend you money to purchase a manufactured house, even if you intend for it to be your primary residency.
You can use a VA loan for a wide variety of different primary residencies, such as a single-family home, a condominium, or a modular home. You can even use a VA loan to purchase a multi-family unit; however, you have to intend to occupy at least one of the units yourself.
3. Get a Certificate of Eligibility
Next, you are going to need to obtain a certificate of eligibility, which will show that you qualify for this VA benefit. You don't need your certificate of eligibility to get pre-approved for a loan, but you will need it for the official loan process.
4. Find a Lender
Finally, you need to find a lender. VA loans are not issued by the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Department of Veteran Affairs just certifies you for the loan; they don't provide the loan itself. You need to find a lender to facilitate and provide the loan on your own; many lenders are more than willing to facilitate VA loans.
If you want to access your VA loan benefit you obtained by being a current or former member of the United States Armed Forces, you need to check your credit score, get a certificate of eligibility, and find a lender to work with.
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