It seems that whenever one reads a news article or scans a headline regarding U.S. Military Veterans, a common theme is that "Americans love Veterans!" -- which seems to be mostly true except, apparently, when it comes to selling them their home!
While most enlisted military personnel don't make a lot of money, VA benefits are often touted as an offset -- "Buy a house with 0% down!". Of course that's not entirely true -- closing costs (approximately 1.5% - 2% of the purchase price) and the 2.15% - 3.30% VA Funding Fee can result in a need to have anywhere from approximately 2% of the purchase price (if the fees are rolled into the loan) to 4.15% of the purchase price - in Southern California, on a $700K home that's anywhere from $14K to $29K -- out of reach for many young Veterans -- which is why VA loans/deals are so rare. That, and the large quantities of cash that more affluent buyers are often able to bring to the table so their deal looks "better" -- so sadly, the Veterans that we as Americans love are rarely given an opportunity to participate, even if they can afford the monthly payments. I've had a bank (house in foreclosure) accept a Veteran's offer (when there were other higher offers), accepted an offer -- on behalf of my seller client -- on a short sale for a Veteran, and assisted a Veteran buyer who had a larger down payment from the sale of another house purchase a home. All went very smoothly, closed on time, and without any drama.
Sellers, Veterans are simply asking for a chance at purchasing your beautiful home. When it closes, the net to you is the same as an all-cash offer at the same purchase price - and it gives a young Veteran and his or her family an opportunity to begin building their own memories.
So if you're selling your home, and you receive an offer from a Veteran, with our without a large down payment, please consider it -- show them that Americans do truly love their Veterans -- and not just when we need them!
While most enlisted military personnel don't make a lot of money, VA benefits are often touted as an offset -- "Buy a house with 0% down!". Of course that's not entirely true -- closing costs (approximately 1.5% - 2% of the purchase price) and the 2.15% - 3.30% VA Funding Fee can result in a need to have anywhere from approximately 2% of the purchase price (if the fees are rolled into the loan) to 4.15% of the purchase price - in Southern California, on a $700K home that's anywhere from $14K to $29K -- out of reach for many young Veterans -- which is why VA loans/deals are so rare. That, and the large quantities of cash that more affluent buyers are often able to bring to the table so their deal looks "better" -- so sadly, the Veterans that we as Americans love are rarely given an opportunity to participate, even if they can afford the monthly payments. I've had a bank (house in foreclosure) accept a Veteran's offer (when there were other higher offers), accepted an offer -- on behalf of my seller client -- on a short sale for a Veteran, and assisted a Veteran buyer who had a larger down payment from the sale of another house purchase a home. All went very smoothly, closed on time, and without any drama.
Sellers, Veterans are simply asking for a chance at purchasing your beautiful home. When it closes, the net to you is the same as an all-cash offer at the same purchase price - and it gives a young Veteran and his or her family an opportunity to begin building their own memories.
So if you're selling your home, and you receive an offer from a Veteran, with our without a large down payment, please consider it -- show them that Americans do truly love their Veterans -- and not just when we need them!
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