Here are the typical fees for property appraisals used in the home loan process:

VA Loans = $400 (set by VA)

FHA Loans = $450

Conventional Loans = $455

Investment Properties = $600

Just remember, these fees will likely fluctuate between lenders.

Remember the VA funding fee reductions I told you about in a previous post? They were supposed to go into effect in October, but the VA moved the date to November 18th.  Well, it turns out the Congress and the VA are not on the same page.  They have since pulled the changes completely and said to all of us VA lenders and veterans, never mind, we’re just going to stick with the same funding fees we’ve had for years.  Bottom line, forget about all those changes ...

Last week the U.S. Senate passed a $182 billion spending bill for fiscal year 2012 that reflects a bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee in September.   The bill includes the restoration of funding for housing counseling programs under HUD, including counseling for seniors obtaining a reverse mortgage.  According to the executive director of the Coalition for Independent Seniors (CIS)  “America’s seniors, looking to capitalize on their equity wealth to maintain their financial independence will still have access to consumer protections like housing counseling if this bill becomes law.” ...

Quite often I hear military veterans trying to decide between a VA loan and a Texas Vet loan when purchasing a house.  The funny thing is, there is no such thing as a stand-alone Texas Vet purchase loan.  The Texas Veteran Housing Assistance Program must be used in conjunction with a VA, FHA, or Conventional loan.  Over roughly 85% of the time, veterans use it with VA financing since typically no down payment is required and there is no mortgage insurance.

The real decision to be made is if the veteran ...

One of the great benefits of VA loans is that the veteran is allowed to receive gift money from family members to help cover closing costs. All that is typically needed is a completed gift letter signed by the veteran and the donor, as well as documentation that the transfer has taken place. There are no limits on the gift money when it is coming from a family member.  Just remember, this is for gift money from family members, not for loans from family members.

This question comes up quite a bit. How much is the seller allowed to contribute to the buyer’s closing costs on a VA loan? Some non-VA programs limit the seller contributions to 3% and some go as high as 6% of the sales price. When it comes to VA, many lenders say the limit is 4% of the sales price. It is true that the VA handbook says seller contributions are limited to 4%; however, it also says “Do not include normal discount points and payment of the buyer’s closing costs in total concessions for determining if concessions ...

VA-approved lenders were informed today that the funding fee changes that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said would be effective October 1st, 2011, will now be postponed until November 17th, 2011.  Between now and then, the old VA funding fee rates will continue to be used.  First time use will continue at 2.15% and subsequent use at 3.30%.   Anyone closing and funding on their loan before November 17th will be at the current (higher) rates, not the new (lower) rates coming in November.  For more details on the ...

Can a veteran using a VA loan actually get cash back at closing? Yes, but it’s important to understand how and why. First of all, it’s actually when the VA loan gets funded (usually later in the day) that the veteran is then cut a check for the amount of cash he or she is getting back. This happens on more than 50% of our VA loans. This is possible because VA loans allow the seller to pay all of the buyer’s closing costs, prepaid expenses, and escrows, as long as the subject property appraises for the ...

The VA funding fee is the fee charged by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to defray the costs of managing the VA Home Loan Program. The fee ranges from 0% to 2.80% and the vast majority of the time it is well worth paying it since it essentially replaces mortgage insurance which can cost much more on other loan programs.For non-exempt veterans using the VA program for the first time, the fee is 1.40% and then 2.80% every time thereafter. However, a veteran can put down just 5% to reduce the VA funding fee to ...