Today the Texas Veteran’s Land Board announced that the new Texas Vet Housing Assistance Program loan limit is $417,000, up from $325,000.   They also increased the land-only program to $100,000, up from $80,000.  That’s how Texas takes care of our military veterans!

For more information, see www.texasveterans.com.

You may have heard that some lenders limit the number of financed properties to four total.  In other words, you can own as many properties as you like, but most lenders will not finance a property for you if you already have four mortgages. Fortunately we have investors who will allow us to finance your primary residence regardless of how many other properties you own.  This obviously assumes you can qualify with all of them.   Apply online via our secure form at chadbowman.com/apply.

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.

There are two ways that I know of to get a copy of your military discharge papers.  The first is from the National Archives.  It can take several weeks to several months, depending on your branch of service and when you served.  Here is the link:

National Archives Military Records Request

The alternative is a private company who claims to expedite the service and say they can get it for you in about a week.  I was skeptical, but one of my veteran clients used this service recently ...

I honestly cannot count how many times I’ve heard that a lender recommended FHA financing to a veteran, even though a VA loan would have been a much better deal. The truth is, FHA loans are easier for most lenders since most lenders do way more FHA loans than VA loans. That is, of course, a horrible excuse for giving a veteran a loan program when another program (VA) would have been a much better option.

Without going into the details of the financial analysis between VA and FHA loans, just know this… If the FHA upfront ...

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 ...