Columbus HUD Homes

Guidelines for home loans have tightened significantly over the past 6 months. Lenders got scared by high default rates on their loans, so they will no longer hand out money without guarantees or significant downpayments. However, there is at least one program that continues to offer superb benefits to the buyers of Columbus Houses: the VA Loan Guarantee.

VA Loans are actually loans made by regular banks, but they are guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. You have to qualify as a US veteran and you have to buy the house as a personal residence (owner occupant). Fore details on the program go to the FAQ section of the VA Website.

The two biggest benefits of VA loans are the fact that

1. you can get 100% financing, including closing costs, and that
2. you don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance.

If you had a bankruptcy you have to wait for 2 years after it was discharged before you can apply for a VA loan. The lender may make an exception if the bankruptcy was completely out of your control.

A few weeks ago one of my clients purchased a home with a VA loan. The seller agreed to pay all of the closing costs. The loan did not require any down payment from the buyer and the bank even included the VA funding fee (2.4% of the purchase price) in the new loan. At closing the buyer received a check for almost $1,400 – all formally disclosed on the HUD-1 settlement statement and approved by VA and the bank.

When you buy Columbus houses you can use VA financing, buy without any downpayment, and you may even get some money back at closing. However, if you buy a Columbus HUD Home, you won’t be allowed to take any money at closing. HUD specifically disallows payouts to the buyer at closing. All credits have to be applied to closing costs.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650