topic Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate? in General Credit Topics

VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:04:44 GMT

If anyone is familiar with the VA Laon. I was wondering if 620 is the needed FICO score to get the prime rate. How much weight does having the VA backing the Loan really help when shopping for a rate if your credit is less than stellar, thanks to 3 years in the desert?

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:12:38 GMT

Not positive, but I believe VA is just like FHA in that they don't look at credit scores, only payment history and DTI ratio. For FHA, no lates in the last 12 months. I believe that is also true for VA.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:02:03 GMT

Most lenders do look at minimum score and 620 should be fine. The difference is that the interest rates for these loan types are fixed which means whether you have a 620 or 780 you still get thesame interest rate which is just over the prime lending rate.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:26:18 GMT

A score of 620 (along with a 12 month history of on-time payments on all your credit obligations) is enough to be approved for a VA loan?

I just expected it needed to be higher.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:34:41 GMT

I recently applied for VA mortgage and my score was about 610 which really didn't matter, what i was told is that lender wants to see all delinquent accounts taken care of either deleted or paid. And no negatives within a 12 month period. Also had to write a letter explaining why I have the negatives. Couple more baddies to take care of and I should have be able to get my loan. This was actually a good thing with the market the way it is now prices on homes are dropping so i should be able to get more for less

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:29:59 GMT

My only negative is paying off old debt. It makes the account look recent.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:55:45 GMT

bump

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 21:21:26 GMT

KDM wrote:
My only negative is paying off old debt. It makes the account look recent.

KDM a mortgage lender is going to eyeball the actual report. Paying an old debt does not reage it, it still has the same DOLD

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:42:54 GMT

That's good to know. I'm wondering how long my Eq score is going to take a hit for paying off the old collection account.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 05:39:07 GMT

Likely 7-1/2 years from DOFD.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:37:45 GMT

I believe also that it is lke a FHA Mortgage. They really don't look at credit (I had a TU 570 and I still got 6% interest 2 years ago). It is to help secure homes with people with moderate income.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

tbone74 — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:10:54 GMT

I've been given the same information. I was advised by Quicken that 620 is the score they need to get the ball rolling. However, they would try to make an exception if all scores where above 580..and at least one was reporting 620. I assume it's up to the particular lend to the exceptions their willing to make. And, if you look at most mortgage calculators...the interest rates all start with a credit score of 620.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:51:18 GMT

The VA funding fee you have to pay (unless you can get it waived because you receive a disability pension) is the same as paying ponts to buy the rate down. You may still be better off going conventional with a low score if you find the right lender. FHA/VA rates are always higher than conventional.

Re: VA Loan - Prime Rate?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:22:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The VA funding fee you have to pay (unless you can get it waived because you receive a disability pension) is the same as paying ponts to buy the rate down. You may still be better off going conventional with a low score if you find the right lender. FHA/VA rates are always higher than conventional.

VA is always better than FHA. A 5% down payment gets a nice discount on the funding fee. A 10% down payment gets a really good discount. No PMI with VA, thus more house for same payment. Where you run into issues is that just because you meet VA funding requirements, does not mean you will get a bank to make the mortgage.

The 620 score seems to be a bank requirement, but it depends on the bank. I just did mine and one bank wanted to add a 1% "penalty" because my score was under 650. The bank I went with gave me a 1/2 % decrease with the same scores.