A VA Loan VS. An FHA Loan

By
Real Estate Agent with Rose & Womble Realty Company

When you’re applying for a loan, you might be unclear about what type of loan you’re looking for. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) offer loans to a variety of borrowers with a number of benefits for each.

The FHA is an agency whose main goal is to help provide housing opportunities for low- to moderate-income families, with or without a military background. Meanwhile, the VA guarantees home loans made available to veterans and military personnel only, without any down payment.

Qualifying requirements, down payments and fees can vary between the two programs. There are a number of differences, so when you’re considering your mortgage options, be sure to look at the benefits of both. Here are some benefits of each type of loan:

FHA Loans

·      First time homebuyers pay as little as 3% down

·      Lower closing costs than conventional loans

·      HUD-approved mortgage counseling

·      Lower interest rates in some market conditions

VA Loans

·      No down payment required

·      100% refinancing on purchases and refinances

·      Loans up to $417,000 in 2009 (higher in some counties)

·      No Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Home ownership is a big deal, knowing which loan is right for you could make all the difference. Talk to a lender to get the full list of benefits, guidelines and restrictions of every loan type.

Facts from this article are from this source.

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Comments (2)

Bette Gottwald
UNITED REAL ESTATE | Central PA - Mechanicsburg, PA
"Bet"on Central PA Real Estate!

Mary, as you said requirements, down payments and fees can vary greatly between FHA and VA.  VA lending fees can be very high depending on the situation

Jan 06, 2014 06:15 AM
Anonymous
Mary Mills
Bette, you are correct, there are certainly other issues involved with using a VA Loan but the majority of Veterans using this benefit (at least in our area) are First Time Buyers. There funding fee is not so high and so far we have still had very good luck getting closing cost paid or partially paid for them. FHA gets more challenging because the Mortgage Insurance has doubled here and therefore they don't qualify for as much buying power. I suppose nothing is perfect. What part of PA are you from? I use to live up there too.
Jan 06, 2014 08:38 PM
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