I work with a lot of VA home loan buyers. It's something I enjoy because I'm a veteran myself and also have a VA loan myself. It's something that I genuinely believe in. I feel that the VA loan is one of the best benefits we've been afforded as veterans.
Last year I was working with an Active Duty Marine who was moving to the area to go through an Officer Program at the local University. I work with a lot of these folks as well. This young Marine had a wife and a 4 year old son. They were currently renting and needed to be out by a certain date. These folks weren't super picky, they just wanted a safe home for their son that they could sell when they leave or perhaps even rent it and hold on to it as an investment. We wound up writing a few offers on different properties and they always ended up missing out against investors. Sometimes it's tough with a VA loan since it is 100% financing and usually with money back for closing costs. It's pretty hard to compete with cash buyers that way.
We finally got them under contract on a townhome that met their needs and would be a good investment. They were very happy with their choice and were anxious to move in. They had already given notice to their apartment complex and were a few weeks out from closing.
Then the problem....it didn't appraise. In fact, it came in 6% low which is almost unheard of in this market. In my opinion, we just got a bad appraisal that day but that's what we had to deal with. The seller came down a little bit and the buyer came up a bit but there was still a gap. I wound up giving up $2,000 of commission on top of the 25% referral I was already paying out. My only concern was that this young Marine and his family have a place to live when they had to vacate their apartment.
I never told them that I did that. They didn't need to know where the difference came from. I just wanted to do what's right for someone who serves our country.
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