Are you a military veteran who needs to buy a house in Shreveport Bossier City?
Closing costs are those costs and fees associate with buying a home. However, if you are active military or a veteran you may be exempt from some costs or may be able to negotiate others if you use your VA loan benefit.
Most military members are not independently wealthy and have not saved for years and years to buy a home. Many are cash-strapped and are forced to rent, stay on base (which is also renting) or buy a home. Not because they want to so much as because the service has forced them to make that decision.
Given a forced decision being able to use one’s VA benefit to get a mortgage to buy your own home can be the best answer to prayer. Eligible military borrowers who use this option can buy a new home with no down payment and no Private Mortgage Insurance payment. However, the VA does charge a funding fee of up to 3.3% which gets rolled into the loan itself.
But borrowers of any type will still face the dreaded obstacle which is closing costs. Like death and taxes there’s really no way out of them. Someone will need to pay (either the buyer, seller or mixture of both). More on that in a minute …
Closing costs are those costs outside of the mortgage that just for the business of buying or selling a house and in the Shreveport Bossier City area, can equate to about 2.5% of a $225,000 loan. These costs include lender’s fees, taxes, insurance, and other items needed to transfer the property to the new owner. Payment of such is required at the time when you sign the papers at the Title company. The good news is that as a military member using their VA loan benefit you are exempt from some closing costs and have ways to manage some of the others.
How are VA closing costs different?
How much are VA closing costs?
As previously stated closing costs on VA loans are not much different than others. And everything you are responsible for paying will be sent to the borrower three-days after you apply for the loan in the form of a Loan Estimate document. The finalized form is called the Closing Disclosure which will be the exact numbers to expect and should be send to you with three days of the closing date.
Other fees: These other fees include the appriasal, credit report, title insurance, taxes, homeowners and flood insurance as applicable, surveys, government recording fees and insurance. Also included are any “discount points” which is essentially a way to “buy down” your interest rate.
How to Limit These Out-of-Pocket Costs
So who is responsible to pay all these fees?
In the Shreveport Barksdale Bossier market offering a seller full asking price to buy their home is a great way to increase your chances of the seller paying all closing costs for you. This can be a savings of $6,000 – $8,000 dollars on average that can remain in your bank account. Of course this all depends on the ability of the seller to do that but given this military friendly community your odds are quite good!
Who Can I Trust to Help?
Here in this area there are many great local lenders who specialize in VA loan mortgages. I can provide you with a short list of lenders … just reach out to me and ask! And I absolutely recommend using local experts instead of national, insurance companies or big-bank lenders. As your agent, my job is to stay in constant communication with all players in the process and it’s nearly impossible to do that with those national chains who only work Monday thru Friday 8a-5pm. And if I am lucky enough to reach them I have to go through an extension number and likely wait for them to call back. These types of business practices are not helpful when it’s your home on the line. #VAloans
**Ryan Wheeler is an expert RE/MAX real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area. Connect With Me
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