First and foremost, a VA home loan is truly a real benefit for your service. Lower interest rates, no down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and more. There is no better home loan on the market. Unfortunately, there are some common myths that exist, that simply are not true.

VA Loan Myths

A persistent myth about VA loans is that they are harder, and/or there is a lot of red tape involved in getting a VA loan. This couldn't be further from the truth. Another myth is that VA appraisals always come in low, take longer to get done, or are otherwise problematic.

Our closing times line are essentially no different on VA Loans than any other loan, and we see absolutely no difference between VA loan appraisals and any other loan.

If anyone, especially a Real Estate Agent, trying telling you otherwise, or tries to discourage you from a VA Loan, we'll be happy to set them straight.

Apply for a VA loan / Prequalifying

All home loans start the same way, with a loan application. We can take that application over the phone, in our St Paul, MN office, or with a online VA Loan Application.

Call (651) 552-3681, complete the online application, or schedule an office appointment, or specific time telephone application.

Once we have your application, it will be reviewed by a licensed, and experienced in VA loans Loan Officer. Any missing information will be obtained, and the Loan officer will discuss with you your wants, needs, and goals. We will also discuss how much house your qualify, what estimated payments might look like, and how much money you may need to bring it all together.

Once our VA loan experts have reviewed and discussed your qualification, the next step is full VA loan preapproval. This is the next logical step, and requires you to submit all your standard supporting documentation, including:

• Last 30-days of pay stubs
• Last two months bank statements
• Last two years W2's
• Photo ID
• Last filed federal tax return

Depending on your situation, we may need additional documentation, including things like divorce decrees, bankruptcy documents, self employed tax returns, 1099's and more. Your Loan officer will give you a list of documents needed for your specific circumstances.

You do need a valid VA Certificate of Eligibility to get a VA loan. Most people don't have one, but as an approved VA Lender, we can in most cases obtain it for you. In rare cases, we may need your assistance by you providing your DD214 discharge papers.

We hate collecting as much as you hate gathering the documents, but understand that no matter what lender you use, you will have the same document requirements.

You can drop off documents, e-Mail, secure upload, or snail mail. Whatever works for you. But the faster we get them, the faster we can get you fully preapproved.

Once we have received and reviewed your documents, you will receive a preapproval letter needed to show Real Estate Agents in order for you to make offer's any any home.

Lastly, understand a preapproval letter is not a loan guarantee, but it tells everyone that you've met with a lender, had credit run, shown your supporting documents, and everything looks good for final approval once you find that perfect house.

By now, most people have been looking at homes online, but at this stage, with preapproval letter in hand, and knowing how much you can afford, it is now time to connect with a Real Estate Agent. 

The agent you select will discuss your housing wants, needs, desires, neighborhoods, and price points. They also usually will start sending your automated listing via e-Mail on houses that fit what you are looking for.  The will show you the houses you like, advise you on making offers, and help negotiate a winning offer.

We know many good local real Estate Agents if you need a referral to agents who know, and understand military families and the VA loan program - Just ask!

Finding that perfect house and making offers can be both nerve wrecking and exciting for our military borrowers - but eventually you'll make a successful offer and have a closing date on the horizon. Typically you'll want to do a home inspection at this time, and your agent will help set that up.

It is also important at this stage to reach out to your Loan officer to let them know you have a winning offer, so they can get started on the final stages of the loan process, like ordering the homes appraisal, and title searches.

Final Underwriting

Now that you have found that perfect home, your Loan officer will send paperwork for you to sign based on the exact house, exact price, exact interest rate and more. Depending on how long it has been since your initial preapproval, they will probably be asking for updated pay stubs, banks statements, and more, as VA guidelines require we always have the most recent information.

Your Loan Officer and Loan Processing will put your final document package together, and present it to the VA underwriting for final approval. This sounds scary as the underwriter looks though all your documents and confirms all your information is accurate and meets VA loan guidelines. It is common they ask for additional documents or have questions. It does not mean the loan is in trouble, it is more of putting a pretty bow on your file.

Eventually, the file is done, and you are given a Clear-to-Close!

Funding and Closing Your Loan

We are almost there... Once Underwriting has approved your loan, the file goes into the Closing Department, who prepares all the documents you will sign, and writes the check needed at closing.

You will also at this time be sent final numbers. You must sign for an acknowledge the final numbers at least three days prior to closing.

Finally the big day has arrived. Generally you will do a pre-closing walk-though of the house to make sure everything on the house is still OK, then go to a Title Company for the physical closing

All the jokes you have heard about signing paperwork at closing are just that. While you sign papers, it really is only about 30-pages on average.

Next thing you know, you are being handed the keys to your new home.

Congratulations, you are now a home owner, and we could not have been more thrilled to be part of your journey. 

Thank you for your business!