Your Lake of the Ozarks Mortgage Lender: August 2024

Thursday, August 22, 2024

VA Loans

Why Should You Choose VA?

At Flat Branch Home Loans, we strive to provide homes for those who have sacrificed everything so we can live peacefully. If you’re an active, discharged or medically discharged veteran, and have ever thought to yourself: “I’d like to use my benefits for a home loan,” we have a great, in-house opportunity as a thank you for your service:

Designed to promote homeownership, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) loan is made by lenders and guaranteed for eligible veterans to purchase their dream home.

Despite its broad resources, only 10% of the 25 million veterans have taken advantage of this benefit. This loan is meant to honor our heroes, and we want to make sure every eligible veteran and active member know how this loan works and when it works best, so they can live the life they deserve.

What Is It?

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wants to help service members, veterans, and surviving spouses become homeowners. VA provides a home loan guarantee benefit and other housing-related programs to help you build, repair and retain your dream home. And with less stringent rules, 80% of VA borrowers who otherwise could not be covered by conventional loans were able to purchase their home.

This gift has built-in protections for those who’ve protected us, which leads to more competitive rates and terms for our nation’s heroes.

What Makes It So Great?

No Down Payment / 100% Financing

It’s nearly impossible to find a loan product that gives the borrower full financing. This is the most significant benefit of the VA as it gives the borrower the power to purchase a home with no money down.

No Monthly Mortgage Insurance

No private mortgage insurance (PMI) means monthly payments are more affordable.

Not Limited to First-Time Home Buyers

A VA loan can be used to finance your entire purchase or refinance. This hard-working loan can even help repair and improve your home, too, with energy-saving features such as solar heating, water heaters, insulation, storm windows, and other efficiency improvement loans approved by both the lender and the VA.

And there’s even more:

No prepayment penalties
Counseling and assistance in the event of financial difficulty
Lower credit score requirement
Higher allowable debt-to-income ratios than most other loans
Potential for two VA loans at the same time

But Do I Qualify?

Both veterans and active-duty service members may qualify.

But fitting into just one or more of these categories will be enough:

Military members who have served 181 days on active duty or three months during war time
People who have spent at least a half-dozen years in the National Guard or Reserves
Spouses of fallen heroes

We work hard to ensure that we are able to give back to as many of our heroes as possible, so their dream home is achievable and within reach. Even if you think you’re not qualified for an VA loan, contact Michael Lasson or Michelle Lasson, with Team Lasson, at Flat Branch Home Loans (who are VA-approved) to find out for sure.

Team Lasson is here for all of your home buying needs! If you’re thinking about making the leap into home ownership in the near future, please contact us today to get started. We can help you determine what loan program works best for your financial goals. The first step in preparing for your big purchase is to get pre-approved for a mortgage at Lake of the Ozarks. Please visit www.yourlakeloan.com or give us a call at (573) 216-7258 to get started.

Michael Lasson

Senior Mortgage Banker

NMLS #: 493712

Flat Branch Home Loans – Team Lasson

2882 Bagnell Dam Blvd

Lake Ozark, MO 65049

Cell: (573) 216-7258

Email: teamlasson@fbhl.com

Website: www.yourlakeloan.com

**The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent Flat Branch Home Loans positions, strategies, or opinions.

Flat Branch Home Loans NMLS 224149. A Division of Flat Branch Mortgage Inc. For more licensing information, visit NMLSConsumerAccess.org

Friday, August 9, 2024

USDA Loans

Why Choose a USDA Loan

The USDA loan is one of the most beneficial programs for homebuyers wishing to purchase a home in rural areas.

Designed to help buyers achieve the dream of homeownership, the USDA loan comes loaded with benefits that open the doors to many who may not otherwise qualify for conventional home financing.

Advantages of USDA Loans

This loan program offers several advantages over other mortgage options, largely because the USDA guarantees all loans against default. This means that lenders can take on more risk and offer homebuyers favorable loan terms.

No Down Payment

The most common is the ability to obtain 100% financing without having to spend years saving for a down payment. This government-backed loan option is one of the last remaining $0 down payment mortgage options out there.

Competitive Interest Rates

Due to the USDA guarantee, lenders are able to offer some of the lowest interest rates on the market. While actual rates will vary by lender due to other contributing factors, know that your credit profile and current market conditions play a vital role in your mortgage rate.

Low Monthly Mortgage Insurance

With a conventional loan, you typically pay "private mortgage insurance" (PMI) if you don't have a 20% down payment. FHA loans also have high annual mortgage insurance fees.

USDA loans, on the other hand, don't have PMI. Instead, the USDA uses two fees: an upfront guarantee fee that is paid at closing and can be included in your loan amount, and an annual fee, which gets included in your monthly mortgage payment. The upfront fee is 1% of the total financed amount while the annual fee is 0.35% of the loan's current balance.

USDA loans have the lowest funding fee of all government-backed loan products.

Flexible Credit Guidelines

Most conventional lenders look for a credit score of at least 640, however you'll need something closer to 720 to qualify for the lowest interest rates. Luckily, USDA loans will allow for lower credit scores, sometimes as low as 580.

Eligibility

The vast majority of the United States falls within what the USDA considers an eligible, rural area. While the goal is to boost population in non-urban areas, the USDA's definition of rural areas casts a broad net. In fact, a "rural" area is defined as any area with a population of less than 35,000 people. That means that an estimated 97 percent of the country could qualify for a USDA loan.