A VA Home Loan Refinance Can Open Doors

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guarantees home loans for service members, Veterans, and eligible surviving spouses. These home loans are provided by banks and mortgage companies and backed by the VA to help our Nation’s bravest achieve the dream of homeownership.

The VA also offers cash-out and streamlined home loan refinance programs that give you options that can open doors for your current and future homeownership goals. Refinancing your loan may help you to reduce your monthly payments or access cash from your home’s equity.

Let’s explore what you need to know about a VA home loan refinance.

A VA home loan refinance can help you save monthly

Who wouldn’t want some extra spending money in their pocket? A VA home loan refinance can help qualified borrowers reduce their monthly payments, convert from an adjustable-rate to a fixed rate, and save money on interest over the life of the loan. If this sounds appealing, you should consider a Streamline Refinance, commonly known as an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL). This type of loan tends to be done quickly and easily, with less paperwork involved, since you are replacing one VA product with another.

Please note, this type of VA home loan refinance is only available if you currently have a VA loan. If you don’t, please see the next section.

Here’s a look at some of the benefits of an IRRRL:

• Little to no out of pocket costs
• No minimum credit score
• No appraisal required
• Closing costs and fees may be rolled into your mortgage
• No income and asset verification
• Non-owner-occupied properties can qualify
• A reduced or eliminated funding fee

How do you do know if you’re eligible for an IRRRL? You must meet all of the following requirements:

• You must already have a VA home loan
• You are not taking cash out
• The IRRRL you’re getting must be applied to refinance your current VA loan
• You can verify that you either live in or used to live in the home you are refinancing
• Some lenders may have other specific requirements

While it is a requirement that a VA IRRRL must show a real benefit, such as reducing a monthly payment, you should work with a mortgage professional that you trust to avoid any misleading offers. As a Veteran-owned and operated company, MBA Mortgage has several mortgage professionals that are well versed in helping our Veterans navigate their options. We are proud to serve those who serve and have served, so reach out to us with any questions.

Ready to turn your equity into cash with a VA home loan refinance?

 A cash-out VA home loan refinance can help you access your home equity and turn it into cash. This type of VA home loan replaces your existing mortgage, whether backed by the VA or not. Cash-out can help with paying off high-interest debt, making renovations or home improvements, increasing your savings, investing in more real estate, or any other financial goal that you may have. You are not required to get cash out with this option, so you can also use it to reduce your mortgage payment, lower your interest rate, or change your mortgage term if you don’t qualify for an IRRRL.

The cash-out refinance has some exceptional benefits, including:

• You can borrow up to 100% of your home’s equity
• You can use this option even if you don’t currently have a VA home loan (for example: Refinance an FHA or Conventional into a VA Loan)
• No mortgage insurance required

Whether you pursue a cash-out refinance will depend on several factors, so your local mortgage professional is your key resource for helping you navigate which option works best for you. As we said earlier, MBA Mortgage is proud to serve those who serve and have served, and we’d be happy to answer any of your questions.

 Bottom Line

VA home loan refinance options give you the possibility of lowering your monthly mortgage payments or accessing your equity to achieve your current and future homeownership goals. A VA home loan refinance can be a game-changer for eligible borrowers looking to change their finances positively. At MBA Mortgage, we’re a veteran-owned and operated company that intimately knows the unique homeownership needs of our Nation’s Veterans. We invite you to explore our website’s refinancing section for even more helpful information on taking control of your mortgage. If you still have questions, contact us and our mortgage professionals will help you discover how to get the most out of your VA-backed mortgage.