Plenty of benefits await those who qualify for VA financing

Loan officer: Mari Parsnick. Property type: Singlefamily home in Benicia. Purchase price: $409,000. Loan amount: $409,000. Loan terms: VA 30-year fixed rate with 0 points at 3.75 percent. Backstory: Mari Parsnick’s client purchased a small condo with Veterans Administration financing a few years ago. Now with a family, he needed more space and to be closer to work.

Because he had used his VA eligibility on the first home, he wasn’t eligible for VA financing on the new home. He wanted to keep the condo as an investment property.

Parsnick advised him that the VA allows a one-time restoration of benefits without selling the first property. Otherwise, you have to sell the VA-financed property to restore eligibility. She then contacted the VA and managed the process of restoring her clients’ VA entitlement, all the while advising her client and her clients’ real es- tate agent about the timeline for her client’s new home purchase.

Parsnick arranged a cash-out refinance on the condo into standard Fannie Mae financing, netting the client some cash to put toward the new home purchase.

When the refinance closed, she worked with the VA to quickly process his restoration of VA benefits. She then closed the new home purchase with VA financing within two weeks of closing the refinance.

Start to finish, both loans closed within 45 days.

For those who are eligible, VA financing is a great way to purchase a home with no down payment and no mortgage insurance with very favorable interest rates. As a U.S. governmentbacked loan program, however, there are aspects to this financing vehicle that are not intuitively obvious.

This home buyer experience illustrates the need to work with a loan officer who is experienced in VA financing and who is willing to put in the extra effort to make it happen. Mari Parsnick, Holmgren &

Associates, (510) 433-8817, mari@mortgageholmgren.com.

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“For those who are eligible, VA financing is a great way to purchase a home with no down payment and no mortgage insurance with very favorable interest rates. As a U.S. governmentbacked loan program, however, there are aspects to this financing vehicle that are not intuitively obvious.”