Banker helps disabled veteran become a homeowner

Mortgage banker: Patricia

Leary

Property type: Single-family home in Meriden

Purchase price: $190,000

Loan amount: $190,000

Appraised value: $190,000

Loan type: VA (Veterans Administration)

Backstory: Leary often works with veterans who have served our country to become homeowners.

She met with a couple who was starting the pre-qualification process to consult them on what the best loan options would be. She always asks the buyers if they are veterans. In this case, the husband was a disabled veteran.

Leary then asked about the husband’s service. Was he active duty or National Guard? Because he was active duty, the government will award him the highest award.

She then explained that they would be eligible for 100 percent financing with no down payment or monthly private mortgage insurance and also advised that once they find a home they could also ask the seller for up to 4 percent of the purchase price toward their closing costs.

They were also exempt from the VA funding fee, which can be up to 2.15 percent of the loan amount, because the buyer was disabled.

The next step was to review the husbands DD-214 discharge papers and go onto the VA website to obtain his Certificate of Eligibility. Once this was obtained, she qualified them using both the veteran’s disability income and his spouse’s current income. which could be used because they are married.

Both of them were still in school working toward their degrees and had a strict budget for their monthly mortgage payment. They wanted to try to keep it close to what they were currently paying for rent. A purchase price was discussed and they started looking for a home.

Their Realtor quickly found them a property, and they came to contract. Once their offer was accepted, Leary went over the monthly payment with them that included real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

The total payment was $1,374, only slightly more than their current $1,200, which had no tax write offs. Within the month, they closed on their very first home with almost no money out of pocket.

The couple are very happy to be homeowners and keep within their budget.

According to Leary, the VA loan program is the best loan available to eligible veterans because of the 100 percent financing option with no PMI. Some sellers and Realtors shy away from VA loans thinking they are harder to close.

The only difference is that the VA requires a termite inspection that is paid for by the seller. Not all mortgage lenders offer VA loans, but she is lucky enough to have an in-house underwriter who is trained to underwrite VA loans and it makes the process go quickly and smoothly.

Leary obtains great satisfaction helping her VA buyers become homeowners. The VA loan is a great way to thank our veterans.

Patricia Leary Atlantic Home Loans (203) 645-1037 (cell)