Military veterans get a multitude of financial perks, including home buying benefits. Buying a home can be difficult, especially if you’ve never done it before. It’s important for former members of the U.S. Military to understand how to go through this process, as it’s a big deal and should be treated as such. Following these tips below can help veterans looking to buy a home take advantage of the benefits they have available to them.
Take Advantage of a VA Loan
If you’re a veteran looking to purchase a home, looking into a Veteran Affairs (VA) loan is a great place to begin the process. VA loans include many great exclusive benefits to veteran home buyers, including no down payments and very low interest rates. A VA loan also includes lifetime benefits, so if you ever want to buy another home down the line, you’ll still be eligible to get another VA loan.
If you plan on applying for this loan, you must meet certain criteria to be deemed eligible. You or your spouse must have been a member of the military for at least 90 days during wartime or 181 days during peacetime, spent six years of service in the National Guard or Reserves, or had a family member or spouse die or become disabled in the line of duty. You may also be granted eligibility depending on how you were discharged if you don’t meet any of these previous requirements.
In order to secure your qualification for a VA loan, you’ll need to show your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to your lender. This will just show your lender that you meet the qualifications for the loan before you begin the home buying process. You can fill out your COE online or you can physically print it and fill it out to bring to your lender.
Make Sure to Have Proper Paperwork Prepared
Along with your COE, you’ll need to have other paperwork at the ready throughout the process. Having your paperwork in order before getting into the thick of buying a home will make everything go much smoother.
You’ll need to make sure you have a proper ID, your most recent pay stub and bank statements, your past two tax returns and W-2s, and a DD-214 form. The DD-214 is a form that shows how you were discharged from the military, which could play a role in your VA loan eligibility, as previously mentioned.
There’s a lot of paperwork that goes into the home buying process, and even more if you’re a veteran utilizing a VA loan. It’s important to research and look into what paperwork you’ll need before starting your search in order to keep it as stress-free as possible.
Utilize State-Specific Veteran Benefits
Depending on where you’re planning on living, look into the state-specific benefits for veterans. There are many federal-backed benefits available for veterans, but each state has its own set of benefits for former military members as well. It’s certainly worth your time to look into the benefits in each state.
If you’re looking to get another job after being discharged from the military, looking into these state benefits could be a great way to help determine where you want to move to look for a job. Seeing what state gives you the best benefits that fit your needs can help you choose where you want to live if you’re not tied to a specific location yet.
Find the Perfect Home
Once you have your VA loan situated and know where you want to live, it’s time to find your perfect house. Once you reach this step in the process, it’s crucial to calculate how much house you can afford before you begin looking so you don’t fall in love with a home out of your price range. This will ensure you aren’t overspending and can help shape your house hunting budget.
One thing that you should consider while looking at homes is their work-from-home potential. If you’re looking to get a new job once you’re discharged from the military, there are a lot of jobs that allow you to work from home fully or at least part of the time. Having a space in your home that allows you to work from home is a huge plus. Look for a room with ample space and a lot of natural light access in a home that could be a great place to set up a home office.
While you’re in the home searching process, bring in a real estate agent that is familiar with VA loans already. A VA loan-savvy real estate agent can help you fully utilize your loan in order to find the perfect home for you.
The home buying process can be a daunting task, especially if this is the first time you’ve purchased a home. There are a lot of benefits you may be eligible for as a veteran home buyer, so it is important to know what these benefits are and how to take advantage of them.
