VA Loan Information - Pima County - Tucson, Arizona

VA guaranteed loans are available for eligible veterans for the purchase of a home which must be for their own personal occupancy.

The main advantages of a VA loan are:

a downpayment is not required
there are no mortgage insurance premiums
mortgage is assumable (allows a future buyer to take over an existing loan at the original rate & terms)
assistance is provided to borrower's in default due to temporary financial difficulty

Qualification

Generally, almost every veteran is eligible to qualify for a VA loan. Specific qualifications for a VA loan include several different factors. The first step toward qualifying, however, is to complete a Certificate of Eligibility. The qualifying factors include the following criteria: active-duty veterans with at least 90 consecutive days of service during major conflict, peacetime veterans and active duty personnel with a minimum of 180 days of consecutive service, active-duty veterans discharged during WWII or later who do not have a "dishonorable" status, enlisted veterans who began service after 1980, and officers who began service after 1981 and served a minimum of 2 years. Additionally, members of the Selected Reserve and National Guard may also qualify for a VA loan if they have served at least 6 years and were honorably discharged.

Credit Guidelines

The government sets no minimum income or credit score standards for VA loans. Each bank or mortgage company has its own requirements. Lenders across the country say the minimum credit score is about 570. It's almost impossible to qualify for any other mortgage with a subprime credit rating like that. The key thing they look for is a history of making payments on time over the previous year and your debt-to-income ratio. To qualify for a VA loan, borrowers can spend up to 41% of their pretax income on other debts, such as student loans, credit card bills and auto loans. That's considerably more than the 36% debt-to-income ratio limit imposed by most other types of mortgages. You're eligible for a VA mortgage even if you've had a recent bankruptcy. Most VA lenders require two years' distance between the discharge of Chapter 7 bankruptcy and a mortgage application. If you filed for Chapter 13, you only have to wait one year. The lender, however, will want to see good credit re-established and a clean record of on-time payments since the discharge.

Debt-to-Income Ratio

VA requires a debt-to-income ratio (Back Ratio) of 41% OR LESS for qualifying, but some exceptions apply. To calculate this ratio total the following expenses and then divide that total by the gross monthly income.

New monthly housing payment (PITI)
Monthly installment payments that extend beyond 9 months.
Minimum Monthly payments on revolving charge cards
Monthly child support or alimony
Nursery care/child care

If you would like to inquire on VA loan qualification, please pre-qualify now. In the notes, feel free to write "please have a lender contact me" if you would like to talk to someone directly about qualification.

VA Guaranty

The VA guaranty means the lender is protected against loss if you fail to repay the loan. The guaranty replaces the protection the lender normally receives by requiring a down payment allowing you to obtain favorable financing terms.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Loan Guaranty program does not impose a maximum amount that an eligible veteran may borrow using a VA guaranteed loan. However, the maximum guaranty amount is limited as shown below.

2010 Guaranty Loan Amounts for Pima and Pinal County, Arizona

Loan Value	Guaranty Amount
$114,000 to $417,000	25% of the loan value
over $417,000	$104,250

**Note: Pima County includes Tucson, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Marana, Oro Valley, Vail, Catalina, Mt Lemmon, Redington, Ajo, and others. Pinal County includes areas of Tucson & Marana, Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, Eloy, Casa Grande, Coolidge, Florence, and others.

For more information:

US Dept of Veterns Affairs
2010 VA County Loan Limits
VA Loan - Frequently Asked Questions