Oregon vets are fortunate to have a great home loan program here. The Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs…okay, say that 10 times fast…has a wonderful program: the ORVEThome loan program. I can say this from personal experience, since I had several veteran buyers here in the Salem Oregon area last year who used this program. I wish all lenders could be as good as these guys…
How does it work?
The qualifications are pretty basic. You have to be
- a post Vietnam vet or discharged from the military within the last 30 years.
- honorably discharged
- qualify for what you want to buy..you still have to be able to pay the mortgage and have good credit.
What is it?
- Buyers need to only put down 5%.
- There is a lifetime maximum loan of $417,000. So you would have one house loan of
$200,000 then sell and get another loan for $217,000, or just buy a house once for $417,000, but then you wouldn’t qualify for the program anymore. - The house has to be a primary residence.
- The home needs to be in Oregon.
- Unlike VA loans, these do NOT require the seller to pay any closing costs, but the seller can
contribute closing costs.
Honestly, if you are a military person here in the Salem Oregon area that has been discharged from the military, this program is for you. The ORVET staff and underwriters are great to work with and make purchasing a home easy for a vet…the way it should be.
If you need the name of our local Salem Oregon ORVET mortgage broker you can contact Mike Malowney at MMalowney@windermere.com, then give me a shout to help you with your home
search.
What about refis? Will they do a refi for a vet who wants to take advantage of current low rates and pull some money out of the house? I bought last year with 20% down and would love to be able to use that 15% difference for some improvements to the property.
A vet,
ORVET does not do refi’s. The only originate home loans. It you have an 80 LTV (loan to value) it will be very difficult to pull money out. You might have to go regular VA or you can see if you can do a 203 FHA streamline loan. I’m not sure they are refi’s though…
Honestly, the lender I put on there, Mike Malowney, is great. Give him a call or email and see what he can come up with for you.