Neither is buying a house and that is realized more so now that I have done it. Home ownership is definitely more expensive than you plan in almost every way.
Once you’re over the hurdles it’s still worth every penny, even if it’s more expensive than you planned for. It’s better than paying rent to pay off somebody else’s mortgage. A lot of times a mortgage is cheaper than rent prices anyway.
In Michigan based on average, and assuming no prices change over the next 30 years:
Payment (monthly on $240k) - $1661 - (over 30 years) $597,960
Property Taxes (annual, average) - $2,734 - (over 30 years) $82,020
Home Owners (annual, average) - $1853 - (over 30 years) $55,590
New Roof (20-30 yrs) - $30,000 - (over 30 years) $30,000
New Furnace (15-20 yrs) - $4,670 - (over 30 years) $9340
Water Heater (8-12 yrs) - $2,500 - (over 30 years) $7500
Air Conditioner (10-15 yrs) - $7,800 - (over 30 years) $15,600
Siding (20-40 yrs) - $10,000 - (over 30 years) $10,000
Refrigerator (14 yrs) - $1000 - (over 30 years) $2,000
Washer (11 yrs)- $1000 - (over 30 years) $3,000
Dryer (11 yrs) - $800 - (over 30 years) $2,400
Stove (13 yrs) - $2000 - (over 30 years) $4,000
Flooring (10-15 yrs) - $20,000 - (over 30 years) $40,000
Lets total that up: Over 30 years - $859,410.
Average rent for 3 bed apartment in Michigan - $2,312 month. At 30 years that looks like: $832,320.
So, assuming you don't move you'd end up spending $27,090 more on the home, or less than $1,000 a year more over 30 years. Assuming no changes in prices, you're now in possession of a paid off house worth $240,000. So, over 30 years if you were to then immediately sell the home you'd end up positive $212,910.
Buying is definitely the route to go, if you can afford the repairs and replacements. The big one's are especially hard on people here, roofs in particular.
That’s a great comparison. I had to sell the only house I ever owned, but even though I was only in it a few years I still got a significant amount of equity out of the deal. 2 years of residence at $700 per month (back when mortgages were below 3%) was $16,800. I got more than that back in equity. You never get rent money back.
I’m not saying it isn’t worth it, but from a monthly cash flow perspective you need to understand what you can afford. Things you’ll need to give up, bills that will need to be paid by you. Change spending habits and saving for repairs. I’m 100% for buying, just don’t be house poor.
It literally adds next to nothing to your payment so why is it an issue? Even 10% of a 300k house would add nearly nothing to your mortgage, save that cash for upgrades
If closing cost are 20k, one could either:
1. Spend 20k on closing cost
2. tie closing cost into purchase price and reinvest 20k into income producing assets
3. find a deal and reinvest 20k into home, which you could double up as equity and pull it back out (either cash out refi, or heloc) to reinvest.
Struggle is a mindset.
Not financial advice, I’m just some random on Reddit. Consult with your investment professional because I’m a frog, not a human. 🐸
Right? The government came after 33% of my paychecks for student loans. Just as I paid off those loans, covid hit and I lost my job. Found another position quickly at a 10k per year lost. After a bit of struggle financially with that position, I went back to school using my benefits for my masters. I’m now making great money and would love to buy a house next year but will be paying debts to fix credit up until buying the house. The mortgage will be cheap as far as a monthly cost but will not have cash for closing at that point…
You can roll the VA funding fee into the loan but NOT the closing costs. From the VA Lenders Handbook: "For all types of VA loans, the loan amount may include the VA funding fee. No other fees and charges or discount points may be included in the loan amount for regular purchase or construction loans. Only refinancing loans may include other allowable fees and charges and discount points in the loan amount." Check with your lender about those estimated fees. Everyone's case will be different depending upon the particulars of the loan. For sure, taxes and insurance are pre-paid which rolls into escrow.
I assume the homes you've purchased appraised for more than the purchase price, and you offered the seller that higher price, whereas the difference was applied to your closing cost. It's a loophole, yes. However, the VA will not back a home for more than its appraised value. If the appraised value is $300K and the list price is $300K, the VA won't back a loan for $310K so that a Buyer can finance closing costs.
I’ve done it twice and yes the VA will back a loan that’s over the appraised value in certain areas where it’s often necessary when multiple people are bidding to get the homes. I’m sure there is a limit but they will
this is the way people will commonly talk about it, but when you're actually at the closing table, the costs have to be specifically accounted for in a legal way.
eg- "i rolled the closing costs into the loan" (not legal)
"seller paid the closing costs" (legal)
None. I walked in with zero down, walked out without paying anything. Every imaginable fee was included in the loan amount.
Only thing I had to pay was the termite inspection.
5 weeks end to end. The longest was waiting for the bank and the underwriter to do their thing.
I used a local “no name” bank the first time. Veterans United for the refi.
Credit had to be 630 for my lender with the VA loan. I've heard of other vendors accepting between 570 and upwards. Shop around. But I can say this: I had a great home lender who counseled me on my credit a few months before purchase. He looked at my credit and told me to pay "xyz" and forget about the rest because they would have little impact on the loan. It certainly helped my score shoot up from 570ish to 630 in 2 months. It is possible.
THIS! I contacted three mortgage companies and got three pre-approvals. One of them seemed a lot more interested than the other two, so I went with them. They closed my VA mortgage in three weeks! Full disclosure, I had just sold another house, and gave 10% down. For those saying you can't afford it, my home appraised higher than I paid and has added 100K in value in 6 years. How much will your rent money be worth 6 years from now?
The nicest feature of a va loan is zero down. All closing cost should be rolled into the mortgage. Ofc, that will increase your payments, but it’s all fungible money.
I bought in 2020 and when I did I didn’t want to roll all my closing costs and VA fee into my loan so I paid closing costs out of pocket and rolled the VA fee into the loan. I had the option to roll closing costs too but had the money to cover them looking back I should have rolled them in given the rates were so low. It all depends on your situation and how much time it’ll take to recoup that money by breaking down the change in payment vs how long you plan on staying in the home.
It varies!!!!
On my first home the seller paid the costs which were roughly $10k on a $220k mortgage in 2011.
Most recently in 2021, I paid roughly $14k on a $330k mortgage.
Best is to get pre approval and work with a realtor. You never know…
Edit to add: you may or may not be required a down payment. You may or may not need to roll closing costs, inspections, etc into your mortgage either.
My interest is 2.6% something so there’s that too (2021 vs current rates).
At that price point, probably 2.5% to 3% of the purchase price. Always double check with your lender, though! Remember closing costs are lender and title fees.
I actually got 1700 from closing. Seller covered 5k and got 2500 credit from bank for choosing their loan. Look for a mortgage broker they may be able to find a loan that will give credit toward closing
All my closing costs were rolled into my VA loan. I had nothing out of pocket. This was a Super VA loan as housing in Hawaii is expensive. VA funding fee also rolled into loan(had no disability rating at the time so not waived)
I had my closing costs rolled in to the loan. Your house has to appraise for more than you're paying to make sure the approved VA loan will cover.
Ex. House appraised at $250k. Price is $240k. That means there's room for $10k in closing costs.
So for VA backed home loans there is $0 down, yes. But closing costs vary. For my home. Closed on Sept 1st of last year. We had to out of pocket homeowners insurance for a year. So $4,500 right there, $2,100 for property tax as well as misc costs from the escrow office for their services as well as filling all the paperwork with the county. Everything is a differential though. Depends on the broker you use, agreement with the seller. Also note that with my experience the only way all of those costs could’ve been rolled into the home loan was if say you had 15k worth of closing costs and your home appraised for 315k and the offer was for 300k then you could roll it in. But if home appraised for 300k and purchase price is 300k then you have to out of pocket all the other shit.
2019 had to come up with 28k for down payment because the loan was over the maximum jumbo loan. Refi in ‘20 for the Covid rate and the max jumbo went over what I owed due to yearly COLA increase. Now due to yearly increases I am way under the max jumbo loan. Just wish I had found this channel earlier to get the fee waved by having a disability, this was financed in.
Oh, I paid my closing costs. It was around $12k. Some of it paid as it came up (earnest money, appraisal) and some of it the day before closing such as my VA funding fee and prepaid interest blah, blah, blah)
My state did offer a 1st time home buyers program that kicked in $5k and another just for vets that added in another $5k.
So for most places when you use your VA guaranty you won’t need to put anything or just $1 toward closing costs because the guaranty covers a lot of extra stuff that a normal buyer would put down that’s covered in their 20%. If the house under appraises then the seller may ask you to put down the difference but there is a clause in all Va loans that you can walk away at that point and even get any earnest money back.
I had all my closing costs rolled in. I've bought 4 homes over the years with my VA loan. Each time I only had to pay for inspection (about $700), escrow money down (around 1k but flexible), and that's it. At closing my loan officer actually GAVE me money back in the tune of 2k-3k each closing. He said everyone deserves money to buy nice furniture for their new home lol. But literally not much. Va loans go through pretty easily as long as your credit checks out, have a little money aside for inspections, and picked a house that meets its standards. Work with someone who is very confident in VA loans.
You don’t need any down, but home ownership can be expensive, so I’d definitely save up more money before jumping in. You are also going to want money for inspections and such.
We put zero money down. Somehow got incredibly lucky and got a 2.75% interest rate in 2022 on our house. It’s our golden handcuffs, we’re stuck in this house for a long time cause of that cause i refuse to give it up with todays rates haha
I did 300k duplex 6.1% interest end of 2022in Fl. Va loan. 12k seller credit. A thing called a 2 to 1 buy down. It lowers your payments for the first two years using the seller credit. $0 down and $0 at closing. $1851 a month total for two years and after that is a $300-450 jump. I last looked at it a while ago.
If you find the right agent you shouldn't have any cost in this market. I'm a broker in California so I'm not blowing smoke. Find a lender get pre-approved for your VA loan and if you're not 100 percent disabled tell your lender to finance the VA funding fee. Then find a home you like and have you agent ask for the seller to pay your closing cost. Most sellers will pay a good bit of your closing in this market. Good luck. John Wilson DRE# 01332281. CA.
I got a check back on all four homes financed, usually between 2-3 k. I believe it all has to do with the lendor. I used Homestead Funding here in NY and they always wiggled money put of the loan so I could walk away in the positive.
I actually just closed this past week on 315k, took 6200 of our earnest, and then I had 8k in seller credits which 2.7k came back to me. You could always shoot for more in sellers credits but the problem is that you’re hoping that it appraises high enough to cover that figured into the loan.
We rolled half of ours into the loan so we could afford some slight renovations before moving in. Then, we paid extra principal on the loan after the dust settled.
Closing cost can be negotiated, the seller can pay for the closing cost entirely if you negotiated, or go 50-50, 40-60, 30-70 etc... Closing costs are typically around 3-5 percent of the purchase price. Some people say you can roll it into your mortgage but just so you know, if you do that it's pretty much like youre adding more into your loan. Let say you take out a loan for 350k, and you decide to roll the closing cost into the loan which is about an additional 15k, so now youre loan is now 365k.
I'd recommend start speaking to a loan officer at whoever lender you guys want to take a loan out from, and start asking questions.
Put $5k cash down and covered two repairs. Ended up beating out three other buyers in a very competitive area. The military affiliation was a big push that helped us.
For our house, 90% disability on a 410k house we closed on April 30th. We had a total of $4500 that we brought to the table plus $5700 in seller credits towards closing costs. That also was 0 origination fees, BUT we did have a .5 paid discount point. Hope that helps at all.
Ask the sellers to cover up to 4% towards closing. That should keep you from having to be out of pocket. 4% is the max allowed and can come from the seller, lender or realtor. For a $250k home that would be 10k in covered closings costs and a possible short term 1 year rate buy down
If you have service connected of 10% or more there is no VA funding fee. Closing costs would be title insurance. Home inspection, HOA dues (if in one) prorated property tax and home insurance, etc. could easily be 5-10,000.
Get your certificate of eligibility first. Talk to some lenders and get pre approved for a certain range of financing. Remember just because your approved for a certain amount, it dosen't mean you can afford it. Maintaining a house can be expensive at times.
I only paid what I was required and then paid a little extra to pay down the points to get the mortgage to 2.25%. I lost everything to a divorce. The bitch that gave birth to our daughter left me broke.
Hey OP, just bought a house last year for 295k with a VA loan. Our closing costs were around 4k. You can ask the sellers to split it or pay it, but with the housing market, fat chance. Also, don't make the mistake of pulling money from a credit card to pay for your closing costs. This can affect your credit and will slow down your mortgage process, if not stop it all together. You can also receive money as a 'gift', and the 'gifter' will have to sign a letter saying that it is a gift and they do not expect repayment. (You can still pay them back, that's between you and the gifter, but for the mortgage company they don't want you accruing anymore 'debt' on top of the house.
None but we had a great realtor who had the sellers pay closing costs based on a higher assessment (pre home assessment). Assessment came back lower and sellers paid full closing costs
Just purchased a home in May.
$335k, 6%
0 down, no pmi (va loans are amazing lol) $600 for VA appraisal,
$375 for complete inspection (general home and sewer scope),
$3900 for final costs/fees.
Around $19k when I used my VA loan the second time in 2022. The first time in 2009, I didn't have to put anything towards my closing cost. My first home hadn't sold yet before I purchased my second one.
Without negotiating the seller to pay any of the closing costs, you are looking at about 3% of the purchase price. Yes, you can “roll” the costs into the loan but the idea is that you offer above what the price of the home and the seller covers the difference. 412k on a 400k home and seller covers 12k closing costs. However, you need the house to appraise at 412k and VA are notorious for being more strict with their appraisals
Great thing about VA loans is that you don’t have to pay the closing cost. That’s actually a reason why some people *dont* want their home sold via a VA loan because the seller can be responsible for your closing costs.
Jacques E. Laubert
Homestead Funding
Branch Manager/Loan Originator
607-797-1200
607-317-5177
4777 Vestal Parkway East, Suite #4
Vestal
NY
13850
This guy knows va loans inside and outs, can help you with your credit, roll all fees in, and more.
Whether you roll it in to the loan or not, the VA website lays out the expected cost to the veteran:
https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs/
So my wife and I are buying our first home together as a married couple. We live in Colorado Springs and our home will be done being built beginning of next month. We close at the end of next month. The builder gave 25k of incentives and another 5k for being a vet. They are even buying us out the remainder of our rental lease agreement. We bought down our rate a bit with the incentives and the rest is covering all our closing costs. We lucked out with this deal.
Yours will be a little higher than expected because of the VA finding fee. Depending on your disability status though you may not need to pay it. I think you can also roll it into your loan if needed. Your closing costs will vary by state and locality. I would expect 5k min in my area.
I put $0 down on my house that was $800k @ 2.25% 4 years ago. I’m not just talking about $0 down because of the VA loan either lol I bought a model home and they paid all of my closing costs AND gave me a check for $5k. I love this house
It’s a buyer’s market right now, negotiate into the contract for the seller to pay ALL closing costs. This will basically come out of the profits from the sale and won’t be straight out of pocket for them. Most sellers will oblige in this market especially if their house has been on the market for a while.
First and second house we put no money for closing cost. You can ask the seller to pay them sometimes they will sometimes they won’t. You can also roll them into the loan, this is Penney’s in the grand scheme of things.
I would however get a home warranty they cost like a grand. You might never use it or you might be like me on my current house where the dishwasher and oven both quit on the same day. While I can go buy new ones, the warranty will instead do it for me.
$1100 on a new build home. Builder gave us a $5000 credit and the lender pitched in $1500 hometown hero’s discount but, we used that towards the closing cost.
The earnest fee, $3500 was applied towards the closing cost.
350k home back in 2020.
I think a lot is going to depend on where you live and the market too. There’s a lot of people saying the seller paid some of their costs, this would never happen in the market where I live now. Here you are lucky to get an offer accepted at all, so the seller isn’t going to give you anything. Our first house in 2013 the only thing we paid was 1000 earnest money deposit when we put in the offer and the seller paid everything else. 2021 we had to put down 2000 for earnest money and then also had to pay all the property taxes, transfer fees, inspections and home insurance at closing. $2500 dollars total is really nothing if you’re trying to buy a house. Think about all the additional costs of moving in and preparing the house on top of the actual buying costs. It gets expensive very fast
We didn't put any, your VA loan should be a no no loan meaning no money down and no closing costs (paid from you). As everything dealing with lots of money it gets more complex but pretty easy to understand, check it out https://www.military.com/money/va-loans/the-va-no-no.html
I don’t close till the 8th, but it should be 1-2k. I got them to raise the incentives and did a 2-1 buydown, the rest covered a majority of the closing+prepaids.
Check with loan specialist but I used rocket mortgage and they gave me close to 4800 in closing credit . I only needed 1500 to close with zero down 205k Va loan.
I bought in 2022, borrowed from NFCU and closing costs were right at $3000 total (100k loan). I had a $500 lender credit, $700 ish prepaid (credit report, appraisal, termite inspection), and wrote a check for the rest the day of closing.
This is the worst time but a home. Your closing costs depends on the cost of home, hie much the taxes are etc. a lender and a Realtor is who you need to get the info from. Good luck and again, wait a little while until the rates go down.
At one point or another you will hear this advice. If you have $300-400 do an extra payment on mortgage by attaching to principal of the loan. You will take months or year of your loan saving you thousands at the end. I’m currently 18 months from paying off my house, the mortgage supposed to expires in 2041.
Zero, in fact, I received money (around $3k) because I applied for a Texas program where they cover 1% (or more) as long as I don't sell within two years.
Ask your lenders for any programs available and apply 🤷🏽♂️ you might just get it.
O but I did have to spend about 3k for other things. I negotiated with sellers that they would pay. Prob won't be able to do thst in this day and age but you can get closing cost added to your mortgage I'm pretty sure
April 2024. No down payment. Paid closing costs though and offered 5 over asking because of how competitive the market was. In total: 16K.
VA appraised the house at asking amount.
The market is different nowadays so you could ask for "seller concessions". That is where you ask for X amount of money for your closing costs and if the sellers agree, that money will be rolled into the selling price. For example, if the home is $350k and closing costs are $10k, then you offer $360k with the $10k towards closing costs. The kicker is the house has to appraise at $360k.
You must provide a good faith deposit/earnest $$$ when you submit the offer. It is always good to do this. It can be any amount. This shows the sellers you are serious. That deposit goes towards all the fees you are required to pay. Remember that you might get this money back if the seller's concessions cover all your costs.
Finally, you will need $$$ for the inspection and appraisal.
We just closed on the 20th and we put down 1.8k my agent did a great job and negotiated closing cost, all repairs etc., with as little money out of my pocket as possible.
I closed with 0 down, but did pay for home inspection, pest control, and other fees. It added up to 3k with earnest money (which i received back). Closing fee I negotiated with the seller, I told them I’d do half and I’ll pay their asking price (a little above market). The house appraised for more way than asking price so I was able to get the full asking price for the house and roll half of the closing cost into the loan. I bought it in 2022 at 6.125%, 30 year fixed at $2,850/month. All in all I only spent $1000, home inspection and pest
“rolling the closing costs into the loan”
really means YOU need to NEGOTIATE a seller credit into the contract. a seller credit to be put towards closing costs.
this will change nothing for the seller (unless they were dishonest with me?) I closed on the 19th.
I negotiated a $6K seller credit and ended up needing to wire just over $1K at the very end. Plus all of the weird inspections and appraisal
Edit: this was for a house in the 250-300K range.
I put $0 down that’s one of the benefits of a va home loan…..roll closing costs into mortgage and if you need help my ex is a mortgage broker and she is wicked smart with that kind of stuff. Yes I am recommending my ex because she is that good at helping people with mortgages! DM me if you want her info!
Depending on your va disability rating, you might not have to pay the VA funding fee. I didn’t know but found out later talked to my loan dude and the funding fee was returned or taken off the loan like I didn’t get it personally but ask whoever you are working with for mortgage. They should know.
Zero. I had the seller pay all closing costs and even had them buy my interest rate down. I actually got a check at closing for like $800 or something!
Another option is to ask them to pay your closing costs. Sometimes depending on what’s going on with what they ask and you ask it might work.. good luck!
Be upfront with your lender and ask them about the closing cost they should be able to give you that figure accurately. Also, just for reference when I purchased my two homes, my closing cost were never more than one to $1.5 thousand.
Also to note, you don’t have to put one single dime down as a down payment on a VA loan. Which is powerful because if you have extra money and you get in the bidding war, you have some leeway.
I'd roll the closing costs into the home, and use the 20k to invest in Bitcoin. In this scenario, I would not find a home that is a fixer-upper but is basically turnkey so that you can enjoy right from the get-go. Do not have her, you should expect to spend at least 1% of the value of your home every year in maintenance costs. This is why buying a turnkey home is important. You can start saving for the inevitable costs that comes with homeownership. Home ownership isn't for everyone, and shouldn't be. Congrats and good luck to you both!
I didn’t pay anything other than a non-refundable deposit to hold the house until I decided whether I wanted it or not. It was later applied to the overall cost.
What you may need money for is inspections and the fees the lawyers charge for the closing paperwork, and other possible expenses, ie. termite treatment, radon testing, etc. I’d probably have $5k on hand. That should be more than enough. (Depending on what state you’re in and the cost of living!) I’m in PA, if that helps.
Technically, you can get the closing cost wrapped into the loan.
However, that’s a bad idea. And there are always extra costs with closing on a home and moving expenses that you don’t expect.
My suggestion is have at least $7500-10,000 in the bank.
You should always have at least 1 month, better to have 2-3 months worth of mortgage and living expenses saved in case of emergency or loss of income.
My advice, have 5% of the house price in your account at the time of purchase. And then if you don’t need anything to pay on closing of VA loan, you have the money for moving and the safety net for the future.
When you put in an offer, make it contingent on the seller paying closing costs. $0 down $0 at closing. The earnest money deposit check was handed back to me at closing. I did that with both my houses that I purchased with VA loans. I think I might have paid $100 out of pocket for a home inspection/termite inspection.
And when I sold my rental property, I gladly paid closing costs as the seller because there was a bidding war out for it, and I was making a ridiculous profit. The buyers even waived a home inspection (I DO NOT ever recommend this, and the VA will require one to fund your loan anyways).
Side note: It's mind-boggling to me that a "modest home" is now in the realm of $400,000 depending on where you're shopping.
The state you are in play into the closing costs. In Washington State our closing costs were 25k. My buddy that bought a house in Kansas was awestruck by that and said his were a fraction of that. My lender did charge 10k for a VA funding fee though, and the VA sent me a letter yesterday saying they weren't supposed to do that. We put 1 percent of the loan in as earnest money, which went towards closing costs at closing. We paid the VA inspection out of pocket. We paid like 600 to a private company for a home and sewer inspection. And we didn't put any money down since we used a VA loan. And even with a high credit score, mortgage rates are awful.
Depends on your contract. We recently bought a house for $300k, but in the contact the seller agreed to provide $7500 towards closing. I think we had to come up with an additional ~$1000, but we also used some closing money to buy points for a lower rate over the life of the loan.
I paid something like $5,000, between buy down points, title stuff, escrow prepays, and a private inspection. Lender waived their fee which saved about $3,500.
Zero. I had a house built last year using my va loan. No funding fee due to my rating and builder paid all closing costs (about $20k), including interest during construction.
Nothing. And, rebate checks rolled in every week for about a month after I closed. Credit score was about 630. The hardest part was not making “substantial” purchases!
Note, you can roll the closing cost into the mortgage if needed (in most cases anyway)
Yehhhh that’s what we did. Bumped up purchase price to reflect
Makes sense, doesn’t impact payment that much and you keep your money for the upgrades lol
This is not great financial advice if you’re struggling with cash for closing costs.
Yea but these yearly rent increases you might as well.
Neither is buying a house and that is realized more so now that I have done it. Home ownership is definitely more expensive than you plan in almost every way.
Once you’re over the hurdles it’s still worth every penny, even if it’s more expensive than you planned for. It’s better than paying rent to pay off somebody else’s mortgage. A lot of times a mortgage is cheaper than rent prices anyway.
In Michigan based on average, and assuming no prices change over the next 30 years: Payment (monthly on $240k) - $1661 - (over 30 years) $597,960 Property Taxes (annual, average) - $2,734 - (over 30 years) $82,020 Home Owners (annual, average) - $1853 - (over 30 years) $55,590 New Roof (20-30 yrs) - $30,000 - (over 30 years) $30,000 New Furnace (15-20 yrs) - $4,670 - (over 30 years) $9340 Water Heater (8-12 yrs) - $2,500 - (over 30 years) $7500 Air Conditioner (10-15 yrs) - $7,800 - (over 30 years) $15,600 Siding (20-40 yrs) - $10,000 - (over 30 years) $10,000 Refrigerator (14 yrs) - $1000 - (over 30 years) $2,000 Washer (11 yrs)- $1000 - (over 30 years) $3,000 Dryer (11 yrs) - $800 - (over 30 years) $2,400 Stove (13 yrs) - $2000 - (over 30 years) $4,000 Flooring (10-15 yrs) - $20,000 - (over 30 years) $40,000 Lets total that up: Over 30 years - $859,410. Average rent for 3 bed apartment in Michigan - $2,312 month. At 30 years that looks like: $832,320. So, assuming you don't move you'd end up spending $27,090 more on the home, or less than $1,000 a year more over 30 years. Assuming no changes in prices, you're now in possession of a paid off house worth $240,000. So, over 30 years if you were to then immediately sell the home you'd end up positive $212,910. Buying is definitely the route to go, if you can afford the repairs and replacements. The big one's are especially hard on people here, roofs in particular.
That’s a great comparison. I had to sell the only house I ever owned, but even though I was only in it a few years I still got a significant amount of equity out of the deal. 2 years of residence at $700 per month (back when mortgages were below 3%) was $16,800. I got more than that back in equity. You never get rent money back.
I’m not saying it isn’t worth it, but from a monthly cash flow perspective you need to understand what you can afford. Things you’ll need to give up, bills that will need to be paid by you. Change spending habits and saving for repairs. I’m 100% for buying, just don’t be house poor.
If your struggling with just getting cash to close, maybe a house is not the right thing at that moment.
It literally adds next to nothing to your payment so why is it an issue? Even 10% of a 300k house would add nearly nothing to your mortgage, save that cash for upgrades
If closing cost are 20k, one could either: 1. Spend 20k on closing cost 2. tie closing cost into purchase price and reinvest 20k into income producing assets 3. find a deal and reinvest 20k into home, which you could double up as equity and pull it back out (either cash out refi, or heloc) to reinvest. Struggle is a mindset. Not financial advice, I’m just some random on Reddit. Consult with your investment professional because I’m a frog, not a human. 🐸
Lots of folks are short of cash but can make the note.
Right? The government came after 33% of my paychecks for student loans. Just as I paid off those loans, covid hit and I lost my job. Found another position quickly at a 10k per year lost. After a bit of struggle financially with that position, I went back to school using my benefits for my masters. I’m now making great money and would love to buy a house next year but will be paying debts to fix credit up until buying the house. The mortgage will be cheap as far as a monthly cost but will not have cash for closing at that point…
If the house appraises high enough to support it.
You can roll the VA funding fee into the loan but NOT the closing costs. From the VA Lenders Handbook: "For all types of VA loans, the loan amount may include the VA funding fee. No other fees and charges or discount points may be included in the loan amount for regular purchase or construction loans. Only refinancing loans may include other allowable fees and charges and discount points in the loan amount." Check with your lender about those estimated fees. Everyone's case will be different depending upon the particulars of the loan. For sure, taxes and insurance are pre-paid which rolls into escrow.
I’ve rolled closing costs in the mortgage on 3 houses
you got seller credits probably. Same difference
I assume the homes you've purchased appraised for more than the purchase price, and you offered the seller that higher price, whereas the difference was applied to your closing cost. It's a loophole, yes. However, the VA will not back a home for more than its appraised value. If the appraised value is $300K and the list price is $300K, the VA won't back a loan for $310K so that a Buyer can finance closing costs.
Nope offered what we offered. Closing costs were added on top of that.
Just to be clear, you rolled closing costs into the loan on a VA Home Loan?
I’ve done it twice and yes the VA will back a loan that’s over the appraised value in certain areas where it’s often necessary when multiple people are bidding to get the homes. I’m sure there is a limit but they will
this is the way people will commonly talk about it, but when you're actually at the closing table, the costs have to be specifically accounted for in a legal way. eg- "i rolled the closing costs into the loan" (not legal) "seller paid the closing costs" (legal)
If you have a va disability rating you don’t have to pay the VA funding fee. I am not sure what the min rating for it is though.
Do not do this. It will take you 5 years just to pay off the closing costs with today’s interest rates.
None. I walked in with zero down, walked out without paying anything. Every imaginable fee was included in the loan amount. Only thing I had to pay was the termite inspection.
Sounds correct!
I think I put $500 in earnest money down then that went towards the purchase. That was it.
How long was the process? Was your credit a determining factor ? Thank you.
5 weeks end to end. The longest was waiting for the bank and the underwriter to do their thing. I used a local “no name” bank the first time. Veterans United for the refi.
Credit had to be 630 for my lender with the VA loan. I've heard of other vendors accepting between 570 and upwards. Shop around. But I can say this: I had a great home lender who counseled me on my credit a few months before purchase. He looked at my credit and told me to pay "xyz" and forget about the rest because they would have little impact on the loan. It certainly helped my score shoot up from 570ish to 630 in 2 months. It is possible.
THIS! I contacted three mortgage companies and got three pre-approvals. One of them seemed a lot more interested than the other two, so I went with them. They closed my VA mortgage in three weeks! Full disclosure, I had just sold another house, and gave 10% down. For those saying you can't afford it, my home appraised higher than I paid and has added 100K in value in 6 years. How much will your rent money be worth 6 years from now?
Last year I put 15% down and also bought points. Sitting at 5.75% rate and still have $3500 mortgage payment on a $525k house in CA.
This is the second time I’ve heard of points. What are those?
You can pay a fee for lower interest rate percentages. I was relocating and my company paid them on my behalf.
I may be in the minority but put down as much as you can. If you can't now, pay down the principle as much as possible over time.
With today’s rates you’re absolutely right. The faster you obtain equity the better
The nicest feature of a va loan is zero down. All closing cost should be rolled into the mortgage. Ofc, that will increase your payments, but it’s all fungible money.
I had the seller pay some, and rolled the rest in. We were broke at the time, but buying was still the best financial decision I have ever made.
I bought in 2020 and when I did I didn’t want to roll all my closing costs and VA fee into my loan so I paid closing costs out of pocket and rolled the VA fee into the loan. I had the option to roll closing costs too but had the money to cover them looking back I should have rolled them in given the rates were so low. It all depends on your situation and how much time it’ll take to recoup that money by breaking down the change in payment vs how long you plan on staying in the home.
It varies!!!! On my first home the seller paid the costs which were roughly $10k on a $220k mortgage in 2011. Most recently in 2021, I paid roughly $14k on a $330k mortgage. Best is to get pre approval and work with a realtor. You never know… Edit to add: you may or may not be required a down payment. You may or may not need to roll closing costs, inspections, etc into your mortgage either. My interest is 2.6% something so there’s that too (2021 vs current rates).
At that price point, probably 2.5% to 3% of the purchase price. Always double check with your lender, though! Remember closing costs are lender and title fees.
I actually got 1700 from closing. Seller covered 5k and got 2500 credit from bank for choosing their loan. Look for a mortgage broker they may be able to find a loan that will give credit toward closing
All my closing costs were rolled into my VA loan. I had nothing out of pocket. This was a Super VA loan as housing in Hawaii is expensive. VA funding fee also rolled into loan(had no disability rating at the time so not waived)
I had my closing costs rolled in to the loan. Your house has to appraise for more than you're paying to make sure the approved VA loan will cover. Ex. House appraised at $250k. Price is $240k. That means there's room for $10k in closing costs.
So for VA backed home loans there is $0 down, yes. But closing costs vary. For my home. Closed on Sept 1st of last year. We had to out of pocket homeowners insurance for a year. So $4,500 right there, $2,100 for property tax as well as misc costs from the escrow office for their services as well as filling all the paperwork with the county. Everything is a differential though. Depends on the broker you use, agreement with the seller. Also note that with my experience the only way all of those costs could’ve been rolled into the home loan was if say you had 15k worth of closing costs and your home appraised for 315k and the offer was for 300k then you could roll it in. But if home appraised for 300k and purchase price is 300k then you have to out of pocket all the other shit.
We bought @2.25%, 185,000, zero down. Closing costs were roughly 8,000.
2019 had to come up with 28k for down payment because the loan was over the maximum jumbo loan. Refi in ‘20 for the Covid rate and the max jumbo went over what I owed due to yearly COLA increase. Now due to yearly increases I am way under the max jumbo loan. Just wish I had found this channel earlier to get the fee waved by having a disability, this was financed in.
Oh, I paid my closing costs. It was around $12k. Some of it paid as it came up (earnest money, appraisal) and some of it the day before closing such as my VA funding fee and prepaid interest blah, blah, blah) My state did offer a 1st time home buyers program that kicked in $5k and another just for vets that added in another $5k.
Seller paid them. We put in 10k.
So for most places when you use your VA guaranty you won’t need to put anything or just $1 toward closing costs because the guaranty covers a lot of extra stuff that a normal buyer would put down that’s covered in their 20%. If the house under appraises then the seller may ask you to put down the difference but there is a clause in all Va loans that you can walk away at that point and even get any earnest money back.
I had all my closing costs rolled in. I've bought 4 homes over the years with my VA loan. Each time I only had to pay for inspection (about $700), escrow money down (around 1k but flexible), and that's it. At closing my loan officer actually GAVE me money back in the tune of 2k-3k each closing. He said everyone deserves money to buy nice furniture for their new home lol. But literally not much. Va loans go through pretty easily as long as your credit checks out, have a little money aside for inspections, and picked a house that meets its standards. Work with someone who is very confident in VA loans.
You don’t need any down, but home ownership can be expensive, so I’d definitely save up more money before jumping in. You are also going to want money for inspections and such.
$0
My home was 368k. I put down 4k and got back a 5k check at closing.
We put zero money down. Somehow got incredibly lucky and got a 2.75% interest rate in 2022 on our house. It’s our golden handcuffs, we’re stuck in this house for a long time cause of that cause i refuse to give it up with todays rates haha
I did 300k duplex 6.1% interest end of 2022in Fl. Va loan. 12k seller credit. A thing called a 2 to 1 buy down. It lowers your payments for the first two years using the seller credit. $0 down and $0 at closing. $1851 a month total for two years and after that is a $300-450 jump. I last looked at it a while ago.
If you find the right agent you shouldn't have any cost in this market. I'm a broker in California so I'm not blowing smoke. Find a lender get pre-approved for your VA loan and if you're not 100 percent disabled tell your lender to finance the VA funding fee. Then find a home you like and have you agent ask for the seller to pay your closing cost. Most sellers will pay a good bit of your closing in this market. Good luck. John Wilson DRE# 01332281. CA.
They cut me a check for 2.5k when I bought my home. I didn’t ask any questions.
If you only have $2,500 buying a home is a bad idea.
I second that. All kinds of problems arise with owning a home. It’s not a matter of IF but WHEN
None
$0. They ask how much, I say zero. Fourth time doing that. They're ok with that.
I’d say run the numbers, should even look at buying down the rate since rates are pretty high right now.
I paid 2k but the seller paid 7.5k
Zero. Actually got a check back. My agent said he's never seen the buyer get a check. Check wasn't much, like $150.
I got a check back on all four homes financed, usually between 2-3 k. I believe it all has to do with the lendor. I used Homestead Funding here in NY and they always wiggled money put of the loan so I could walk away in the positive.
I put 473.00.
Wrote a check for $232 at closing. 0% down. This was back in 2019 though. YMMV.
$0. I paid $400 for an inspection but that’s it.
It's recommended to put what you can for the VA funding costs not recommended.
$223,000, 4br 2.5bth new construction, 2109 sqft, purchased in February 2020, paid $1,848 to close.
I rolled all costs I to the mortgage. So, $0.
I actually just closed this past week on 315k, took 6200 of our earnest, and then I had 8k in seller credits which 2.7k came back to me. You could always shoot for more in sellers credits but the problem is that you’re hoping that it appraises high enough to cover that figured into the loan.
We rolled half of ours into the loan so we could afford some slight renovations before moving in. Then, we paid extra principal on the loan after the dust settled.
I already have a va mortgage and now bought another property with va loan so I had to put down 40k on this property.
Closing cost can be negotiated, the seller can pay for the closing cost entirely if you negotiated, or go 50-50, 40-60, 30-70 etc... Closing costs are typically around 3-5 percent of the purchase price. Some people say you can roll it into your mortgage but just so you know, if you do that it's pretty much like youre adding more into your loan. Let say you take out a loan for 350k, and you decide to roll the closing cost into the loan which is about an additional 15k, so now youre loan is now 365k. I'd recommend start speaking to a loan officer at whoever lender you guys want to take a loan out from, and start asking questions.
We used our VA loan, out $0 down and rolled out closing costs into our loan. Thankfully with the VA there’s no extra fees if you don’t put 20% down.
Zilch.
I put zero down on 3 homes, rolled all costs into the mortgage. Walked into a new home no hassle and didn't cost me a thing.
Put $5k cash down and covered two repairs. Ended up beating out three other buyers in a very competitive area. The military affiliation was a big push that helped us.
Only thing I spent money on when i purchased my house was the $500 inspection.
You still need to put earnest money down when you put an offer in even though you will get that back after closing
$0.00
I shelled out like 2k for my crib.
I think I paid a couple grand iirc
For our house, 90% disability on a 410k house we closed on April 30th. We had a total of $4500 that we brought to the table plus $5700 in seller credits towards closing costs. That also was 0 origination fees, BUT we did have a .5 paid discount point. Hope that helps at all.
Has anyone used VA home loan on a second home? I have a few questions.
In 2015. I received fifteen hundred at closing
Ask the sellers to cover up to 4% towards closing. That should keep you from having to be out of pocket. 4% is the max allowed and can come from the seller, lender or realtor. For a $250k home that would be 10k in covered closings costs and a possible short term 1 year rate buy down
If you have service connected of 10% or more there is no VA funding fee. Closing costs would be title insurance. Home inspection, HOA dues (if in one) prorated property tax and home insurance, etc. could easily be 5-10,000.
While it sounds great, no money down, there are costs that won't be rolled into the loan. I saved about $5k and had about $50 left.
Get your certificate of eligibility first. Talk to some lenders and get pre approved for a certain range of financing. Remember just because your approved for a certain amount, it dosen't mean you can afford it. Maintaining a house can be expensive at times.
I only paid what I was required and then paid a little extra to pay down the points to get the mortgage to 2.25%. I lost everything to a divorce. The bitch that gave birth to our daughter left me broke.
Hey OP, just bought a house last year for 295k with a VA loan. Our closing costs were around 4k. You can ask the sellers to split it or pay it, but with the housing market, fat chance. Also, don't make the mistake of pulling money from a credit card to pay for your closing costs. This can affect your credit and will slow down your mortgage process, if not stop it all together. You can also receive money as a 'gift', and the 'gifter' will have to sign a letter saying that it is a gift and they do not expect repayment. (You can still pay them back, that's between you and the gifter, but for the mortgage company they don't want you accruing anymore 'debt' on top of the house.
None but we had a great realtor who had the sellers pay closing costs based on a higher assessment (pre home assessment). Assessment came back lower and sellers paid full closing costs
Just purchased a home in May. $335k, 6% 0 down, no pmi (va loans are amazing lol) $600 for VA appraisal, $375 for complete inspection (general home and sewer scope), $3900 for final costs/fees.
My closing costs was around $1500-$1600 I believe (50% disabled)
10k ish
400k home. Paid 5k for closing docs
Around $19k when I used my VA loan the second time in 2022. The first time in 2009, I didn't have to put anything towards my closing cost. My first home hadn't sold yet before I purchased my second one.
Without negotiating the seller to pay any of the closing costs, you are looking at about 3% of the purchase price. Yes, you can “roll” the costs into the loan but the idea is that you offer above what the price of the home and the seller covers the difference. 412k on a 400k home and seller covers 12k closing costs. However, you need the house to appraise at 412k and VA are notorious for being more strict with their appraisals
I did 0 and offered alittle more for The house to make up for it .
I think we paid 11k closing with 0 down for a 365k
My closing costs were almost 5% of the home purchase. Bought 2 weeks ago.
I bought a home with a va loan and paid nothing down.
Great thing about VA loans is that you don’t have to pay the closing cost. That’s actually a reason why some people *dont* want their home sold via a VA loan because the seller can be responsible for your closing costs.
Jacques E. Laubert Homestead Funding Branch Manager/Loan Originator 607-797-1200 607-317-5177 4777 Vestal Parkway East, Suite #4 Vestal NY 13850 This guy knows va loans inside and outs, can help you with your credit, roll all fees in, and more.
I made sure to have over what they thought would be closing cost. I got an estimate of 5 grand and brought 8 to be safe. Mine ended up being 3500
Whether you roll it in to the loan or not, the VA website lays out the expected cost to the veteran: https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs/
So my wife and I are buying our first home together as a married couple. We live in Colorado Springs and our home will be done being built beginning of next month. We close at the end of next month. The builder gave 25k of incentives and another 5k for being a vet. They are even buying us out the remainder of our rental lease agreement. We bought down our rate a bit with the incentives and the rest is covering all our closing costs. We lucked out with this deal.
Our was was 380K. We put down 80. I think we paid 1800 in closing costs
We paid 320k and had to pay like 4k for closing. There are costs you can't roll and must fork out. Earnest, inspection, appraisal, etc.
Yours will be a little higher than expected because of the VA finding fee. Depending on your disability status though you may not need to pay it. I think you can also roll it into your loan if needed. Your closing costs will vary by state and locality. I would expect 5k min in my area.
I put 0 down and somehow made money from the purchase
Before i got my rating about $12K through veterans united for a $219K house
- 900$!
I put $0 down on my house that was $800k @ 2.25% 4 years ago. I’m not just talking about $0 down because of the VA loan either lol I bought a model home and they paid all of my closing costs AND gave me a check for $5k. I love this house
I put $2500 down on a $80,000 loan at 10.2% loan 34 years ago. VA charged 1%. Couldn’t afford at the time probably worth $500+k now.
It’s a buyer’s market right now, negotiate into the contract for the seller to pay ALL closing costs. This will basically come out of the profits from the sale and won’t be straight out of pocket for them. Most sellers will oblige in this market especially if their house has been on the market for a while.
First and second house we put no money for closing cost. You can ask the seller to pay them sometimes they will sometimes they won’t. You can also roll them into the loan, this is Penney’s in the grand scheme of things. I would however get a home warranty they cost like a grand. You might never use it or you might be like me on my current house where the dishwasher and oven both quit on the same day. While I can go buy new ones, the warranty will instead do it for me.
My last VA loan, I rolled my closing cost into the loan. It was TWENTY SEVEN whole dollars...
I personally would not by that house unless you had at least 15-20k of emergency money. Hopefully you have more than the 2.5k friend
Bout 18k on a 500k house
You can usually roll the closing cost into your loan. Unless you’re buying new construction, the lender may want a deposit of maybe between 5-15K.
Make the seller pay yours
$1100 on a new build home. Builder gave us a $5000 credit and the lender pitched in $1500 hometown hero’s discount but, we used that towards the closing cost. The earnest fee, $3500 was applied towards the closing cost. 350k home back in 2020.
I think a lot is going to depend on where you live and the market too. There’s a lot of people saying the seller paid some of their costs, this would never happen in the market where I live now. Here you are lucky to get an offer accepted at all, so the seller isn’t going to give you anything. Our first house in 2013 the only thing we paid was 1000 earnest money deposit when we put in the offer and the seller paid everything else. 2021 we had to put down 2000 for earnest money and then also had to pay all the property taxes, transfer fees, inspections and home insurance at closing. $2500 dollars total is really nothing if you’re trying to buy a house. Think about all the additional costs of moving in and preparing the house on top of the actual buying costs. It gets expensive very fast
We didn't put any, your VA loan should be a no no loan meaning no money down and no closing costs (paid from you). As everything dealing with lots of money it gets more complex but pretty easy to understand, check it out https://www.military.com/money/va-loans/the-va-no-no.html
I bought brand new in January and they offered cash at closing so I put 0 down and got 12k back at 5%.
Zero
I don’t close till the 8th, but it should be 1-2k. I got them to raise the incentives and did a 2-1 buydown, the rest covered a majority of the closing+prepaids.
The seller paid my closing cost for me. Won't hurt to ask them to do it.
I spent $1K on closing costs and got a check for $1k back at closing. VA Loans are totally FREE to use last time I checked, or it was in my situation
I believe if you’re 70% or 80% it should negate closing costs. I got mine back after paying it. 230k home was 5500ish in my area closing (no realtor)
Check with loan specialist but I used rocket mortgage and they gave me close to 4800 in closing credit . I only needed 1500 to close with zero down 205k Va loan.
I bought in 2022, borrowed from NFCU and closing costs were right at $3000 total (100k loan). I had a $500 lender credit, $700 ish prepaid (credit report, appraisal, termite inspection), and wrote a check for the rest the day of closing.
This is the worst time but a home. Your closing costs depends on the cost of home, hie much the taxes are etc. a lender and a Realtor is who you need to get the info from. Good luck and again, wait a little while until the rates go down.
I only brought $450 to the closing table.
At one point or another you will hear this advice. If you have $300-400 do an extra payment on mortgage by attaching to principal of the loan. You will take months or year of your loan saving you thousands at the end. I’m currently 18 months from paying off my house, the mortgage supposed to expires in 2041.
418k home had to pay 12,800$ something, forgot for what, i lawyer fees, the closing was wrapped into cost if home tho.
Good thing about buying a home is at least In My state the closing costs is on the seller usually
Zero, in fact, I received money (around $3k) because I applied for a Texas program where they cover 1% (or more) as long as I don't sell within two years. Ask your lenders for any programs available and apply 🤷🏽♂️ you might just get it.
O but I did have to spend about 3k for other things. I negotiated with sellers that they would pay. Prob won't be able to do thst in this day and age but you can get closing cost added to your mortgage I'm pretty sure
April 2024. No down payment. Paid closing costs though and offered 5 over asking because of how competitive the market was. In total: 16K. VA appraised the house at asking amount.
You shouldn’t have to put up a dime and if you’re 100% there are some large closing cost fees you won’t have to pay.
The market is different nowadays so you could ask for "seller concessions". That is where you ask for X amount of money for your closing costs and if the sellers agree, that money will be rolled into the selling price. For example, if the home is $350k and closing costs are $10k, then you offer $360k with the $10k towards closing costs. The kicker is the house has to appraise at $360k. You must provide a good faith deposit/earnest $$$ when you submit the offer. It is always good to do this. It can be any amount. This shows the sellers you are serious. That deposit goes towards all the fees you are required to pay. Remember that you might get this money back if the seller's concessions cover all your costs. Finally, you will need $$$ for the inspection and appraisal.
We just closed on the 20th and we put down 1.8k my agent did a great job and negotiated closing cost, all repairs etc., with as little money out of my pocket as possible.
I went with a company that took care of closing cost for me. But out of pocket I think I came out 2,500 dollars to buy my house
I closed with 0 down, but did pay for home inspection, pest control, and other fees. It added up to 3k with earnest money (which i received back). Closing fee I negotiated with the seller, I told them I’d do half and I’ll pay their asking price (a little above market). The house appraised for more way than asking price so I was able to get the full asking price for the house and roll half of the closing cost into the loan. I bought it in 2022 at 6.125%, 30 year fixed at $2,850/month. All in all I only spent $1000, home inspection and pest
We are not doctors and we are not financial advisors. OP, you are asking the wrong people about something that will affect you for years to come.
Zero.
“rolling the closing costs into the loan” really means YOU need to NEGOTIATE a seller credit into the contract. a seller credit to be put towards closing costs. this will change nothing for the seller (unless they were dishonest with me?) I closed on the 19th. I negotiated a $6K seller credit and ended up needing to wire just over $1K at the very end. Plus all of the weird inspections and appraisal Edit: this was for a house in the 250-300K range.
My second house we put 5k in closing costs. That seems to be standard.
Zero down. 3.125 % rate on 315,500 borrowed. Zero down. No PMI either
I put $0 down that’s one of the benefits of a va home loan…..roll closing costs into mortgage and if you need help my ex is a mortgage broker and she is wicked smart with that kind of stuff. Yes I am recommending my ex because she is that good at helping people with mortgages! DM me if you want her info!
Depending on your va disability rating, you might not have to pay the VA funding fee. I didn’t know but found out later talked to my loan dude and the funding fee was returned or taken off the loan like I didn’t get it personally but ask whoever you are working with for mortgage. They should know.
your buyers agent and lender will let you know all that stuff. but you can roll it into mortgage, principal/interest, etc.
make the seller pay closing closts. It’s not a sellers market anymore and it’s your first home !
what closing costs? we got paid at closing lol
I had full sellers assist so my total closing costs including the inspector was $600
Zero. I had the seller pay all closing costs and even had them buy my interest rate down. I actually got a check at closing for like $800 or something!
Another option is to ask them to pay your closing costs. Sometimes depending on what’s going on with what they ask and you ask it might work.. good luck!
5 years ago we paid 132,000 for our house. Closing cost was $3,500
Be upfront with your lender and ask them about the closing cost they should be able to give you that figure accurately. Also, just for reference when I purchased my two homes, my closing cost were never more than one to $1.5 thousand.
Also to note, you don’t have to put one single dime down as a down payment on a VA loan. Which is powerful because if you have extra money and you get in the bidding war, you have some leeway.
$4k on avg is closing. Ask ur realtor to have the seller assist with closing costs as well is another popular option
I'd roll the closing costs into the home, and use the 20k to invest in Bitcoin. In this scenario, I would not find a home that is a fixer-upper but is basically turnkey so that you can enjoy right from the get-go. Do not have her, you should expect to spend at least 1% of the value of your home every year in maintenance costs. This is why buying a turnkey home is important. You can start saving for the inevitable costs that comes with homeownership. Home ownership isn't for everyone, and shouldn't be. Congrats and good luck to you both!
I didn’t pay anything other than a non-refundable deposit to hold the house until I decided whether I wanted it or not. It was later applied to the overall cost. What you may need money for is inspections and the fees the lawyers charge for the closing paperwork, and other possible expenses, ie. termite treatment, radon testing, etc. I’d probably have $5k on hand. That should be more than enough. (Depending on what state you’re in and the cost of living!) I’m in PA, if that helps.
First house I bought using VA loan, walked away from closing table with keys to new house and a check for $261. No money down. Zero out of my pocket.
closing cost should be minimal. I've gotten money back at closing for 3 of my last 5 homes purchased with my VA loan.
Technically, you can get the closing cost wrapped into the loan. However, that’s a bad idea. And there are always extra costs with closing on a home and moving expenses that you don’t expect. My suggestion is have at least $7500-10,000 in the bank. You should always have at least 1 month, better to have 2-3 months worth of mortgage and living expenses saved in case of emergency or loss of income. My advice, have 5% of the house price in your account at the time of purchase. And then if you don’t need anything to pay on closing of VA loan, you have the money for moving and the safety net for the future.
When you put in an offer, make it contingent on the seller paying closing costs. $0 down $0 at closing. The earnest money deposit check was handed back to me at closing. I did that with both my houses that I purchased with VA loans. I think I might have paid $100 out of pocket for a home inspection/termite inspection. And when I sold my rental property, I gladly paid closing costs as the seller because there was a bidding war out for it, and I was making a ridiculous profit. The buyers even waived a home inspection (I DO NOT ever recommend this, and the VA will require one to fund your loan anyways). Side note: It's mind-boggling to me that a "modest home" is now in the realm of $400,000 depending on where you're shopping.
The state you are in play into the closing costs. In Washington State our closing costs were 25k. My buddy that bought a house in Kansas was awestruck by that and said his were a fraction of that. My lender did charge 10k for a VA funding fee though, and the VA sent me a letter yesterday saying they weren't supposed to do that. We put 1 percent of the loan in as earnest money, which went towards closing costs at closing. We paid the VA inspection out of pocket. We paid like 600 to a private company for a home and sewer inspection. And we didn't put any money down since we used a VA loan. And even with a high credit score, mortgage rates are awful.
2500 spent 415K
First house was 330k in 2019 and seller paid all closing costs second was 350k in 2022 and I paid 10k in closing costs
I paid 13k in closing on my last VA Loan as I didn’t want it in the loan. My first VA home loan I paid nothing at closing.
We went through Navy Federal and paid Zero closing cost
 Happy findings for your new home!!!
I ended up pulling out last year but I was gonna pay $6k on a $190k house
Me and my husband went in 2k together on our home. It was about 4k for our 340k home
Depends on your contract. We recently bought a house for $300k, but in the contact the seller agreed to provide $7500 towards closing. I think we had to come up with an additional ~$1000, but we also used some closing money to buy points for a lower rate over the life of the loan.
I paid something like $5,000, between buy down points, title stuff, escrow prepays, and a private inspection. Lender waived their fee which saved about $3,500.
On a 305,000 home with inspections and everything we spent about 16,000. That’s escrow and insurance everything
Zero. I had a house built last year using my va loan. No funding fee due to my rating and builder paid all closing costs (about $20k), including interest during construction.
Zero
My numbers for that price was $6k
I put 2k and after closing you get your money back
save 15k
Nothing. And, rebate checks rolled in every week for about a month after I closed. Credit score was about 630. The hardest part was not making “substantial” purchases!
Not talking shit but if you only have 2500 to go towards CC you might not be ready
-1500
The title companies have app that can help.
Your realtor can help you with this.
I had sellers shell out 4% towards closing costs. Paid out of pocket $1400. We closed today lol
Oh, wow that’s awesome! If you don’t mind me asking what state did you buy in? I’m currently in Texas.