Attention San Diego Homeowners!

• Did you know, if you currently have a VA home loan you can do a cash out refinance up to 100% of your home’s value?
• Did you know, if you previously used your VA entitlement for the purchase of your home you can use it again for your VA cash out refinance?
• Did you know, if you have a VHA or Conventional loan but are VA eligible, you can use your VA home loan benefit for a cash out refinance?
• Did you know, the VA home loan benefit can be used on condos & townhomes in addition to single family residences?
• Did you know, all these and more are available to active-duty military, veterans, reservists, and even surviving spouse?

Yes, it’s true, each of these statements are hot topics in the current real estate market of San Diego. As you can see from the chart below San Diego is one of the top metros across the nation for home price appreciation over the last year. Month over month our region has experienced unbelievable home appreciation, which has generated home equity values unseen until now. Only to be outpaced by Phoenix, San Diego, has created tremendous opportunities for homeowners to utilize their VA 100% home loan to refinance their home and advance their personal financial position in our great city.

Here are some of the most frequent uses of the VA cash out refinance.

• Convert home equity to cash in hand. Whether you need to pay down debt, pay off debt, save for a rainy day, make home improvements, or close out student loans, the VA cash out refinance is a strong solution to maximize your cash holdings and achieve other personal financial objectives. And in case you didn’t hear, you can also build an ADU with your cash out!
• Eliminate mortgage insurance from your current mortgage. If you currently have an FHA or Conventional loan with mortgage insurance, refinancing to your VA home loan will pay off your current loan, thus discontinuing your mortgage insurance. Not only will you eliminate an additional monthly expense from your budget, but local home price appreciation helped do the heavy lifting.
• VA cash out rates are typically lower than conventional mortgage rates. As always, this depends on a number of variables; however, in general VA rates are regularly lower than conventional mortgage rates. Double check with your local VA expert to ensure the rate you are see online are in line with your personal qualifications.
• You can borrower up to 100% of your homes value. Borrowing up to 100% of your homes value is not even an option with FHA or Conventional mortgages. Those are typically capped to 85%, 90%, 95% Loan to Value (LTV) depending on the funding source. Also, anything about 80% LTV comes with mortgage insurance (see point #2 above).

Below are several tips and suggestions for using your VA home loan benefit to take advantage of historic home equity values and accomplish your personal financial goals.

• If you are unaware of your VA eligibility, contact a local VA mortgage expert to check your Certificate of Eligibility via the VA portal.
• If you purchase or refinanced your home in the last 6 months, please speak with your VA mortgage loan officer about whether or not you must wait before completing your VA cash out refinance.
• Prepare your personal budget if you intend to use the proceeds of your VA cash out for things like: home improvement projects, remodels, or debt consolidation. Its best to come into the VA cash out process with a pre-determined outcome of how you intend to be responsible for the proceeds of the refinance.
• Gather and organize your personal financial documents for the loan application process and underwriting. There will be some requirements in order to satisfy the bank (and the VA’s) guidelines and complete your VA cash out successfully. The more organized you are, the smoother the process will be.
• Continue to make all monthly payments on time for all recurring bills, whether they are already set to auto pay or manually paid, you want to make each payment on time every time. Your credit score is still part of the VA cash out process, and the higher your personal credit score is, the lower your rate can be.

The mortgage process does not have to be difficult. With proper planning and some coordination with your local VA mortgage expert, you could be well on your way to accomplishing your overall financial goals by properly accessing your VA cash out refinance. While home equity is at all time highs, the time is now to take advantage of your earned VA benefit.

If you would like to speak with our team about your home loan questions, please complete the form below. You can also start your loan application online by APPLYING NOW.

Rates & Fees Disclosure:
^‡ The payment on a $300,000 30-year fixed-rate VA loan at 3.000% with a 80% loan-to-value ratio is $1,292.01 with 0 (zero) origination points due at closing. The annual percentage rate (APR) is 3.235%. Payment does not include tax and insurance premium impounds. The actual payment amount will be greater. By refinancing your existing loan, the total finance charges may be higher over the life of the loan. Some state and county maximum loan amount restrictions may apply. Appraisal fee of $600, Processing Fee of $895, Underwriting Fee of $795 included in APR calculations with borrower paying 0 (zero) loan origination points.

^‡ Based on Mortgage Heroes internal data.