VA Loan without 2 years with current employer

[Justin Hackney]

Hey BP, 

So here is the deal... I am fairly new to Raleigh, NC. After graduation in 2014 I took a 4 month hiatus from the real world to backpack Europe. I moved here in January of 2015 and started to work for a great company, but it has only been about a year. I am VA qualified but I understand banks also want to see 2 years of work experience. My credit is good and my job is stable. But will this one contingency be enough to stop me from getting a conventional loan?

From what I have been reading it seems like there are mixed signals out there. Anyone that can give me very specific advise on how to approach the bank would be very helpful. 

Keynotes:

1. I plan to live in this property

2. I am shooting for a small multi-family to rent out the other units

3. I have some money for a down payment but plan to use a VA home loan in order to avoid this.

Furthermore, if anyone knows of any banks they find to be flexible in the Raleigh area I would appreciate that as well. 

Cheers! 

[Charles Williams]

@Justin Hackney

I'm neck deep working a VA approval and discovered some constraints with the guidelines, but overall its a great program as @John Upperman indicated. I actually bought my first home, which was a duplex, many years ago with VA and still have it today. You may pay a higher fee each time you use it, but you can keep the loan intact once you move out. The Streamline Refi option is also a great feature years down the road. At these very low rates, the benefit of keeping your capital for other investment options (at probably much higher returns than your VA loan rate) is hard to beat, especially with cash flow to cover the expenses via a multifamily property. Another feature is if you happened to receive any disability rating from your service, the funding fee is (usually) waived. You should weigh opportunity costs, amortization of the funding fee, PMI, etc for your best personal solution.

Once you find a local bank/mortgage broker that specializes in VA lending, you may want to ask about the work history. My broker claims they need 6 months to count my spouses income for VA, but conventional/FHA requires 2 years. And I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a lender with a local underwriting team, to address any unique issues that will inevitably pop up as you approach your closing date.