what do you consider to be good rate from a lender?

[Matt Greer]

I'm new to REI and one of the things that bothers me is not knowing if I'm getting a good deal from a lender. Starting out I kind of feel like beggars can't be choosers, but at the same time I'm not here to get taken advantage of. I'm active duty military in Fayetteville, NC and there are plenty of scammers here looking for guys like me. My question is what do you like to pay for money you have borrowed, and what do you consider to be too much? Also what factors do you believe help you to lower what you pay to a lender? Does anyone recommend a lender? Do you prefer to stick with lenders in your area or do you reach out across state lines to people you've never sat down face to face with?

[Robert Fiorillo]

If possible "live in" the house for some amount of time so you can use your VA loan. This is very useful if you buy a multifamily, Veterans United and Navy Fed will usually have the lowest VA Rates. I've heard VU has lower rates but Navy Fed has better service, USAA has amazing service and lower fees but they are notably higher rates than Navy Fed. Each time you use a VA loan the funding fee goes up and you max out at 10 at a given time. I come to closing with some money down to reduce the funding fee but you can wrap everything into the loan if you wish.

I've heard of people not wanting to move their family to the property so they switch their mailing address to the property for a given time to satisfy the VA loan requirements while leaving their family at the house/apt. I'm at Bragg as well. I ended up looking out of state as the Triangle was too tight and around Bragg there was too much chaff.

Navy Fed posts their rates on their site, as does USAA but they don't post their fees, Navy fed is usually 1% of the loan, USAA last time I checked didn't have an origination fee. VU does not post either, you have to call.