All Forum Posts by: Anna Strausbaugh

Quote from @Lynette Thueson:

I am a realtor in Boise and closing a VA loan assumption tomorrow! It will be just over 90 days from signed purchase and sales agreement to closing date. Penny Mac, who services VA loans, was very slow and hard to get a hold of. Thankfully, the buyer (not VA eligible) and seller were willing to see it through since the rate was 2.25%. Yes, she left some VA eligibility on the home, but had enough eligibility left over to purchase her next home. Definitely call a knowledgeable VA lender. I called 3 lenders who didn't know how the assumption process worked until I got a rockstar lender who educated me and sent me information. If you are in the Boise area, call Dean Tucker with Benchmark Mortgage. I have never used him before, but if I ever have a VA buyer he will be my go to lender.

Lynette Thueson, Realtor

Silvercreek Realty Group

 That's awesome, @Lynette Thueson! Congrats on seeing it through! Yes, Dean Tucker is my guy, he is THE MOST knowledgeable VA lender I've ever come across. It is a long process with these institution size lenders, especially finding someone there who understands the process. Glad it worked out for your client!

Quote from @Don Spafford:

If you plan to live in each property anyway, then why not househack better? Buy some 4 plexes in the mix, live in a unit for a year, then another, and so on. You can still reserve some of the units for STR if you would like or rent them all as LT. But then you also have the other units covering your mortgage in the meantime so that you can accumulate more cash savings. That's what I would do. Currently though I am more focused on passive income through syndications so I don't have to deal with tenants and problems.

If I had the flexibility to move that often and house hack, this would absolutely be my strategy. You could have 10+ doors in no time if you just live in one unit of a multi-family property. No question, the fastest way to get more doors at the lowest possible interest rates. 

Quote from @Kristopher Kelly:

@Anna Strausbaugh

This is so cool! Thank you for this thought and I would've never known if you didn't post this. This is a game-changer for me. 

 You're welcome! If it helps even one person, I'm glad!

Quote from @Robert Durden:

@Chris Davidson & @Anna Strausbaugh - really appreciate the insights! Boise seems like it is out of my wheelhouse right now but Nampa and Caldwell seem great! Would you recommend any of these towns/cities/subburbs in the surround area? I have been scouting Middleton and Kuna as well!

 Kuna is awesome too, but the prices there are a little higher than Nampa and Caldwell, but not too much. Middleton is growing, but still has some more growing to do. I'd be happy to chat with you about the pros and cons of each area sometime if you want.

Quote from @John Williams:

That is a great point! Assumable VA loans will continue to become more appealing, given the current state of the interest rate environment. I've personally sought to assume VA loans and I am still interested in doing so. I'd love to connect if you'd like to explore this strategy further!

Cheers!

 I'd definitely be interested in chatting with someone who has actually done it. Let's connect!

Quote from @Chris Mason:

Quote from @Anna Strausbaugh:

I just learned this today, VA loans can be assumed by non-military buyers! This is exciting news to me and I'm surprised I hadn't heard it before since my husband is a veteran and we've purchased several homes VA as well as clients of mine that I have helped. I knew VA loans were assumable, but I had always heard it was only by another person who was VA eligible. I even had a lender tell me today that isn't true, but after more research and finding a lender who does a TON of VA loans and is super knowledgeable on the subject, I learned it is possible! The catch is that the veteran can't then use their VA loan again until that house is sold or refinanced (so basically you have to go conventional in the future, at least for a while). That's only if it's a non-veteran assuming it. If it's a Veteran assuming the loan then that doesn't apply.

Our market is changing and we need to find new ways to make deals work. Assumable loans haven't been talked about much in recent years because interest rates were so low there was no point in going through the process. But now if you can find a property with an assumable VA (or FHA) loan then you can also assume their interest rate. I started looking into this because my husband and I are selling our primary residence and we have a VA loan on it and I have been thinking of more ways to attract buyers to our property. We tried offering seller financing, money toward buying down someones rate, etc. But we have a 2.25% interest rate on this house that would cost a lot to try to buy down to that rate in today's market.

Just something to think about as you are looking at properties, maybe ask the seller or listing agent if it is possibly a VA loan and how you might be able to make a deal if they have a great rate already. Good luck!

That's an interesting angle, most important thing is that the seller/veteran understands (as yours does) that while that VA loan entitlement amount is tied up in the house they sold, they can't use it again. And if that entitlement is tied up with someone else that's sitting pretty at 2.25%, you must assume it'll never be refinanced or paid off, so that's it for your lifetime VA loan entitlement.

It's also a niche buyer, to be sure. They get to assume the in-place interest rate, they're also assuming the in-place loan balance. So if you're looking to sell for $500k and have an in-place $225k VA loan that's going to be assumed, they need to have $275k to put down, unless you want to carry a note (I see that light bulb that just lit up over your head, OP :P ).

Pragmatically, I don't think this is for buyers or buyer's agents to ask about, that would be throwing spaghetti at the wall, unless maybe the home is in a military base town. More realistically, if there's a veteran willing to give up re-using their VA loan entitlement amount in exchange for top dollar on the sales price, that's for the listing agent to proactively put in the listing description, and have a stock flier/email to send back when inquiring buyers/agents ask. And if the veteran/seller isn't willing to carry a note and moonlight as a mortgage loan servicer, very quickly/aggressively filter out people who do not have substantial down payments (sales price - current loan balance = minimum down payment).

In terms of timeline, don't plan for it to be a fast process, your rockstar local loan officer will not be processing the assumption, it'll be a group of call center people reading scripts from a computer screen. If you get a single or primary point of contact, call that a win and count yourself lucky. 

Good luck. :)

I totally get it and in this case it works for us because we already have the loan closed on our next house we are moving into and it's not a VA loan. I just put it out there as a potential angle for people to look into. Also, I do think it is possible to do a 2nd mortgage for the balance like you were talking about instead of seller financing, but we are in a unique situation where we could do seller financing and be ok with that. I know that is rare and we would need to find a very specific buyer to make it work.

I just learned this today, VA loans can be assumed by non-military buyers! This is exciting news to me and I'm surprised I hadn't heard it before since my husband is a veteran and we've purchased several homes VA as well as clients of mine that I have helped. I knew VA loans were assumable, but I had always heard it was only by another person who was VA eligible. I even had a lender tell me today that isn't true, but after more research and finding a lender who does a TON of VA loans and is super knowledgeable on the subject, I learned it is possible! The catch is that the veteran can't then use their VA loan again until that house is sold or refinanced (so basically you have to go conventional in the future, at least for a while). That's only if it's a non-veteran assuming it. If it's a Veteran assuming the loan then that doesn't apply.

Our market is changing and we need to find new ways to make deals work. Assumable loans haven't been talked about much in recent years because interest rates were so low there was no point in going through the process. But now if you can find a property with an assumable VA (or FHA) loan then you can also assume their interest rate. I started looking into this because my husband and I are selling our primary residence and we have a VA loan on it and I have been thinking of more ways to attract buyers to our property. We tried offering seller financing, money toward buying down someones rate, etc. But we have a 2.25% interest rate on this house that would cost a lot to try to buy down to that rate in today's market.

Just something to think about as you are looking at properties, maybe ask the seller or listing agent if it is possibly a VA loan and how you might be able to make a deal if they have a great rate already. Good luck!

@Robert Durden, we are starting to see price drops here in Boise and more multi-family inventory than we've seen in years, so you might be in luck! It is still possible to get duplexes in the $500k range. If you go to Canyon county (Nampa and Caldwell) you can sometimes even find 4 plexes close to that. Those properties are prime for house hacking since they often need work, but there's great upside. Caldwell is booming right now and I just closed a duplex for a client there last week for $340k that they'll be getting close to $3k per month in rent. Crazy!

@Aaron Akins it's true we are starting to see prices here in Boise slide a little and as the article states. Boise is still a great market though with steadily increasing rental rates. I'm assuming the house you are referring to is a rental (or are you talking about your primary?). You probably have a great interest rate on it and got it a while ago before prices went nuts, so why not keep it and get great cash flow on it? I'd be interested to hear how the numbers would compare for that property being a rental vs. one you plan to buy with the cash you get from selling it.

I work with tons of investors and the sentiment I hear from many of the long term buy and hold Investors (myself included) is that I wish I had bought more properties and sold fewer of them. Boise is not going to crash, but if it does, just have patience. Because the values will return to these peak levels one day and you'll be glad you have the interest rate on that house that you do and years of cash flow from it. Having patience with market fluctuations is the key to being a good long term buy and hold investor. Don't freak out about short term equity losses (and trying to sell fast to squeeze out what equity you still can) or currently high interest rates, because in the long run, it will all work out and you will see those amazing returns that real estate has historically shown.

Quote from @Dmitriy Fomichenko:

Awesome investment! Congrats @Anna Strausbaugh ! 

 Thank you! We've been super happy with it and are ready for the next one!