Friday, May 20, 2016

Thinking or Dreaming of Buying a home in Northern VA in the next 30 to 90 days?


So what is keeping you from getting the home you want in Northern VA this summer?

Not sure where to start?

Not sure if you have enough money or need money for a down payment?

Not sure your credit score is good enough to qualify for a loan?

Not sure what types of programs are available?

Need to move rather quickly?

This is a big commitment; afraid of long term  buyer’s regret?

If you are not work with an agent and you answered yes to any or all of the questions listed above lets work together to get you into a home this summer.

Catherine Seybold

Sale Associate/Realtor®

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Text or call 571-510-0456
Email:Catherine.seybold@cbmove.com
Military Relocation Specialist
Senior Real Estate Specialist

"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represents Coldwell Banker positions, strategies or opinions."

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

VA Benefit for homecare, assisted living, or nursing home facility

VA Non-Service Connected Benefit
I normally do not like to do long blogs but this information is too important and most people eligible for this benefit do not even know it exists. This benefit is a monetary non-service-connected pension benefit this is different from a Service Connect Disability Pension.
Do you know a veteran or surviving spouse who might need assistance with homecare, assisted living, or nursing home facility? Veterans or surviving spouses 65 and older may not know how to file for this benefit and continue to go without the help they need. The veteran or surviving spouse can choose any facility aligned with their finances or a provider can document the need for a caregiver. The veteran and the spouse cannot receive the benefit at the same time.
There are two different pensions: “Aid and Attendance" and "Housebound."
The Aid & Attendance (A&A) increased monthly pension amount may be added to your monthly pension amount if you meet one of the following conditions:
•You require the aid of another person in order to perform personal functions required in everyday living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, attending to the wants of nature, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting yourself from the hazards of your daily environment
•You are bedridden, in that your disability or disabilities requires that you remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment
•You are a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity
•Your eyesight is limited to a corrected 5/200 visual acuity or less in both eyes; or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less
This increased monthly pension amount may be added to your monthly pension amount when you are substantially confined to your immediate premises because of permanent disability
Caregivers get any financial assistance for caring for a veteran. Caregivers/spouses/family members of a veteran may get tax free money for taking care of a veteran or surviving spouse. Like all programs the person must meet all eligibility requirements to receive the money.   
VA pension benefit can cover a portion of nursing home care if the veteran or surviving spouse is paying for the care out of pocket. Since with some exceptions, assisted living is un-reimbursed by insurance, the money from the VA pension can be the difference that allows the veteran or surviving spouse to afford the cost of assisted living.
Don’t forget add in your social security income sources to the VA pension. Putting these two benefits together allows many veterans to afford the monthly bill for assisted living
The question we should all explore is who is eligible?
The Aid and Attendance and Housebound pensions are non-service-connected pensions, which are for veterans whose disability or death was not caused by or aggravated by in the line of duty in active military. These pensions are not to be confused with VA service-connected disability compensation payments, which are for veterans whose disability was caused by an illness or combat-related injury while in the line of duty in the active military.
Wartime service veterans may be entitled to receive an Aid and Attendance pension or a Housebound pension if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

Annual family net income (income minus expenses) see an example on how to calculate your income and expenses on the VA website.
PLEASE bear in mind: The VA reduces countable income by subtracting the medical expenses associated with out-of-pocket costs such as assisted living or home care. Many veterans and surviving spouses have negative net income and meet this income requirement.

A wartime service veteran must be permanently and totally disabled. For VA pension purposes, permanent and total disability means that with reasonable certainty the veteran will not be able to maintain a substantially gainful job due to his or her disability. The disability must be non-service-connected and not due to willful misconduct. Nonservice-connected means that the disability must not have been caused or aggravated by military service.

The veteran must have care-needs requirements. To meet these requirements, a veteran typically receives care in an assisted living facility or receives non-medical home care services. A physician must document the need for these caregiver services.

The veteran must have had ninety days or more of active military service, at least one day of which was served during official wartime. To have served during wartime, the veteran did not need to see combat. For example, the veteran may have served in Alaska during World War II and still be eligible.

Check for exceptions! Veterans who entered active duty after September 7, 1980, generally must have served 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty. There are exceptions to this rule; check with a veteran service officer (VSO) for details.

The veteran's discharge must be honorable or general and not be due to willful misconduct.

How to apply:
You can write to the Pension Management Center that serves your state or you can find assistance at your local VA facility. A great source of information is veteran service organizations, such as the regional offices of the American Legion, DAV, and VFW. Another great source is A Place for Mom, connecting Mom, Dads, and families to senior living assistance and information. They also help Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Sisters, Brothers, and even friends or neighbors. A Place for Mom representative was the one who first told me about this benefit.


If they are currently living in their home, contact a certified Senior Real Estate Specialist, like me, to help facilitate any real estate needs. Go to Homesizing.com and leave me your contact information. If I can’t help you, I have a great network of people across the country who can.

Catherine Seybold
Sales Agent
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
catherine.seybold@cbmove.com
571-510-0456
Military Relocation Professional
Senior Real Estate Specialist


"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represents Coldwell Banker positions, strategies or opinions."



What a VA loan ISN'T

A VA loan ISN’T a guaranteed loan. If you have bad credit you might not qualify for a loan. However, VA does allow for a higher debt to income ratio. It is not a preapproval or pre-qualification. You will need to work with a lender for the specifics of your loan. It is not a one-time benefit. You can use your housing eligibility more than once. You will have to pay off any outstanding loans linked to a certification of eligibility and submit the proper paperwork before restoring your entitlement. The funding fee is higher for subsequent uses of your entitlement after the first unless you have a VA service rated disability percentage, which would waive the funding fee.

Catherine Seybold
Sales Agent
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
catherine.seybold@cbmove.com
571-510-0456
Military Relocation Professional
Senior Real Estate Specialist


"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represents Coldwell Banker positions, strategies or opinions."

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Benefits of using your VA loan Benefits.

A VA financing “IS” a loan with a lot of benefits. A VA loan allows you to purchase a house with no money down, but like any other loan if you have money to put down it may lower some of your loan fees.  VA financing allows you to finance up to 100 percent of the value (appraised) of the house.  Most conventional loans require you to put 3 to 20 percent money down on the house on top of any closing costs. VA loans have other benefits:
·        The lenders who service VA loans may allow you to have a higher debt to income ratio under certain circumstances. 
·        There is no private mortgage insurance. This can save you hundreds a month.
·        There are limited closing costs which include a funding fee, which may be paid by the seller. The funding fee is determined by the amount of money you can put down, the number of times you have used your Certificate of Eligibility for Home Loan and your military category.
·        You can pay off the loan early without a penalty.
·        The loan is assumable as long as the other person meets all the qualifications. You may apply for a VA loan two years after a bankruptcy, or sooner in certain circumstances, as long as you worked on getting your credit history back on track.
You do not have to pay the fee if you are a:
·        Veteran receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, OR
·        Veteran who would be entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability if you did not receive retirement or active duty pay, OR
·        Surviving spouse of a Veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability

If you haven’t filed for your VA disability compensations and you plan to use a VA home loan to buy a home it could cost you thousands of dollars each time you use your benefits.  The percent needed to waive the funding fee is extremely low.

Now that we have discussed the benefits of a VA loan, in the next blog we’ll discuss the misconceptions people have about using a VA loan.  Check back or subscribe to learn more as we explore VA Loans.

Catherine Seybold
Sales Agent
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
catherine.seybold@cbmove.com
571-510-0456
Military Relocation Professional
Senior Real Estate Specialist


"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represents Coldwell Banker positions, strategies or opinions."

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

VA Loan eligibility status

VA loans, some considerations

Planning does go a long way in ensuring you can purchase the home you want. This is especially important if you’re considering a VA loan. As you know the government can sometimes be slow, so getting all of the information in advance will help you stay on your desired timeline.

One of the first steps anyone should take before deciding to purchase a house is to find out your eligibility status [http://www.benefits.va.gov/HOMELOANS/purchaseco_eligibility.asp]. This needs to be taken care of a lot earlier than most people think, but it’s easy to do. Go to the VA Ebenefits page [https://www.ebenefits.va.gov] to get started. Click on the log in link at the top right of the page; you will have to accept the consent to monitoring disclaimer; you do not need a CAC card, there is a non CAC option (DS LOGON) to log into the site. If you haven’t been here before (and why haven’t you!?) you can click the Register button beside “Need a DS LOGON?” to get registered.

Once you are logged into the site you will need to upgrade your access to Premier, this does not cost anything so go ahead and do it.  You will need premier access to receive your Certificate of Eligibility for Home Loan.  I would encourage anyone who has served in Armed Forces and their spouses to validate his or her home loan benefit. Like I used to say when I was in if you don’t ask the answer is ready no, but if you ask or in this case take the time and register on the Ebenefits site the answer may surprise you. So ask or if you know someone who you think may or may not qualify have them register and check or help them to do it. Don’t assume anything!

Other Eligible Beneficiaries:

You may also apply for eligibility if you fall into one of the following categories:

•Certain U.S. citizens who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in World War II

•Individuals with service as members in certain organizations, such as Public Health Service officers, cadets at the United States Military, Air Force, or Coast Guard Academy, midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy, officers of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, merchant seaman with World War II service, and others.

           
Now that we have checked your eligibility, in the next blog we discuss the benefits of using a VA loan.  Check back or subscribe to learn more as we explore VA Loans.

Catherine Seybold
Sales Agent
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
catherine.seybold@cbmove.com
571-510-0456
Military Relocation Professional
Senior Real Estate Specialist



"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represents Coldwell Banker positions, strategies or opinions."