I am retiring and going to spend my time with my grandchildren and fish as much as possible. I will continue to write my blog posts and hopefully keep everyone up to date on what is happening in the world of mortgage lending.

After being in the lending business for over 30 years and going through some of the toughest times I can imagine, it is time to turn it over to someone with more energy than I have now.

Thanks for your readership and I want to definitely recommend Guild Mortgage Company for your lending needs and wants. The gang in Oak Harbor are consummate professionals. They deliver on their promises. The contact information on the pages will be changing as soon as I can get them done. But, if you have questions, please drop me an e-mail at whidbeyloanguy@rocketmail.com

Reservists and National Guard can qualify if they have spent more than six years in the reserves or national guard, or if they have spent 90 days or more on active duty during wartime. The current Gulf War period started on August 2, 1990 and will continue until a future date. So any Reservists and National Guard serving form 90 days or more during that period should qualify for a VA Home Loan.

There are also eligible periods for World War I, World War II, Korean conflict, and the Vietnam era. Service during those periods could also mean eligibility for a VA Home Loan.

Active Reserve and National Guard members are also eligible for the VA Home Loan with six years service without the 90 days active duty requirement.

VA Home loans have no down payment in most cases, have no private mortgage insurance, allowing all closing costs to be paid by the seller and VA may offer some assistance if the veteran/active duty/reservist/national guard borrower runs into difficulty. Interest rates on VA loans are also very comparable with similar conventional loans and in cases of somewhat lower credit scores, often better.

VA Home Loans are available for either purchase of a personal residence or refinance of your current residence to a VA Home Loan. Most lenders limit the refinance to 90% loan to value, however if you currently have a VA Home Loan, an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) is available from most lender to 100% loan to value.

VA borrowers do not have to be first time buyers and the VA loans are assumable in the future. You can contact VA directly to determine eligibility or work with a lender to submit the proper paperwork to get a certificate of eligibility.

Home loan benefits can also be restored if it was used previously and paid off or assumed by an eligible veteran.

About the author: Fred Chamberlin was a senior loan officer with Guild Mortgage Company in Oak Harbor. He had been in the mortgage origination business for over 20 years and in the lending business for over 30 and authors a number of mortgage related blogs.

The rate survey is used by some lenders as an index for some adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM). The increase was 0.11 percent from February.

The report shows that fixed-rate mortgages on conventional loans, those $417,000 or less, increased to 3.74% in March for purchase money transactions. “Typically, interest rate is determined 30-45 days before the loan is closed. Thus, the reported rates depict market conditions prevailing in mid- to late-February,” according to the report.

Of note, 23% of the loans originated in March were “no-point” mortgages, up from 20% in February. Additionally, the average loan amount was up $4,700 top $263,400 from the previous month.

About the author: Fred Chamberlin was a senior loan officer with Guild Mortgage Company in Oak Harbor. He was in the mortgage origination business for over 20 years and in the lending business for over 30 before retiring in  2013. He continues to write several mortgage related blogs.