Metrowest Advertiser June 20, 2024

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Wouldn’t It Be Great if You Could Assume the Seller’s Low-Interest Loan? Maybe, if It’s a VA Loan

Most mortgage loans are not assumable, but VA loans are assumable when certain conditions are met. Here’s what I have learned about that.

There are many sellers who are veterans and obtained a VA loan on the home they are now selling. If they don’t need to regain their certificate of eligibility for a VA loan on their replacement home, they can sell their home to anyone — not just a veteran — and let that person assume their VA loan. For the seller to regain their eligibility for a VA loan on their replacement home, the buyer would have to be able to qualify for a VA loan as a veteran.

Wendy Renee, our in-house lender at Golden Real Estate, helped me learn the rules for assuming a VA loan.

Rocket Mortgage has an excellent website explaining those rules and is the source for the following. I’ll post a link to their webpage on our company blog, http://RealEstateToday.substack.com

The good news is that a buyer can assume a VA loan, even if they would not qualify for a VA loan for themselves. If the seller has a VA mortgage at, say, 2.75%, a buyer would get to take over that loan and make the same payments. Not bad, given today’s loan rates over 6 percent!

Conventional loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not

assumable. Sellers with a VA loan will want to take advantage of this crucial selling point over competing listings on the MLS. Every seller who has an existing VA loan should have his listing agent emphasize that fact in the MLS, pointing out its interest rate and that it’s assumable. However, if it’s important to the seller that he regain his entitlement to a VA loan for his replacement home, then it should be noted in the MLS that the seller will only allow an eligible veteran to assume the loan.

Hooray for that veteran, because a new VA loan would probably have an interest rate over 6%.

Although the buyer will not need to meet the military eligibility, he or she will need to meet the financial eligibility requirements of the lender. The lender, not the VA, must approve the assumption. If the lender approves your financial qualifications, you can proceed with the assumption. Note: Lenders are not required by the VA to allow assumption. Most lenders have a minimum FICO score to qualify for a loan. With Rocket Mortgage, that score is 580. Other lenders require a minimum score of 620.

VA loans don’t require a down payment, but in assuming a VA loan, you may be asked for a down payment. Considering that most homes for sale have plenty of equity due to the rise in home

Megan’s Insights on the June Real Estate Market

By MEGAN ALLER

First American Title

As we navigate the real estate market for the week of June 5th-12th, 2024, it is clear that the market continues to retract. Increased inventory and hesitant buyers have led to significant shifts in market dynamics. Now the key points:

Retraction persists as more inventory enters the market and pending transactions decline, leading to a higher months’ supply of inventory than usual for the second week of June.

The growing inventory and shrinking buyer pool have caused prices to fall slightly as we transition into summer.

Our average daily active listings have increased week over week, with inventory significantly higher compared to the same period last year.

New listings have shown an upward trend, and this activity is expected to continue growing until September. However, pending transactions have declined compared to the previous weekend.

The odds of selling have decreased

values, that’s not very likely.

VA loans require the payment of a funding fee, and that is true for the buyer who assumes a VA loan. That funding fee is 0.5% of the loan amount. As with the original borrower, that fee can be waived if the buyer is a disabled veteran or the spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-related disability.

Compensating for that 0.5% funding fee is the fact that you won’t have other fees, including paying for an appraisal.

A processing fee of $250 to $300 will be charged to the buyer in addition to the funding fee.

Note that the VA is not the lender The loan is merely guaranteed by the VA. The underwriting requirements may differ from lender to lender.

So, how do you find a home on which the seller has a VA loan? Unfortunately, that is a not a searchable field on the

MLS, even for us MLS members. However, if you find a home you want to buy, we can find that property on Realist, an app within the MLS, which tells what kind of loan, if any, was taken out by the seller. And, of course, we can ask the listing agent if that VA loan is still in place and what the current balance and interest rate is. Depending on the buyer’s cash reserves, it may be necessary to apply for a second mortgage.

When the loan is assumed, the seller needs to request a release of liability from the lender. Without that, the seller could be responsible for late payment fees or even default by the new borrower. Ask your lender in advance of agreeing to the assumption whether you will receive a release. If they won’t, that could or should be a deal breaker.

If you’d like help finding a home with a VA loan in place, call us (below).

Coming: A 5-BR Home in Scenic Heights

compared to last week, trending historically below the average for June in previous years.

To balance the market with a 6-month supply of inventory, we would need a significantly higher number of total listings, indicating we are currently far from market equilibrium.

Showings last week were down slightly, with the average number of showings per property and the number of showings required to go under contract showing some fluctuations.

Price reductions were more prevalent this week, with a notable portion of units going under contract after reducing their price. The size of these reductions has remained consistent.

If you are wondering when to list your property this summer, it is advisable to list as soon as possible. Growing inventory and a diminishing buyer pool could lead to longer days on market and potential price reductions. Listing earlier in the summer may help achieve the best possible price for your home.

The sellers designed this 4,603-sq.-ft. home at 6714 Field St. in Arvada for entertaining and were the general contractor when building it in 1985. Spaces for entertaining abound both indoors and on the large wraparound deck, which was rebuilt with Trex two years ago. There's an indoor hot tub in its own room that is well ventilated to avoid moisture-related issues. Oak hardwood floors are on the main level, while the upstairs and the mostly finished basement have wall-to-wall carpeting. All bathrooms and the kitchen are tiled. There is not only a separate den on the main floor, but also a reading room and sewing room upstairs. This home is an early example of passive solar design for exploiting solar gain through thermal mass in the winter but staying cool in the summer. In addition to the solar thermal panels on the roof which provide hot water for the home, there are solar thermal panels built into the south wall of the living room to capture solar gain in the winter for dispersal inside the house after dark. The backyard includes a large garden area and a shed with electricity which has two compartments — a storage area with a concrete floor and a south-facing area with gravel floor and windows to capture solar gain for starting plants in the late winter. There is no HOA and there’s a gate on the north side of the house for parking an RV next to the garage. Take a narrated video tour at www.GRElistings.com, then come to my open house on June 22, 11am to 1pm.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851

Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com 1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401

Broker Associates:

JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727

CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855

DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835

GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922

AUSTIN POTTORFF, 970-281-9071

KATHY JONKE, 303-990-7428

“Concentrate on giving and the getting will take care of itself.” —Anonymous

WAGNER

Rose Marie (Krantz) Wagner

March 25, 1941 - June 4, 2024

Rose Marie (Krantz) Wagner, 83, of Brighton, passed away at her home on June 4, 2024, where she had resided for 59 years. She was born on March 25, 1941, in Brighton, to John and Clara (Weaver) Krantz. She was the oldest of six children, survived by siblings John Krantz of Brighton, Colorado, Pat Tillotson of Owasso, Oklahoma, and Marge Fitch of Northglenn, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her two younger brothers, Donny and Tommy Krantz, in November 1964.

Rose’s Daycare, which she opened a few years after retirement.

Rose spent her younger years playing with and taking care of her siblings. One of her favorite pastimes was going to Dutch hops, and she could really dance! Most weekends, you would nd her and her family at the local Dutch hop alongside many of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was always a good time for all. If there wasn’t a dance to be found, it was not uncommon for the furniture to be cleared out of the kitchen and turned into a dance hall, with more merrier attendees, and usually several cousins pounding on the piano or bringing their own instruments for a grand time.

Rose had a calling to become a nun. She attended the Dominican Sisters of Peace Convent in Great Bend, Kansas, for one year in ninth grade. However, before she received her nal orders, she stepped down, knowing that having a family and children was her heart’s desire. Rose was a Brighton Bulldog alumna, attending and graduating from Brighton High School in 1958. She was the rst of three generations to graduate as a Bulldog and was very proud of that.

After graduation, she worked for Radio Products in downtown Denver and later at the 1st Bank and Trust of Brighton as a bookkeeper. In 1972, she went to work as a teacher’s aide and spent 21 years at Northeast Elementary in Brighton. It was a job that was a perfect match for her; she loved helping and working with children of all ages, and they loved her. In 1991, she retired to be a full-time gramma, a role in which she truly excelled. She helped raise and babysit each of her grandchildren, so they never had to go to daycare. ey went to Gramma

In 1961, she met the love of her life, Daniel Wagner, while he was home on leave from the United States Navy. ey married the following year on February 24 and were married just shy of 55 years. ey were married in the old Saint Augustine Church, where she was baptized, made her First Communion, and Con rmation. After the wedding, they moved to San Diego, California, until Daniel nished his time in the Navy. Ironically, they lived in a small house on Rosecrans Avenue. ey returned to Brighton, CO, where they would spend the rest of their lives. In August 1962, they welcomed their son, Danny, and in November 1963, their daughter, Debbie. As a family, they enjoyed going to the Grand Mesa for shing, hiking, and relaxing almost every summer. She enjoyed shing, nding wild owers, camping, and spending time around a camp re. It was also not uncommon to nd her and the family at a local racetrack. She was an avid fan of the local racers and enjoyed watching NASCAR on TV even up to the Sunday before she passed away, always seeming to pick her favorite driver as the one her husband did not like, and vice versa.

Rose’s greatest joys in life were her children, who she said were “her world” until she became a gramma, which then became her greatest joy. She was blessed with six grandchildren: Jennifer Meyer-Conley, Jaimee Meyer, Enea Lovelady, Garron Wagner, Cassidy MacDonald, and Logan Wagner; and four great-grandchildren: Elias, Kinslee, Dani, and Kanan, with one more on the way. She also had many daycare kids who referred to her as Gramma Rose.

She is also survived by Danny (Leah) Wagner and Debbie (Randy) Meyer of Brighton; numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, and many wonderful caregivers who became family. She was preceded in death by her husband Daniel Wagner Jr., her parents John and Clara Krantz, her infant grandson Tyler Meyer, and three infant great-grandchildren.

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