VA Recognizes Same Sex Marriage
The VA has announced that beginning immediately it will abide by the presidential mandate to recognize same sex marriage. Prior to this decision, only veterans and a legal spouse could be co-borrowers on the same loan. Same sex marriage was not recognized previously by the VA and those couples could not use VA loans together unless they were both veterans. The implication of course, was that that these couples either had a limited buying power (due to using only the veteran’s income) or were forced to use other loans that may not have the same advantages.
These changes will now allow same sex married couples to get the refi and purchase benefits of VA loans which include:
-No/Low Down Payments
-Expanded Qualifications
-Typically Lower than Conforming Interest Rates
-Many other advantages
Of course, as with any new lending guidelines there will certainly be an adjustment phase. Also the implementation of the rules will come with some caveats or qualifiers like the state in which the marriage was performed and the borrowers’ current state of residence. If you’d like to know more about how I can help you navigate this new lending option shoot me an email or give me a call to discuss.