VA Loan Limits Removed

Veterans are no longer restricted to a loan limit beginning January 1, 2020.  Previously, veterans were limited by the same restrictions set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on conforming loans.  While these limits were national in nature, there were exceptions for high-cost counties and jumbo loan procedures.

The elimination of loan limits doesn't mean that veterans will have unlimited borrowing power.  Buyers must still qualify with enough income and credit requirements to meet the lender's requirements to qualify for the loan.

Lenders can set their own in-house maximum loan amounts which means it could vary from lender to lender.  Veterans who have an active VA loan or have defaulted on a previous VA loan are still limited by the previous loan limits.

The VA funding fee is increasing on January 1, 2020 to 2.3% of the loan amount for "first-use" borrowers from the previous fee of 2.15%.  Subsequent use borrowers will pay 3.6% of the loan amount instead of the current 3.3%.

Beginning in 2020, the funding fees will be the same for regular military, National Guard and reservists.  At the same time, Purple Heart recipients are exempt from paying the VA funding fee.
It is recommended that a veteran, as well as any buyer, be pre-approved before beginning the home buying process.  Veterans can find answers to specific questions they may have from a qualified and trusted loan professional.

Top Gifts for Homeowners This Holiday Season

Figuring out what to buy for friends and loved ones during the holidays isn’t always easy. While some people are easy to shop for, there are always a few people on your list who seem to already have everything they might want. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can get for around the home that they might never buy for themselves. Here are a few suggestions for things that they’ll not only appreciate, but actually USE.

Digital Assistants

Both Google Home and Amazon’s Echo smart speaker with Alexa are pretty common these days, and both platforms are adding new features frequently. Not only can you use one of these digital assistants to play music or find out the weather forecast, but you can also have them tell you jokes, cast video to smart TVs, look up recipes and even set timers or access your calendar. Companion apps for smartphones will even let your recipient take their assistant with them when they’re away from the house as well.

Smart Thermostats

Heating and cooling costs are a major expense. Fortunately, there are an increasing number of options out there for smart thermostats that adjust temperatures automatically to help keep costs low. These thermostats can not only make changes based on their programming, but some can even make adjustments on their own when they sense that no one is in the house. Connecting them to smartphone apps would even allow your recipient to control the temperature while away from home so that everything’s just perfect when they get back.

Home Automation Accessories

Digital assistants and smart thermostats aren’t the only home automation options out there. Smart lighting, smart locks, window sensors, leak sensors and even smart smoke detectors are all available to give your friends or loved-ones new ways to interact with their home. Best of all, most of these devices can be configured to work together to achieve effects like automatically turning on lights when the door is unlocked.

Alternative Appliances

The modern homeowner deserves so much more than an oven and a microwave can give them. Fortunately, there are a number of options out there that offer up new culinary options while also being extremely giftable. Instant Pot cookers, sous vide cookers and even air fryers offer new options for fixing meals that your gift recipient might never have considered. Many of them are programmable as well and can even be monitored or controlled remotely via dedicated apps.

High-Quality Streaming

More people are “cutting the cord” and moving away from traditional cable television than ever before. In addition to Netflix, consumers looking for quality digital content have options with Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, CBS All Access and more, and the forthcoming HBO Max streaming service will be here next year. This could be a great time to get your recipient ready for all of this content with a Roku or other streaming device capable of handling HD or 4K streams without buffering or losing picture quality in the process. Pair it with a sound bar or other sound solution to really take their entertainment experience up a notch.

Clearing the Air

There are a number of common pollutants that can foul the air we breathe. Help your recipient to breathe a sigh of relief by giving them an ionizing air filter or other air purifier to cut out a lot of these unwanted smells and irritants. This will help to keep the air breathable and odor free, and the units themselves are easy to clean so it won’t add a significant new chore to their routine.

What is the Best Investment for Americans?

Some are reporting that there is trepidation regarding the real estate market in the United States. Apparently, the American people are quite comfortable.
Porch.com, a major network helping homeowners with their renovation projects, recently conducted a survey which asked Americans:

“What do you believe is the safest investment over the next 10 years?”

U.S. housing came in at number one, beating out other investments such as gold, stocks, bonds, and savings.
Here is a graph showing the top five investments Americans selected:The findings of the Porch.com survey also coincide with two previous surveys done earlier this year:

1. The Federal Reserve Bank’s 2019 Consumer Expectations Housing Survey reported that 65% of Americans believe homeownership is a good financial investment, and that the percentage has increased in each of the last four years.
2. The Gallup survey showed that Americans have picked real estate as the “best” investment for six straight years.

Bottom Line

Based on all three surveys done this year, we can see that Americans still believe in homeownership as a great investment, and that feeling continues to grow.