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Using VA Loans to Purchase Multi-Family Homes

VA Home Loans for Veterans: Buy Multi Unit Property

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you are a veteran, or a close family member of someone who is. Either way, San Diego Purchase Loans thanks you for your service, and for sacrificing to ensuring the security of the Americans people. Living and working in a military city like San Diego, we are no strangers to helping veterans and their families ensure their own financial security through the real estate market. One of the best ways for veterans to do so is to buy a multi unit property.

If you are eligible for VA home loans for veterans, and are interested in securing your financial future, owning rental properties is a great choice. The main benefit of VA home loans for veterans and their families is very generous options for financing. While VA home loans are usually used for single family houses, they can also be used to buy a multi unit property. This flexibility allows veterans to build their investment portfolio and purchase a home with just one loan. Now, let’s take a look at some of the reasons to buy a multi unit property….

Why Buy a Multi Family Home?

Before you take a serious look into your options to buy a multi family home, it is very important to understand whether or not doing so is the right choice for you and your financial future. While choosing to buy a multi family home has several obvious advantages, it is not for everyone. Therefore, we want to make sure you weigh all the factors, including talking with a financial and mortgage professional, before making your decision.

One of the top advantages, should you choose to buy a multi family home, is that you get to build your investment-property portfolio quickly by procuring numerous living spaces in one purchase. Let’s say you want to buy a single family home as a rental property. When the deal is complete, you only have one unit to rent out.

With the single purchase of a four-unit property, you will have four available units, or “homes,” under your portfolio that can generate income immediately. On a per-unit basis, you may not get as much monthly income compared to a single home. However, all four units (in total) will likely bring in more overall income than a single home will.

More Benefits of Multi Family Investment Properties

The other advantage of multi family investment properties is less risk compared to owning a single family home. If your single unit rental stays vacant for a period of time, you are not receiving any income for the entire property. However, if one unit in a four unit property is empty, but the other three are filled, you still have 75% of all potential income coming your way. You may, of course, have to work a little harder to fill all four units (marketing wise), but multi family investment properties make it less likely you will have property sitting completely empty.

There is also the fact that since four rentable units are connected on the same property, you can benefit from efficiency and grouping. You’ll only need one loan to purchase the property, and you’ll only make one payment on your mortgage. You also only need one insurance policy, or one appraisal when/if you decide to sell. So as you can see, multi family investment properties can make real estate ownership easier and less time consuming than multiple single properties.

VA Loan Mortgage Options

If you decide that owning a multi unit property is right for you, the next step is to search for the right loan that allows you to purchase high-quality real estate. Fortunately, we offer many options for multi unit properties, as well as some very flexible and fair VA loan mortgage options.

This includes high-balance loans with zero down in San Diego County. These VA loan mortgage options are offered using veterans eligibility requirements on a multi-family unit with various loan limits depending on the amount of units on the property.

For example, if you are purchasing a two-unit property, you can borrow up to $831,800 in a VA loan mortgage. For three-unit properties, the price is even higher, reaching $1,005,450. Additionally, if you are interested in a four-unit property, you can borrow as much as $1,249,550 in VA backed loans. These VA loan mortgage options make it relatively easy for veterans to purchase a top-quality unit and expand their financial portfolio quickly.

VA Home Loan Eligibility Requirements

Many people assume VA loan mortgages are only for veterans. However, VA home loan eligibility requirements can also be extended to spouses and family members of current and former service personnel. While it’s best to visit the VA Home Loans page to fully understand eligibility, we’d like to give you a brief rundown of the most common VA home loan eligibility requirements.

A husband and wife pair of veterans laying on a flag blanket together
VA loans allow veteran and their spouses to purchase multi-family homes.

If you served in the military during wartime including World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the service requirements are at least 90 days active duty, and with anything other than a dishonorable discharge. If your service was less than 90 days of active duty, you must have been discharged for a service related disability.

If you are a Gulf War era veteran, the service requirements are 24 months of continuous active duty, with at least 90 days of completed full term that you were ordered to active duty. You can have at least 90 days active duty and have been discharged for hardship, early out, convenience of the Government, reduction in force, or if a condition interfered with duty. If you served less than 90 days, the discharge would have to be connected to a disability.

For veterans who served during peacetime, VA home loan eligibility requirements are slightly different. If you served at least 181 days of continuous active duty without a dishonorable discharge, you will be eligible for VA loans. If you have less than the 181 days, the discharge must have been connected to a service disability.

Other VA Home Loan Qualifications

As we mentioned above, VA home loan qualifications do not just apply to servicemen and servicewomen. You may fulfill VA home loan qualifications if you are an unemployed spouse of a veteran who died while in the service of our country, or whose death resulted from a service-connected disability. If you are the spouse of someone missing in action or taken prisoner, you also meet VA home loan qualifications.

Additionally, un-remarried spouses of veterans who died in service remain eligible for VA loans.

However, spouses who have remarried usually lose eligibility. The main exception is people who are older than 57. This means if you remain un-remarried until or after the age of 57, you retain eligibility for these types of VA loans. Other eligible beneficiaries include U.S. citizens who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the U.S. in World War II, as well as individuals with service as members of certain organizations. These organizations include Public Health Service officers and cadets at the various United States military academies.

To verify eligibility for VA home loan qualifications, please complete a Certificate of Eligibility and submit it either online or through the mail.

San Diego Purchase Loans is Here for Our Veterans

As a service member yourself, or as the spouse/family member of a veteran, you have earned to right to all of the VA benefits afforded to you, including VA home loans. San Diego Purchase Loans is dedicated to helping our veterans and their family members navigate the complexities of the VA system.

We are here to help you take full advantage of VA loans for multi-unit properties and therefore, provide for your family’s security the way your service to our country has provided for ours. Contact San Diego Purchase Loans today, and let us help you find the right VA loan to enhance your financial future!

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