Selling The Family Home?

Family is important, and your decision to sell your home may be difficult for those closest to you. Moving can create mixed emotions, and it’s important to help your family understand how and why you made your decision. Including family members in the process can prevent strong emotions from potentially sabotaging the sale.

As soon as you decide to sell your home, set aside time to have a serious conversation with the rest of your family. If you have children living at home, they may be fearful of leaving their home, their school, and possibly their friends. Listen to them and reassure them of the safety of the family unit.

You can’t promise that nothing will change, but share the good things you expect to get from the move; a bigger home, a better job, advantages of the new area, etc. Help your children see that you’ve considered them from the very beginning and explain why it will be a good move for them as well.

Adult children might be difficult as well. Even though they have left the home, they may be less than enthusiastic for several reasons. They may question your decision to move into the new home or area, or they might simply be nostalgic and sad to see their childhood home sold.

A home is a special place and the decision to sell, especially if you’ve been in the home for a long time, affects not just you but your family. You can help bring them into the conversation by making time to listen and understand their concerns and then share your own. This way, while you might not all agree, no one will feel left out of the decision.

Special Benefits of the VA Loan

Our military veterans have given so much to this country. To make it easier for these special families to qualify for and purchase a home, Veteran Affairs has a unique loan offer reserved only for retired and active military.

The VA loan offers mortgage options unavailable to the general public.

1. No Down Payment – While zero down loans disappeared in the real estate bubble of the last decade, VA loans allow our military to buy a house without the stress of trying to save the down payment.
2. Easier to Qualify – Most loans require a credit score of 650 or higher. Qualifying for a VA loan only requires a FICO score of 620.
3. No PMI – PMI (private mortgage insurance) is required for any loan where the loan-to-value falls below 80%.
4. Limits on Fees – VA borrowers are protected by strict limits to fees and closing costs. Lenders financing a VA loan cannot charge more than 1% for loan costs whereas typical financing can run as high as 2.4–3%.
5. Appraisal Assistance – At times homebuyers run into problems when the appraisal does come back high enough to purchase the home at the agreed-upon price. When this happens, the VA can help by diligently reviewing the report and comparable properties and then asking the lender to adjust the appraisal if it determines that the value is not accurate.The VA loan is a special loan program offered only to our active and retired military. These families have sacrificed so much for their country, the VA loan might be the only way these families can buy a home of their own.