You are here:

Buying or Selling a Home/H.U.D., Lease Purchase, V.A.

Advertisement

Expert: - 5/31/2004


Question
Hi Jessica
I am a Veteran and an acupuncturist who will be looking to lease purchase a 2BR home sometime in the future. I would also like to convert 1BR into a clinic.
Could I use my V.A. Home loan to buy out the lease puchase contract, or would I be better off just buying a home under a non-lease purchase contract?
I haven't seen a lease purchase option on a H.U.D. home. If I should decide to purchase a H.U.D. home, can I do so with my V.A. loan?
Thanks so much!

Sincerely,

Mike Eidson, LAc.

Answer
Hi Mike,
A lease purchase home is really the same as any other.  When the time comes to finance to buy the home then you can use your VA loan.  As far as the HUD home, you will have to check with the VA loan department to see what their restrictions are.  You are right--there are not lease purchases on HUD homes but not because of restrictions (to the best of my knowledge) it is because there just are very few lease purchase options out there in general.  

You ask if you would be better off not using your lease purchase and just buying a home outright...well, that depends on how much you can qualify for under a conventional loan program.  The VA loans have lower requirements, but there are also some other excellent loans out there right now.  If I were you, I would call an experienced mortgage broker to discuss your options, and see what you qualify for.  Most real estate brokers do not get too involved with the requirements of the loans and certainly aren't qualified to discuss the differences between HUD and VA vs. conventional programs.  There are too many fine points.  Be careful when you talk to lenders as well.  Many are not well-versed in these programs and may give you some wrong advice.  Make sure to ask lots of questions and get reading material that you can review on your own as well.

Good luck and best wishes,
Jessica Bryan
Managing Broker
House to Home Realty Services

Buying or Selling a Home

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.