With a new year comes new beginnings and many are setting their sights on a new home. For the veterans of our country there are great benefits available to help make the dream of owning a home in 2015 attainable. The Department of Veteran Affairs has created a VA loan program that helps take the sting of impossibility away for those who have given themselves in service to our country.

The greatest advantage of the VA home Loan program is its constancy. While other types of mortgages fluctuate based on their ability to gain more customers, the VA remains the same in their offerings in order to provide the stable assurance of home ownership to its veterans.

Better Mortgage Rates

The VA loan interest rate comes in constantly lower than the conventional home loan because it carries with it a guarantee from the government on behalf of the veteran. “VA loans are backed by the federal government, although the VA does not offer or set mortgage rates. This gives lenders the option to charge low mortgage rates that are very competitive. Due to this, eligible VA borrowers find that VA mortgage rates are usually lower than those offered through conventional mortgages,” says Brian Thomas in his publication, Veteran Home Financing.

Limited Fees and Flexible Loan Size

The VA works hard to ensure that veterans will not face the daunting fees that come along with most traditional mortgages with exception of a funding fee that ranges from 1.25 to 3.30% of the settled purchase price of the home. This fee fades in comparison to the fact that the VA basically doesn’t put a limit on loan amounts. According to Craig Venezia with Forbes in his article The Many Advantages of VA Loans, “There are generally no limits on the size of the loans unless you’re looking to buy with no money down. Then, the cap in most places is $417,000 (for 2014). The mortgage limit is higher in designated ‘high-cost counties’ in 22 states and Washington, D.C.; it’s as high as $1,094,625 in Nantucket, Mass.”

Veterans can find exact rates and higher cost counties listed on the VA website. So there is a way for veterans to find their dream home and take advantage of this win-win situation. As long as the home is under the above mentioned limit then there is also NO required down payment, with the exception that home does not exceed the appraised value. “With these advantages, little surprise the VA’s home-financing program is hitting record levels, recently guaranteeing its 21 millionth loan,” reports Forbes.

All of this is not new news but good news…news that has been around for a while and may have been under-noticed and overlooked. For the brave men, woman and surviving spouses of those who have served our country so well-there is opportunity for their dream home to become a reality. Hopefully the continuing end result of these advantages provide stability, solace and at the very least a message of extreme appreciation for their service to our country.