FHA and VA Occupancy

A essential feature for some military households when taking into account a VA mortgage or an FHA mortgage is requirement of occupancy. This is usually the case for conventional loans as well when it comes to rates.

While VA mortgage rules declare that solely the borrower or the husband or wife of the borrower could stay in the home to fulfill the occupancy rule, FHA loans state, "Armed Forces personnel are eligible for the upper limits of financing if any member of the direct family will reside in the subject property as his/her principal residence, whether or not the actual military person on the loan is based somewhere else."

Current adjustments to the VA mortgage program, in accordance with www.veterans.house.gov, do permit a dependent to fulfill the occupancy necessity in restricted procedures: A person who served in the military would be able to consider a dependent minor, serving in the Armed Forces, to comply with VA occupancy requirements under the residential financing program.

Yet, the way the FHA loan program mortgage guidelines are presently made, FHA mortgages come off as much more forgiving with a borrower's direct family members in terms of fulfilling the occupancy rules.