Veteran Loan Center
Not a government agency. VA Approved Lender. Mortgage Research Center — NMLS #1907.
One of the refinancing options, a VA Streamline, lowers interest rates and thereby reduces monthly payments. If you've already financed a home with a VA loan, you can still use your VA loan benefit to refinance and lower your interest rate. VA Streamlines are like no other refinance option on the market.
Unlike traditional loan refinancing options, the VA Streamline, or interest rate reduction refinancing loan (IRRRL), doesn't make homeowners jump through a bunch of hoops. Going through the refinancing process is less of a challenge because it:
Interest rates are at all time lows right now. If you're paying more than 5 percent interest, it's too much. Refinance now to start saving every month. You'll pay nothing out of pocket to do so. Since the Fed has maintained interest rates at all-time lows, now is the time to capitalize on your VA loan benefit. It doesn't matter if you're financing with a VA or conventional loan right now. Either way, VA Streamlines save military homeowners thousands of dollars during the life of the loan. Also note a change in occupancy requirements. When obtaining a VA Streamline you simply need to certify that you previously occupied the home, not that that you will or intend to.
Not only can you lower monthly payments with smaller interest rates, you can convert an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) to a fixed-rate mortgage. At times, borrowers opt to convert from an ARM to a higher fixed rate because they know their adjustable rate will eventually increase. VA Streamlines can even include energy efficient improvements that cost as much as $6,000. One major requirement to get a VA Streamline is that you're current on your mortgage payments and you were never later than 30 days on a payment in the last 12 months.
