Overcoming Seller’s Bias: Strategies to Help Veterans Buy Homes

 

Buying a home is a journey. For most people, home represents safety. It’s easy to get caught up in the dream of a life in a home you recently toured. Too often, though, sellers are unwilling to accept VA loan offers. Veterans find their offer for the home of their dreams rejected. Like it or not, certain biases against VA loan offers exist. In this blog, we will cover many of the reasons behind seller’s bias against Veterans. We’ll also teach you how to overcome them.

Misconceptions About the VA Home Loan Program

There are a lot of misconceptions about the VA home loan program. They sometimes cause sellers to choose other offers over the ones made by Veterans. For starters, many sellers believe they will be stuck with the bill for closing costs when dealing with a VA loan. While it was once true that there were certain closing costs that the seller was asked to pay, this has changed thanks to our modern-day mortgage marketplace. Now, by accepting a slightly higher interest rate, a VA borrower can ask their lender to pay some or all of the closing costs. Additionally, Veterans can pay closing costs as long as they are not greater than one percent of the total loan.

Sellers also believe they’ll need to make a lot of repairs before their house can be sold to a Veteran. While it is true that the VA has certain standards for the condition of the home in question, they involve basic health and safety expectations. VA home appraisers are looking for things like dry rot and exposed wiring. A VA loan doesn’t necessarily mean a ton of repairs are needed!

Many sellers also believe that VA loans will take longer to close than a traditional loan. The reality? Loans for Veterans often require less income and asset documentation than conventional loans, so it actually takes no longer to get a VA loan than a traditional one. Closing can take less than 30 days. While documents like the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) are needed by Veterans hoping to buy a home, many of them are handled online and become available immediately.

Busting Myths About VA Home Loans

VA home loan myths can discourage sellers from working with Veterans. Sellers who learn more about the program will find that it is much simpler than expected. Those hoping to sell their home want to sell quickly. Alienating Veterans isn’t just bad form – it makes little sense for those hoping to actually sell their home. The VA home loan program is booming, and sellers who opt not to consider offers from Veterans will miss out on valuable opportunities to connect with qualified buyers.

For sellers, there are pros and cons of handling any kind of offer on a home. Veterans are, in fact, at least as worthy of a home as traditional buyers – if not more so! With the government guaranteeing these loans, there’s much less risk for everyone involved. Still, these biases against VA loans can be difficult to overcome.

Strategies for Veterans Home Buyers

At SoCalVA Homes, we’re eager to challenge seller’s bias. Veterans home loan offers are just as worthy of consideration as any traditional offer. All too often, we hear stories of sellers unwilling to even entertain the thought of a Veteran’s offer. We make it our mission to combat myths about the VA home loan program and go above and beyond for our clients to get them into a new home.

Writing a letter to the seller is a strategy many Veterans should use to convince a seller to accept their offer. You write to the seller, explaining your story and asking them to consider accepting your offer on the house. This emotional appeal to a seller can often convince even the most jaded of homeowners to reconsider their beliefs about VA loans.

Ultimately, it is your VA lender and your “VA real estate agent” who do the heavy lifting when it comes to convincing a listing agent and their seller to consider your offer. SoCalVA Homes deploys specific tactics to instill greater confidence with the agent and their seller allowing them both to feel more comfortable when being presented an offer by a specialist on behalf of their Veteran client.

Get Help from So Cal VA Homes

Real estate markets across the country are competitive. Veterans may find their offers are quickly turned down in favor of buyers with a large cash down payments. The SoCalVA Homes team has worked to develop strategies that can make all the difference when it comes to buying a home. Overcoming seller’s bias can feel impossible. With the right partner by your side when you are on your journey to purchasing a home, though, Veterans can find a winning strategy to put an offer in on a house. Eager to learn more? Schedule a time to chat with the SoCalVA Homes team by calling 949-268-7742 now.