John was a military veteran and had served as a the United States Marine. Him and his wife, Linda, had been renting in Vero Beach, FL for many years. In their 50's, they were both in a comfortable point in their lives. In fact, they were renting the same property for over ten years. It was a cozy home, and while they did not own the property, they didn't care. John had told me he didn't really care about becoming a homeowner.

Each month after each year for over a decade, they paid the rent on time. The landlord sent them a renewal lease each year, and each year happily signed it. John's VA disability income was more than sufficient for them to afford the rental and live comfortably in the rental.

But, after just over ten years of being a tenant, the landlord knocked on the door. This year was different. He advised them there would not be a lease renewal. The owners of the property were planning to sell the home and advised John and Linda that once they vacated, they would be listing the home.

John tried to see what could be done, but the owners had seen their property's equity increase and wanted to capitalize on it. They needed to sell the home and take their proceeds.

John contacted us and was a bit frantic. His credit wasn't quite there and his landlord didn't give him too much notice. They thought about finding another rental, but they noticed that the rents had gone up quite a bit over the years. Their current landlord had been reasonable and didn't raise the rent too much over the decade they were tenants. But, now after looking at the rental market, they were not seeing great options as the rental properties were much more expensive.

In all of these years, John never thought about becoming a homeowner. He had the VA loan benefit in his arsenal, but did not really look into it and didn't know how to proceed. When we spoke, we started to educate him on what would be needed. We discussed what he could afford and what the VA underwriter would be looking at.

Within a short amount of time, John sent his documents in to be reviewed. The good news was that his DD-214 helped obtain the certificate of eligibility, also referenced as the COE, which showed he was eligible. It also showed he was a 100% service connect disabled veteran.

That played a big role in the state John was in. He didn't know at the time, but we explained that he could be eligible to buy a property and apply for a tax exemption. This would ultimately reduce or remove the property taxes for veterans who have a VA service connect disability. This can be a sizeable amount of the monthly payment for a mortgage. If the property taxes become exempt, the homeowner can hundreds of dollars per month and thousands of dollars per year. The State of Florida, along with various other states, gives this amazing benefit to veterans.

Once John's documents were reviewed, we could see that while he was eligible for a VA loan as he served in the Marines, had an honorable discharge, and had sufficient income, there was a component missing. His credit needed work. He explained he didn't have much time since the landlord would be listing the property for sale soon, and requested him and his wife to vacate within the next few weeks.

Utilizing various credit tools, we analyzed John's credit and pin pointed what needed to be worked on. With a VA loan, we always try to explain that the credit does not need to be perfect. It needs to be reasonable and show an underwriter that you can pay your bills on time and will be responsible when receiving a 30 year VA loan. After explaining to John on a few items that he could work on, John got to it immediately. It was truly amazing to see how determined he was because unlike many renters who this aside, he followed the instructions and updated our team regularly with what he had done. Fast forward about three weeks, and we had an updated credit file for John. It was sufficient and John could start to look for a home.

He had liked Vero Beach, but saw home prices were a bit more than they wanted to spend. He looked at other areas including Port St. Lucie, Orlando and ultimately landed in Ocala. Linda and John found the homes in Ocala, FL were just as nice, but typically had larger backyards and a significant lower cost than homes in other parts of the state. At the time, which was before the pandemic, a three bedroom home could be purchased under $200,000. John and Linda were on the hunt and found a ready to move in three bedroom, two bathroom home for $147,000. Keep reading to learn about the equity they have now.

John, a U.S. Marine, who never care about owning a home suddenly became a homeowner. The process took him about six weeks and that including working on his credit beforehand. That's what determination can do. They could have continued to rent, but fortunately for them, they decided to use John's VA loan benefit and become homeowners. The same property is now worth over $300,000.

Think about that for a moment. If an individual or couple rents a home and lives there for 10 years, they spent well over $100,000 in rent. In some cases, it could be $200,000 or $300,000 in rent. When you move, there is no equity for you. But, as homeowners, John and Linda now have a substantial amount of equity. If they needed, they could pull funds out of the home or if they decided to move, they could sell the home and take the proceeds.

There are various opportunities and options that can be reviewed for military veterans who take advantage of their VA loan benefit. To get an idea of what the average mortgage payment on a home in Ocala, FL could be, click here. To learn more, reach out to our team and we will help you with the next steps.