Welcome Home Vets: Buying and Selling in Utah as a Veteran

We love our veterans and want to do whatever we can to say thank you for your service. That is why we run the Welcome Home Vets program.

Call or text 801-999-8005, or use the form at the bottom of this page and we will walk you through what it covers.

Below is the part that costs people the most money when they do not know it, whether or not they ever work with us.

The VA loan is the strongest financing in the country, and it is under-used

If you are eligible, the VA loan is usually the best mortgage available to you. Three things set it apart:

• No down payment on most purchases. Not a low down payment. None. That is the single biggest barrier to buying, removed.
• No monthly mortgage insurance. A conventional buyer under 20 percent down pays PMI every month and a VA buyer does not, which changes what the same house costs you each month.
• A funding fee instead, paid once, which can be rolled into the loan. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability are generally exempt from it entirely.

Confirm your own eligibility and current fee with a lender, since the numbers change and your situation is specific. Our Utah mortgage lenders page has the people we send clients to, and loans and finance covers how the loan types compare.

Where veterans get tripped up in Utah

The listing agent may not understand VA. On a competitive offer, some agents still assume a VA loan is slower or harder. It is neither, but you need someone who can say so credibly to the other side. That is a negotiating problem, not a lending problem.

A PCS gives you a fixed clock. If you are moving to or from Hill Air Force Base, your dates are set by orders, not by the market. That changes strategy: what you list at, whether you buy before you sell, and how much timing flexibility you write into the contract.

The appraisal has extra requirements. VA appraisals include minimum property condition standards. On an older home, knowing that before you write saves a renegotiation later.

Selling as a veteran

If you are selling, the questions are the same ones every Utah seller faces: what the house is actually worth right now, what to fix and what to leave, and how to price the first ten days. Start with what your home is worth or read our 163-step selling process to see how we run a listing.

Talk to us

Call or text 801-999-8005, or fill out the form below. We will tell you what the Welcome Home Vets program covers for your situation and what the VA loan looks like for you right now.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Confirm your eligibility and any fees with a lender or the VA.