Special Treatment For The Military: How Your Service Is Rewarded When You Want To Buy A Home

There are a number of financial programs geared towards helping military personnel and military families. Of these, home loans, mortgages and lenders who cater to the military and to veterans are perhaps some of the most beneficial. Here are a few programs that will help you secure the finances from a mortgage lender to buy your first home when you are serving or have served in any branch of the armed forces.

Banks That Offer Special Terms

Some of the really big banks offer military and veterans loans on which they may have no monthly PMI (private mortgage insurance payments on top of the loan and homeowner's insurance), no downpayments and/or significantly lower interest rates than those of non-military mortgages. Additional programs may be offered through these same banks to help military families who have defaulted on their mortgages or are struggling to make their payments. There is more wiggle room for financial risk when a bank knows that at least one member of your family has served or is serving in the military, and that is part of the reason why they are willing to offer you these mortgage deals.

Navy Federal Credit Unions

Military branches often have their own credit unions. These credit unions give military families more flexibility and access to the pay which they receive for their service. Spouses left at home can access the account as equally as the spouse who is on deployment. These credit unions also give special interest rates and terms for military families based on the regularity of the military service payments via direct deposit and other military benefits. You can secure mortgage loans from these credit unions that have very generous and flexible terms for you and your family. (If you serve in any branch of the armed forces, you probably were informed of your payment options and they most likely included a military credit union.)

Private Lenders and Online Mortgage Loans

There are several online-only lenders and private lenders who provide mortgages and home loans for military personnel and veterans only. If you take the online, military-only approach to a mortgage, you may get the best mortgage deal around because online lenders do not have the overhead that brick and mortar lenders do. However, you should read all of the fine print of an online contract, just as you would with a paper contract, to make sure you are not missing small legal details that could be a big problem later.

Visit local banks and credit unions, like FCN Bank, to find which ones suit your lending needs.