Missouri
Missouri VA IRRRL: Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman, and a One Percent Origination Cap
Missouri has one of the strictest origination caps in the country, which is good news for a cost-sensitive streamline. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Missouri, so here is what to look for in a local offer.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Missouri and cannot take a Missouri application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
The two big posts
Engineers in the Ozarks, bombers at Knob Noster
Missouri has two anchor installations. Fort Leonard Wood near Waynesville hosts the Army Engineer, Military Police and CBRN schools. Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster is home to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber wing. A lot of people pass through both, and a lot of them buy with VA loans.
Two very different missions, same loan program underneath. A drill sergeant at Leonard Wood and a B-2 crew chief at Whiteman get the exact same IRRRL rules. Fort Leonard Wood sits in the rural Ozarks, where the sales history above moderate price points is very thin. That is a headache on a purchase. On a streamline, VA usually does not require an appraisal, so the headache mostly goes away. A lender might still add one as an overlay. Ask before you lock.
And if you got orders and kept the house as a rental, you are not out of luck. An IRRRL only asks you to certify that you lived there before.
Missouri protects your wallet
One percent, and not a penny more in origination
Missouri caps origination at one percent on first mortgages. That is one of the strictest such limits anywhere. On an IRRRL, where every dollar of cost has to be recovered through monthly savings within 36 months, a hard cap on origination is a gift.
Prepayment penalties are limited too. Any penalty is capped and falls away after five years, and it is generally not charged when you refinance with a different lender. Add the fact that Missouri has no mortgage recording tax, just flat recording fees, and the cost side of a Missouri streamline is usually lean.
Closings run through a title or escrow company, and no attorney is required. Missouri is wet-funding, so money generally moves at signing, subject to the federal right-to-cancel window on a primary residence. Foreclosure is non-judicial.
Marital rights
Why your spouse is probably at the table
In Missouri, inchoate marital rights can attach to the home. In plain English: your spouse may have a legal interest even when they are not on the loan or the title. In practice, a non-borrowing spouse signs the deed of trust or a marital-rights waiver. Expect it, and schedule around it.
This trips up military couples more than anyone. One spouse is at Whiteman on a flying schedule, the other is working a civilian job across the county, and the signing gets set for a day only one of them can make. Pick the date together, before the lender picks it for you.
Around the state
KC to STL, with stops in between
Kansas City, Missouri side
A strong market with good comps.
St. Louis metro
A large market with a wide range of comps.
Springfield and Columbia
Springfield is growing and affordable. Columbia is a university town and moderate.
Waynesville
The small military town outside Fort Leonard Wood, with thin comps.
Here is the VA rule set, which does not care which city you are in. Your existing loan must be VA. You need at least 210 days from the first payment due date and at least six monthly payments made, whichever is later. The new loan must show a net tangible benefit. The funding fee is 0.5 percent, and zero for anyone receiving VA disability compensation. VA usually does not verify income on an IRRRL, though lenders can add that requirement.
The license question
I cannot be your Missouri lender
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Missouri and cannot take a Missouri application. Use this page to hold a Missouri-licensed lender to the one percent origination cap and the 36-month payback. If their numbers do not fit, keep shopping. Two or three quotes side by side will tell you more than any website, mine included.
Missouri VA IRRRL questions
Is there a limit on origination fees for a Missouri VA refinance?
Yes. Missouri caps origination at one percent on first mortgages, one of the strictest such limits in the country. That helps a streamline pass VA's rule that closing costs be recovered through monthly savings within 36 months. Compare the origination line on every estimate.
What is a marital-rights waiver in Missouri?
Inchoate marital rights can attach to a Missouri home, giving a spouse an interest even if they are not on title. In practice, a non-borrowing spouse signs the deed of trust or a marital-rights waiver at closing. Plan for your spouse to be available.
Will I owe a prepayment penalty if I streamline my Missouri VA loan?
Probably not. In Missouri any prepayment penalty is capped, falls away after five years, and is generally not charged when you refinance with a different lender. Check your current note, and ask for a payoff statement to confirm there is no penalty included.
Can Home Loans Inc do my IRRRL near Whiteman AFB?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Missouri and cannot take a Missouri application. This page is education. Get quotes from Missouri-licensed lenders and compare origination, the funding fee and the month your savings pay back the costs.