Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter
Article By: Jim Porter – May 29, 2026
The VA loan program has been around since 1944 and has been especially valuable for homebuyers and Realtors near Travis Air Force Base.
I recently acknowledged some great service being provided by the California Housing Finance Agency and now I want to commend the VA on updating the VA home loan guidelines over the past 35 years, which have given veterans and active-duty members the ability to compete in this Northern California market.
Travis AFB offers a different housing market than Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I can buy a brand-new home near Fort Bragg for less than $300,000 or drive 33 miles to the Village of Pinehurst and buy 535 Donald Ross Drive for $820,000. This is a 3,334-square-foot home on about an acre just minutes from the world-famous Pinehurst Golf resort.
Here are some of the mortgage loan changes made over the past 35 years that have helped veterans.
Prior to 1993: Veterans were prohibited from paying discount points.
Prior to 1993: The VA would periodically set the 30-year fixed rate, and the fluctuating discount points for the VA set rate would have to be paid by the seller, which would make a VA offer less attractive than a conventional or FHA offer. If the VA set rate was 6.5% and the discount points for that rate was 2.5% that week, the seller would have to agree to pay the 2.5 points when the offer was accepted plus the escrow fee, termite report and repairs.
After 1996, a veteran could negotiate the rate and the cost with the lender and choose to buy down the rate with discount points or choose to go at a higher rate with no points.
The VA has always required a termite report and up until just a few years ago the veteran could not pay for the termite report or any of the required repairs from the termite report.
On June 15, 2022, the VA updated its policy to allow veterans to pay for termite-related repairs. Most of the time, the buyer pays for the inspections, and the seller covers the repairs, but when there are five offers on a house, a veteran may want to write the offer taking the property as-is to compete with the other offers. A termite report is still required but the dry rot and other section one items can be paid for by the buyer.
The VA has taken this one step further to help veterans compete for homes as they now, on occasion, will accept the new NPMA-33 report in lieu of a full termite report and clearance. This is a report from a licensed pest inspector that states there is no active infestation of any wood destroying insects, rodents or beavers. This allows the mortgage lender to close escrow without a section-one clearance. This also allows a veteran to buy a house with a couple thousand dollars worth of dry rot under the sink in cases where the seller is not willing to make the repair.
There are other old rules that have been gone for a while.
Back in the day, the veteran was not allowed to pay the escrow fee, and further back in the day the veteran could not pay more than the appraised value, which now is allowed if the buyer signs an acknowledgement.
Discrimination still exists in some higher-end markets because of ignorance and laziness. Some Realtors believe VA appraisers are stricter and more conservative than others, which is untrue, and some Realtors believe VA loan underwriting takes longer and is more picky than conventional. This could not be more false.
Sadly, occasionally the VA offer comes in second or third place among multiple offers when the VA buyer is the highest bid because of fear and ignorance.
Now don’t get me wrong folks, some Realtors and sellers will reject a VA offer because there are tons of critters eating the wood and the seller is unable or unwilling to kill the bugs, but I cannot emphasize enough to sellers and Realtors, a VA offer is just as safe and likely to close on time as any other type of buyer other than an all-cash buyer.
The VA underwriting guidelines are substantially easier to meet than FHA or conventional and, holy cow Batwoman!, VA underwriting is dramatically more liberal and common sense than jumbo loans.
And finally, unlike 10 years ago, a veteran can now buy a $1.5 million home with zero down payment and again, jumbo conventional loans are hard to get and VA loans offer better rates.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager and senior loan adviser of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
