My father has always told me that I need to keep it simple. I tend to ramble when writing, so I’m going to take the high road and make this short and sweet for everybody reading.

If you haven’t refinanced yet, and the proposed loans will positively save you money within the first five years… Just do it.

If you’re “thinking” about it but haven’t even figured out whether it’s worth your while?         Just do it. Either it is, or it isn’t.

Truth be told, I’m keeping this message simple because I don’t have the time to go on and on like I’ve done in prior posts, about the countless reasons why you should refinance. I’ve been putting in 60 hour weeks just trying to ensure that my borrowers get their loan closed in November. Everyone I speak with already knows about the two deferred payments; everyone knows about escrow refunds, energy-efficient mortgages, and no-out of pocket costs. The VA Streamline is about as simple as it gets when it comes to home loans.

Simple requirements = tons of qualified applicants, right? These days, e-mailing applications and exchanging information via fax has made it easy for me to get these loans into underwriting in as little as 2-3 days in some cases.

However, for as simple as the VA loan is, and as great as these rates are, by sharp contrast these lenders are equally, if not more difficult than ever.

They sure were an easy-going group until recently. They were like that rich, drunk friend who acted recklessly, but seem to have cleaned up their act to some extent. But even after taking all that bailout money, that hasn’t kept them from being the profit hungry machines they are.

Profit-hungry lenders, unfortunately, are exactly who we have to deal with when we’re looking to deliver the best rates. Hence, selectivity has entered the equation. The more selective a lender is in choosing borrowers, the more profitable his loan portfolio will be. It’s nothing short of price discrimination, much like health insurance companies.  Minimum credit scores, valuation requirements (appraisals), tiered credit pricing, and exclusions for investment properties, manufactured properties, etc. have all become the standard qualifying procedures for many lenders. The domino effect only worsens the our odds of qualifying you with time.

Luckily, with the spectrum of lenders we work with, we can still find a home for just about anybody’s loan. But it’s getting tougher and tougher every day.

It seems that just about every month, I have interested borrowers who find out that the lender we were hoping to use has just disqualified them based upon new criteria.

And every month, I am able to qualify fewer of my valued clients, with fewer of these competitive lenders. The VA Streamline loan used to be an easy solution. It’s becoming a meritocracy.

So much of my time it seems, is spent trying to communicate the urgency to my borrowers that there is no time like the present to get this refinance done.

In fact, right now I’ve got some borrowers whose loans need to close ASAP. If they close even one week behind schedule, they will be disqualified under this lender’s new standards.

So like I said… I’m short on time, I’m keeping the message simple. Don’t wait. Your opportunity will not last forever. It doesn’t cost a thing to process your application and lock in a rate.

You’ve got nothing to lose. 30 minutes of your time is a small price to pay for all that the VA Streamline loan brings.

See, I’ve already spent too much time telling you this.