Ask June > , , > VA loan a no-go in Korea

VA loan a no-go in Korea

December 20, 2012 • J.J. Montanaro

Q: Hi, I have ques­tion about VA loan. My wife is going to get sta­tioned in South Korea. She’ll be there for 3 years. We are plan­ning to build our own house in Korea. Can she get VA loan for that?

–Jiwoo, U.S. Army

A: While I’m a big fan of VA loans, they are not avail­able for a home in South Korea. In fact, the pro­gram is avail­able only for pur­chases in the United States and its ter­ri­to­ries and pos­ses­sions. So, while you might be able to use a VA loan for a home in the North­ern Mar­i­ana Islands, Guam, or Puerto Rico, how­ever, South Korea will not be an option.

If you still decide to go in that direc­tion ensure that you under­stand the local laws regard­ing land own­er­ship, the array of unique costs, avail­able financ­ing arrange­ments and chal­lenges asso­ci­ated with such an under­tak­ing. This is prob­a­bly the type of deci­sion where you need to put together a brain trust of advi­sors famil­iar with the lay of the land. Good luck.

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