Article: VA fee can be cut with big down payment

It's hard to think of a greater bargain than the no-down-payment VA mortage, but the Veterans Administration has come up with one.

It's a VA mortgage with a down payment.

The VA charges a 1.25 percent funding fee for its mortgages. That money goes into a revolving fund that guarantees VA loans and pays them off when a mortgagee defaults.

In a new wrinkle this year, the 1.25 percent fee drops to 0.75 percent if you make a 5 percent down payment, and to 0.5 percent if you can make a 10 percent down payment, said James Kimble, chief of loan processing for the VA in Illinois.

If you're getting a $100,000 mortgage, you'd save $500 with a 5 percent down payment, and $750 with a 10 ...

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