Delaware
Delaware VA IRRRL: Dover AFB Streamline Basics
How a VA streamline refinance works in Delaware, from the required closing attorney to who has to sign. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Delaware and cannot take your application.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Delaware and cannot take a Delaware application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
One base, one big VA market
Dover AFB and the streamline
Delaware is a small state with one heavy hitter. Dover AFB runs C-5M and C-17 airlift and is the largest aerial port on the East Coast. That base puts a lot of VA loans in central Delaware, and when rates drop, those homeowners start getting streamline calls.
Before I go further: Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Delaware. I cannot take your application there. Everything below is so you can judge a Delaware-licensed lender on facts.
The Delaware closing table
An attorney runs it, and the money is there
The Delaware Supreme Court treats conducting a closing as the practice of law, so an attorney is required at your refinance. That is not optional and not a lender upsell. It is a cost you should see itemized.
Delaware funds wet, so the money is on hand at signing. Remote online notarization is restricted to attorney-notaries, which in practice means your options for signing remotely depend on the closing attorney. Ask early if you are signing from a deployment or a new duty station. A power of attorney might come up in that case. Do not guess at the wording. Let the closing attorney and the lender tell you exactly what they will accept, well before the appointment.
Who signs and what you pay
Title, spouses and the transfer tax that skips you
Spouse on title? Then yes.
In Delaware the spouse signs only if they are on title. Practice can vary by underwriter, and Delaware has no dower. Your attorney will confirm. If you are not sure whether your spouse is on title, pull your recorded deed now.
Transfer tax does not apply
Delaware's realty transfer tax is deed-based, so a refinance does not trigger it. There is no mortgage tax either. Recording fees still apply.
Judicial foreclosure
Delaware forecloses through the courts using scire facias. Stay current and it is a vocabulary word, not a threat.
Wilmington, Dover and the beaches
Your address changes the price tag, not the rules
Wilmington and New Castle County price like the Philadelphia suburbs. Dover and central Delaware are moderate. Sussex County and the beaches run on a seasonal, resort-tinged market. For a builder those differences are everything. For a streamline, not so much, because VA usually skips the appraisal and usually does not verify income. Lenders can add overlays, so ask what yours requires. That is the beauty of a streamline. The same rules apply in Rehoboth as in Newark, and the paperwork stack is short wherever you live.
And if Dover was your last assignment and you rent the house out now, you can still streamline. VA only asks you to certify prior occupancy.
The VA checklist
Four numbers to have before you pick a lender
- Seasoning: 210 days from your first payment due date and at least six payments made, whichever is later.
- Recoup: total costs, including the attorney fee, back in your pocket through lower payments within 36 months.
- Funding fee: 0.5 percent, or zero if you receive VA disability compensation.
- Benefit: VA requires a net tangible benefit. A refinance that just shuffles numbers does not qualify.
Delaware is small enough that word gets around, and the lenders who work Dover regularly should know these rules cold. Hand that list to a lender licensed in Delaware and see who answers straight. If one of them cannot tell you the recoup month, or acts like the attorney fee is a surprise, move on to the next one. An IRRRL is not complicated, and nobody should make it feel that way.
Delaware VA IRRRL questions
Why is there an attorney fee on my Dover streamline?
The Delaware Supreme Court treats conducting a closing as the practice of law, so a Delaware refinance has to be closed by an attorney. That fee counts toward your total costs, which must be recouped through monthly savings within 36 months under VA rules.
Does Delaware's realty transfer tax apply to a VA IRRRL?
No. The realty transfer tax is deed-based, and a refinance does not transfer the deed. Delaware also has no mortgage tax on a refinance, so the government charges are limited to recording fees.
My spouse is not on the deed in Kent County. Do they sign?
Generally no. In Delaware a spouse signs only if they are on title, and the state has no dower. Practice can vary by underwriter, so confirm with the closing attorney before the appointment.
Can I sign my Delaware refinance remotely while deployed?
Possibly, but options are limited. Delaware restricts remote online notarization to attorney-notaries, so it depends on whether your closing attorney offers it. Ask at the start, not the week of closing.
Does Home Loans Inc lend on Delaware IRRRLs?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Delaware and cannot take your application. This page is educational, so you can compare lenders who hold a Delaware license and judge their quotes against the seasoning, recoup and funding fee rules covered above.