Maine
Maine VA IRRRL: A Streamline Refinance Field Guide
Maine has a small military footprint and plenty of veterans already holding VA loans. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maine, so treat this as a field guide, not a sales pitch.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maine and cannot take a Maine application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
A typical Maine call
The shipyard veteran who wants a smaller payment
Picture this one. A veteran works at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, the submarine maintenance yard that sits on the Maine side of the New Hampshire line. A while back they bought in York County with a VA loan. Rates moved in their favor. They want a lower payment. No cash out, no remodel fund, no drama.
That is exactly the job the IRRRL was built for. It swaps one VA loan for a cheaper VA loan with as little paperwork as the system allows. VA usually does not want an appraisal or income documentation, though a lender may add either as an overlay. The funding fee is 0.5 percent, and if you receive VA disability compensation you pay none of it.
Here is the catch for that veteran, and for you: Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maine. I cannot take this loan. So I will tell you what to watch for and let a Maine-licensed lender do the work.
Maine closings
Attorneys are customary, and you can bring your own
Maine does not legally require an attorney at a refinance closing, but attorneys handle them as a matter of custom. You also have a statutory right to use your own attorney. If you have one you trust, use them.
Money moves fast. Maine is a wet-funding state, so funds are generally available at signing, subject to the federal right-to-cancel window on a primary residence. Remote online notarization is generally available as well, which is useful if you have already moved on to the next assignment.
On cost, Maine is friendly. There is no mortgage recording tax, only flat recording fees. That keeps the total low, and a low total is what gets you through VA's rule that costs be recovered by your monthly savings within 36 months.
Who signs
Title decides, not the marriage license
Maine abolished dower and curtesy. So a spouse who is not on title generally does not need to sign the refinance, unless a divorce-related claim has been recorded against the property. Title vesting controls who signs. Look at your deed and you will usually have your answer.
Two more Maine notes. Foreclosure here is judicial. And prepayment penalties on most current first-lien refinances are limited mainly by federal rules, so your existing VA loan is unlikely to punish you for paying it off early.
Around the state
Portland, Bangor, and a lot of quiet road
Southern Maine and the Portland metro carry the strongest market. Bangor runs moderate and affordable. Kittery and the rest of York County lean on the shipyard. Augusta is the capital, a small market. North and inland, it gets very rural fast.
Naval Air Station Brunswick closed in 2011 and has been redeveloped, but a lot of the people who served there still own homes in the region. If you bought with VA financing, you can streamline it even if you have since moved. The IRRRL only asks you to certify that you lived in the house before.
Rural matters less here than on a purchase. With no appraisal usually required, the thin sales history up north rarely blocks a streamline. What can block it is seasoning: you need at least 210 days from your first payment due date and at least six monthly payments made, whichever is later. Plus a genuine net tangible benefit.
- Ask the lender for the payback month in writing.
- Ask whether they add an appraisal or income overlay.
- Ask whether your own attorney can handle the closing.
- Ask whether the funding fee is waived on your disability compensation.
Get those answers from two or three Maine-licensed lenders and line them up. The cheapest rate is not always the best streamline. The fastest honest payback usually is.
Maine VA IRRRL questions
Is an attorney required for a Maine VA streamline closing?
Maine does not mandate an attorney closing, but attorneys are customary and you have a statutory right to use your own. Funding is wet, so money is generally available at signing, subject to the federal right-to-cancel window when the property is your primary residence.
Does my spouse sign the Maine refinance if only I am on title?
Generally not. Maine abolished dower and curtesy, so title vesting controls who signs. A non-titled spouse usually stays off the documents unless a divorce-related claim has been recorded against the home. Confirm with your Maine lender before the closing date.
I was stationed at NAS Brunswick before it closed. Can I still streamline that house?
If the house has a VA loan, likely yes. The IRRRL only requires you to certify that you lived there before, not now. You still need at least 210 days and six payments of seasoning, plus a net tangible benefit and payback of costs within 36 months.
Will Home Loans Inc refinance my home in Kittery?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maine and cannot take a Maine application, including homes near Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Use this page to learn the rules, then get quotes from Maine-licensed lenders and compare the payback month on each one.