Connecticut
Connecticut VA IRRRL: Attorney Closings and the Groton Streamline
A VA streamline in Connecticut means an attorney at the closing and fewer signatures than you expect. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Connecticut and cannot take your application.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Connecticut and cannot take a Connecticut application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
Connecticut does it differently
You will be sitting across from a lawyer
In most states a title company runs your refinance closing. Not here. Connecticut law, PA 19-88, requires a licensed attorney to conduct closings, and that includes refinances on 1-4 family homes. So your VA streamline in Connecticut comes with a closing attorney, every time. Budget for it and ask about it when you compare quotes.
Connecticut also funds wet, which means the money is there at the signing. And remote online notarization is not available for real estate closings in this state, so plan on being in the room.
The disclaimer
Why I am telling you this and not lending to you
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Connecticut. I cannot take your application, period. I wrote this so the submariners and Coast Guard folks in New London County know what a fair streamline looks like before a Connecticut-licensed lender starts talking. You are not getting a sales pitch from me, because I have nothing to sell you in this state. You are getting the questions I would ask if it were my house and my VA loan on the line.
The Groton crowd
Subs, cadets and the people who stay
Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton calls itself the submarine capital of the world, and the Coast Guard Academy sits across the river in New London. A lot of VA loans in this state trace back to one of those two gates. Plenty of others are in Hartford, New Haven or down in Fairfield County, where people landed after they got out.
If you got orders and kept your Groton house as a rental, good news. A streamline only requires you to certify that you lived there before. You do not have to move back. The one wrinkle is the in-person attorney closing. If you are now stationed far from Connecticut, ask the lender early how they handle signing, because a webcam is not an option here.
Rules that make a Connecticut IRRRL easier
Spouses, taxes and the quieter parts
Spouse does not sign
A non-titled spouse does not sign in Connecticut. Dower and curtesy were abolished in 1877, and the homestead here is a creditor exemption only. One fewer signature to chase.
No conveyance tax on a refi
Connecticut's conveyance tax is tied to deeds, so it does not apply to a refinance. There is no state tax on a refinance, only recording fees.
Strict foreclosure
Connecticut uses judicial foreclosure in the form of strict foreclosure. Not your problem if you are current, but now you know the term.
Attorney fee is real
Because a lawyer must close the loan, that cost goes into your total. It still has to be paid back through savings within 36 months.
The VA side
Run the streamline test before you call anyone
The VA rules are the same as everywhere. Your current loan must be a VA loan. You need at least 210 days from the first payment due date and six monthly payments made, whichever comes later. Total costs, attorney fee included, must be recouped through monthly savings within 36 months, and VA requires a net tangible benefit.
The funding fee is 0.5 percent of the loan and is waived if you receive VA disability compensation. VA usually does not require an appraisal or income verification, which makes the high-cost Connecticut market less of a factor, though a lender can add overlays. Take the numbers to a lender licensed in Connecticut and ask them to itemize the attorney charge. Then ask the question nobody likes: in what month do my savings cover every dollar I spent? If the answer is month 40, you have your answer. Walk away and wait for a better rate.
Connecticut VA IRRRL questions
Why does my Connecticut streamline need an attorney?
Connecticut law, PA 19-88, requires a licensed attorney to conduct real estate closings, including refinances of 1-4 family homes. That fee is part of your closing costs and has to be recovered through monthly savings within the 36-month recoup window VA requires.
Does my non-borrowing spouse have to sign the Groton refinance?
No. In Connecticut a spouse who is not on title does not sign. Dower and curtesy were abolished in 1877 and the state homestead is only a creditor exemption. Title vesting still controls, so if your spouse is on the deed, they sign.
Will I pay Connecticut conveyance tax on a VA IRRRL?
No. The conveyance tax is triggered by deeds, and a refinance does not transfer the deed. Connecticut charges no state tax on a refinance, so you will see only recording fees on the government side.
Can I close my Connecticut IRRRL by video?
No. Remote online notarization is not available for real estate closings in Connecticut. Plan to sign in person with the closing attorney. The good news is wet funding means the money is there at signing.
Can Home Loans Inc refinance my Connecticut VA loan?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Connecticut and cannot take the application. This page is education, so you can compare Connecticut-licensed lenders with a clear picture of the rules.