Massachusetts
Massachusetts VA IRRRL: Lawyers, Long Rescission and a Lower Payment
Massachusetts puts an attorney at every closing and gives borrowers some of the strongest rescission rights around. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Massachusetts, so here is the lay of the land for your search.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Massachusetts and cannot take a Massachusetts application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
Rule one in the Bay State
An attorney runs the closing. Every time.
In Massachusetts, a real estate closing is conducted by an attorney, refinances included. That is the law, not a sales upgrade. So when a lender quotes you an IRRRL, the closing attorney is part of the package. Ask who it is and what their fee is, because that fee counts toward your recoupment math.
VA wants every dollar of cost paid back through your monthly savings within 36 months. In a high-cost state, that test gets real. Make the lender show you the month the savings catch up. If they cannot point to it, they have not done the work.
Funding is wet, so money generally moves at signing. On your primary residence the federal three-day right-to-cancel window applies first. Remote online notarization is available here too, with attorney involvement.
Four years, not three days
The rescission rule that keeps lenders honest
Federal law gives you three days to cancel a refinance on your primary residence. Massachusetts goes further. If the disclosures were defective, you can have up to four years to rescind. That is a big stick, and it is a reason careful Massachusetts lenders are careful.
There is a second consumer rule worth knowing. Massachusetts requires pre-closing housing counseling on high-cost loans, and a loan made without required counseling can be void. Whether an offer is high-cost depends on its terms, so ask the lender directly whether yours triggers the counseling rule. A plain VA streamline should be a clean, boring loan. Boring is the goal.
Who serves here
Hanscom to the Cape
Hanscom AFB
Bedford, home of the Electronic Systems Center, in the expensive Boston metro.
Natick Soldier Systems Center
Natick, focused on Army research, also inside the Boston market.
Westover ARB
Chicopee, an Air Force Reserve C-5M wing, out where Springfield and Western Massachusetts run more affordable.
Joint Base Cape Cod
Otis ANGB in Bourne, with Air National Guard and Coast Guard units, in a seasonal Cape Cod and Plymouth market.
Worcester and Central Massachusetts are growing and moderate. On a purchase, high prices and thin comps in some corners make life hard. On a streamline, VA usually does not require an appraisal, so the value question mostly drops away. Some lenders add one anyway. Ask.
The VA rules
Does your loan make the cut?
- Your current mortgage has to be a VA loan.
- At least 210 days must pass from the first payment due date, and at least six monthly payments must be made. The later of the two wins.
- The new loan needs a net tangible benefit to you.
- Funding fee: 0.5 percent, or zero if you receive VA disability compensation.
- Income verification is usually not required by VA, though lenders may add it.
- You only certify prior occupancy, so a Hanscom family that moved on can still streamline the old house.
Some Massachusetts specifics to round it out. A non-titled spouse generally does not sign the refinance. A declared homestead attaches automatically and does not need a non-owner signature or a re-filing when you refinance. There is no mortgage recording tax, only flat recording fees. Foreclosure is non-judicial by power of sale.
Straight talk
Where I fit, which is nowhere
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Massachusetts, so I cannot take your application. Use this page to ask better questions of a Massachusetts-licensed lender and their closing attorney. Then pick the offer with the cleanest fees and the earliest payback.
A good shortlist question: what is the attorney fee, what is the recording cost, and what is your origination charge? Three line items. Add them up, divide by the monthly savings, and you have the number of months to break even. Under 36 or bust.
Massachusetts VA IRRRL questions
Why is there an attorney at my Massachusetts IRRRL closing?
Massachusetts requires an attorney to conduct real estate closings, including refinances. Their fee is part of your closing costs, which VA requires you to recover through monthly savings within 36 months. Ask the lender for the attorney fee up front so you can check the payback math.
What is the four-year rescission right in Massachusetts?
Beyond the federal three-day right to cancel, Massachusetts allows up to a four-year right to rescind when the loan disclosures were defective. It is a strong consumer protection. It is also a good reason to read your disclosures and ask questions before you sign.
Do I have to re-file my homestead declaration after a Massachusetts refinance?
No. In Massachusetts a declared homestead attaches automatically and does not require a re-filing on a refinance. It also does not require a non-owner signature, so a spouse who is not on title generally does not sign the refinance.
Can Home Loans Inc refinance my house near Hanscom or Westover?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Massachusetts and cannot take a Massachusetts application. This page is education. Compare offers from Massachusetts-licensed lenders, and ask each one whether their loan triggers the high-cost counseling rule.