To protect borrowers with VA-guaranteed mortgages against churning by less-than-scrupulous lenders, the Department of Veterans Affairs has taken steps to make it more difficult to refinance loans that are all but brand new.

Under an interim rule that takes effect today (Feb. 15), loans used to remove equity from the underlying property cannot exceed 100 percent of the reasonable value of the underlying property. Also, while funding fees can be rolled into the amount being financed, any part of the charge that causes the loan amount to exceed 100 percent of value must be paid in cash.

These two new requirements will go a long way toward stopping lenders who try to convince veterans and current servicemen and women to turn in their VA loans shortly after they take them out in favor of higher-balance mortgages that are loaded with extra fees and charges.

The poachers offer a lower interest rate, but borrowers have to pay closing costs all over again, so there is little or no savings. And in some cases, the new loan is more costly than the old one, even at the lower rate.

Now, the VA says the new loan must provide a “net tangible benefit” to the borrower which can be satisfied in one of several ways. For example, it can have a shorter term, lower rate or lower payment. Or it can have a balance of 90 percent or less of value, eliminate mortgage insurance, or exchange an adjustable rate mortgage for one that has a fixed rate.

For some loans, all fees and charges to the borrower must be recouped within 36 months. Also, the rate on a fixed-to-fixed refi must be at least a half a percentage point lower; on an fixed-to-ARM refi, it must be at least 2 points lower.

A sign of the times: A Manhattan construction company is believed to be the first to post a “Men and Women at Work” sign at a building site.

As part of Plaza Construction’s effort to encourage women to enter the field, it is posting the gender-neutral sign at the entrance to all of its jobs in and around New York as well as Washington, D.C., Tampa and Miami.

Women account for 9 percent of the construction workforce nationally, but they account for a fourth of Plaza’s crews.

Most wannabe buyers are scared off by higher interest rates. But the more important factor in deciding whether to buy now or wait is what your monthly mortgage payment will be.

The typical house payment stands as good proxy for affordability because it shows how much a borrower would have to qualify for to obtain financing to buy the median priced home. It’s not exact because it only covers principal and interest. It does not include annual property tax and homeowners insurance payments, a portion of which lenders collect each month and pay out when those bills become due. But it is close enough.

Unfortunately, according to analysts at CoreLogic, the typical P&I payment rose 16.4 percent over the 12-month period that ended last September, whereas mortgage rates were up by less than 6 percent. The reason, of course, is that the median house price is up -- by 5.6 percent to $221,697 over the same period.

And it could get worse. CoreLogic research analyst Andrew LePage says the consensus forecast is for mortgage rates to bump up by 0.5 percent by this coming September. Couple that with a 2.7 percent increase in the median house price, and the typical house payment will rise from $912 in September 2018 to $994 in the same month this year.

That’s an 8.9 percent year-over-year jump on top of the 16 percent leap recorded in the previous 12-month period.

There’s no doubt that households with children have different needs from those sans kids when it comes to purchasing houses.

For example, kidless buyers could hardly give a hoot about schools. But for half of all those with children under the age of 18, the quality of the school district is a paramount consideration, according to the latest research from the National Association of Realtors. Forty-five percent say convenience to schools is an important factor.

Buyers with kids also purchase larger houses -- 2,100 square feet on average vs. 1,750 -- with four bedrooms as opposed to three for those without kidlets.

Buyers with and without children are on the same page when it comes to finding the right property. In both situations, 54 percent said it was the most difficult step in the process. But 27 percent of those with kids said child care expenses forced them to delay their purchase. And many made compromises when they did buy because of child care costs.

They compromised on the size of the house, distance from their workplaces and the condition and style of the house they bought. But only 10 percent caved on school quality and just 5 percent bought farther away from school than they originally wanted to be.

Fraud isn’t exactly rampant in the mortgage field. But it does happen, perhaps more frequently than you’d think.

Sometimes, it’s the would-be borrower who commits the crime. Some lie on their applications about how much they earn, how long they’ve been on their current job, or the extent of their indebtedness. Others tell their lenders they plan to live in the house when they really don’t, while still others fail to disclose the true source of their down payments or side deals with someone who’s part of the transaction.

But sometimes it’s the loan applicant who’s hoodwinked. And they can be had in any number of ways.

One ruse that should be on every homebuyer and seller’s radar screen is what’s known in the trade as a “business email compromise.” It starts when a buyer receives an email with “new instructions” to wire the money he or she will be using to close the transaction at settlement to an unfamiliar address “because our servers are down.” But if the buyer complies, the money is usually gone forever.

This scam is far more lucrative than robbing a bank. Whereas bank robbers get away with just $1,400 on average per heist, according to Bruce Phillips, senior vice president and information security officer at WFG National Title insurance in Portland, Oregon, the average lost to swindlers in the wire scam is $140,000. One poor soul lost $1.2 million, never to be seen again.

The miscreants are successful because people “rely on emails way too much,” Phillips offers. “If you are in the process and it sounds reasonable, most people are going to do as requested. We are almost conditioned to accept an email from someone we’ve never seen before, send our money off and expect their promises to be kept.”

There are other scams, too. Like emails that advise you that your closing statement is attached. Ditto for a buyer’s so-called purchase contract addendum. Then there are those noxious emails informing you that your current credit score is available.

If you are not actively engaged in buying a house, you’d probably ignore these messages. The same goes for emails from banks with which you have no accounts.

But if you are somewhere in the buying process, phishing expeditions like these are likely to draw more than passing attention. Senders of these and other electronic missives are hoping that they’ll latch onto an unwitting homebuyer or seller who will open the attachments. Don’t!

If you do, your money or your identity is likely to be snatched in an instant, and then you’ll have hell to pay -- not to mention hundreds or even thousands of dollars -- just to get it back and clean up the financial mess these reprobates may cause.

To determine if an email is legit, check the sender’s address. If you get something from Experian, for example, the message will come from experian.com, not atozflavorful.com. If it is ostensibly from your bank, the bank’s name will be in the address after the at sign.

“Anybody can send an email with a company logo,” warns Steve Octaviano, chief technology officer at Blue Sage, an Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, vendor that sells a cloud-based digital lending platform. “You have to make sure it actually comes from the lender.”

Understand that you are always a target, so never trust an email, adds Phillips, the title company executive. “Always pick up the phone, call what you know is a good number for people you have been dealing with and validate the email. In every case I’ve looked at, that simple step would have stopped the scam in its tracks.”

When corresponding via email, many legitimate lenders, title companies and other service providers will invite you into their portals. That is, when you respond, they will answer back with an email of their own asking the sender to reply back with his or her password and other identifying information. If the sender can’t do that, access is denied and fraud artists are blocked.

Nowadays, 80 percent of the scams target buyers and sellers as opposed to businesses because “people don’t buy and sell houses that often and the likelihood of recovery is extremely low,” the title company executive says.

There’s no dollar figure associated with the scheme, but it is part of the $1.2-$1.3 billion that is estimated by the FBI to have been lost by consumers to wire fraud last year alone. That’s almost triple the amount lost in 2016. And since estimates are that only 14 percent of all business email compromise scams are reported to the authorities, losses are probably much greater.

Another precaution most consumers fail to take is to use an entirely new and totally different password for their real estate transactions, one that’s not easily guessable.

And don’t use 123456 or the word “password” as your password; they are the top two passwords currently in use.

Finally, two more steps to protect yourself: First, look for the lock icon at the bottom of the site you are trying to access. It means all data is encrypted so no one else can get at it without your passcode. And second, a legit email will contain a disclaimer warning you not to send money without first validating the request. So hold on to your wallet.

Dogs may be man’s best friend. But when it comes to moving from one residence to another, you have to be your dog’s best buddy -- and your own.

In other words, you should consider Fido’s needs just as you consider yours and those of your children’s. After all, he or she is part of the family. And to paraphrase an old saw, if your dog ain’t happy, ain’t nobody gonna be happy.

“Having a pet is a responsibility similar to having children,” Barbara Todaro of Franklin, Massachusetts, RE/MAX Executive Realty posted the other day on ActiveRain, the popular real estate community and chat room. “They all have needs.”

Jeff Dowler of Solutions Real Estate in Carlsbad, California, agrees: “Doing your (doggie) due diligence is essential so you don’t make a big mistake.”

One important factor many people fail to consider, especially when they are buying an existing home as opposed to new construction, is whether the previous owners had a dog of their own. If they did, your dog will probably be marking their own territory as soon as you move in.

According to the Best Friends Animal Society, claiming the house as their own is most common among dogs that are not spayed or neutered. But any dog has the potential to mark territory. And a sniff test isn’t enough of an assurance that this won’t happen, says Rebecca Gaujot of Vision Quest Realty in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

“Your dog’s sense of smell is much stronger than yours,” says Gaujot, who started the ActiveRain conversation on canine issues. Her advice: “If possible, avoid homes where the previous owners had dogs.”

You’ll not only want a dog-friendly house, you’ll also want a dog-friendly community where animals are cherished, not downgraded or even denigrated.

For starters, realize that many places, but especially condominium properties, have restrictions on dogs and other pets. Some are severe, such as weight and breed. Some limit the number of pets. And some may even ban them entirely.

If you don’t know the rules going in, you may have to get rid of your pets, or pick up and move somewhere else. “When a family has pets, it’s best to think about their needs, too, before the move, than to find out the hard way that there may be issues,” says agent Patricia Feager of DFW Fine Properties in Southlake, Texas.

If your dog requires room to run, consider a community with large lots and houses with plenty of backyard. Or a spot that has a dog park or recreation area not too far from the house you are planning to buy.

But again, make sure you know the rules, especially if you plan to erect a fence so your dog can enjoy your yard without supervision. Some communities set down requirements for the type of fence you can put up, and some ban them entirely.

If you plan to walk your dog daily, you might want to look at places that have sidewalks. They are easier to navigate for humans, especially older folk. Agent Matthew Klinowski of Downing-Frye in Naples, Florida, ran into that problem himself at his previous house. There were no sidewalks, but the Klinowski clan didn’t realize how important they were until after they moved in. “I prefer to walk our dogs on sidewalks whenever possible,” the Florida agent says.

Another thing to consider: Many places require owners to pick up after their pooches. Of course, this is the right thing to do wherever you live, but many communities mandate it. And if the property doesn’t, the local government might.

And one more thing: Whereas a neighborhood where people are out walking their dogs morning and night can be an indication that it is a good place for a social pup to make friends, a place where tethered but otherwise unattended dogs are barking continuously at people passing by “might not be the most pleasant place for walks,” Gaujot offers.

Back inside the house itself, Gaujot suggests looking for open floor plans so you and the kids can enjoy play sessions with Fido. If the house has a stairway, say, to a basement rec room or to the upstairs sleeping area, make sure the steps are carpeted so your dog -- and kids -- won’t slip, slide away.

If your pooch is getting up in age, you might want to consider houses that have just a few steps -- or none at all. As my own 40-pound pal moved up in years, I had to carry him with me every time I went to my basement office. Otherwise, he’d sit at the top of the steps and whimper until I went back and fetched him.