Service earned you this one. VA financing often calls for no down payment and carries no monthly mortgage insurance. I handle the VA paperwork so using the benefit stays simple.
VA lending runs on its own rulebook: the funding fee, residual income, the appraisal and its minimum property requirements. Not every lender knows it well. I place VA files with lenders that underwrite them daily, and I keep veterans, active duty, Guard and Reserve members, and eligible surviving spouses posted at every step.
- Must meet VA service eligibility requirements — obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to confirm
- Property must be the borrower's primary residence
- VA funding fee applies in most cases (can be financed into the loan); fee may be waived for service-connected disabled veterans
- No minimum credit score set by the VA — lender overlays typically apply (most lenders require 580–620 minimum)
- Sufficient residual income required per VA guidelines
- Property must meet VA Minimum Property Requirements (MPR)
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility comes from your service record: length of service, when you served, and how you were discharged. Guard and Reserve members qualify after a set period, and some surviving spouses qualify too. The VA confirms it on a Certificate of Eligibility, which I can usually pull for you.
The benefit is not one and done. Once a VA loan is paid off and the property sold, you can apply to have entitlement restored and use it again. In some cases two VA loans can run at once.
With full entitlement there is no VA cap on the loan amount; the lender decides how much you can borrow. With partial entitlement, county limits apply and a down payment may be required.