VA home loans for the people who earned them

Who is eligible

VA loans are for eligible veterans, active-duty service members, members of the National Guard and Reserve with qualifying service, and some surviving spouses. Eligibility comes from your service record, not your income or credit, and it is confirmed by a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA. I can usually pull the certificate for you in a few minutes with your DD-214 or a statement of service.

Red River Army Depot is just down the road, and a lot of families around Texarkana have a VA benefit they have never used. If you are not sure whether you qualify, ask. It takes one phone call to find out.

How the VA loan works

The VA does not lend the money. It guarantees part of the loan so the lender can offer terms it could not offer otherwise. Most eligible borrowers can buy with no down payment at all, and there is no monthly mortgage insurance, which is a real savings compared with FHA or a low-down conventional loan.

There is a one-time VA funding fee, a percentage of the loan that can be rolled into the balance. The fee is higher for a first use with no down payment and lower if you put money down. Veterans receiving VA disability compensation and certain surviving spouses are exempt from it entirely, and I check that early because it changes the math.

The VA does not set a minimum credit score. Each lender sets its own, which is one reason it helps to have a broker who can send your file to the lender whose rules fit. The VA also uses a residual income test, which looks at what is left after your bills, and it is often friendlier to families than a straight debt ratio.

The house itself

The home has to be your primary residence, and a VA appraiser checks it against the VA's minimum property requirements: safe drinking water, a sound roof, working heat, no exposed wiring, and so on. Most homes pass. When one does not, the fix is usually small and the seller often handles it.

The seller is allowed to pay certain costs on a VA loan that the buyer cannot, and a good agent knows how to ask. I coordinate with your agent on that when the offer is written.

What to bring

Here is what I need to get your pre-approval started:

• Your DD-214, or a statement of service if you are still serving
• Recent pay stubs or your Leave and Earnings Statement, plus two years of W-2s
• Two months of bank statements
• Your VA disability award letter, if you have one, so I can document a funding fee exemption
• A photo ID and permission to pull credit

What happens next

Once your certificate is in hand and your file is through automated underwriting, you get a pre-approval letter and we go shopping. You can use your VA benefit more than once, and in some situations you can have two VA loans at the same time, so if you used it years ago and think it is gone, it probably is not. Call me and we will look at your remaining entitlement together.

All loans are subject to credit approval, and program terms vary by lender.