$0 down. No PMI. Competitive rates. Whether you are buying, refinancing, or rebuilding credit — your VA entitlement is one of the most powerful benefits you earned.
The VA home loan is the best mortgage product in America. Here is why.
100% financing. Keep your savings for emergencies and moving costs.
No private mortgage insurance. That saves $100–$300/month vs. FHA or conventional.
VA rates are typically 0.25–0.5% lower than conventional. That is real money over 30 years.
No official minimum credit score from the VA. Most lenders go to 580–620. Manual underwriting available.
Sellers can pay up to 4% of the price toward your closing costs. You can close with almost nothing out of pocket.
Your VA entitlement resets when you sell or pay off the loan. Use it over and over.
Pick your scenario. Run the numbers. See what you qualify for.
Your COE proves to the lender that you qualify for VA loan benefits. Here is who qualifies and how to get it.
90 continuous days of service during wartime, or 181 days during peacetime. Currently serving counts. Statement of Service from your command.
Discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Minimum service depends on when you served. DD-214 (Member 4 copy).
6+ years of service, or 90+ days of active duty activation. NGB Form 22 or discharge papers.
Un-remarried spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability. VA may issue COE directly.
I can pull your COE electronically through the VA portal in most cases. Just bring your DD-214 or Statement of Service to our call and I will handle the rest.
PCSing to Houston. $72K base + BAH. 680 credit. Bought $340K home with $0 down, $0 out of pocket (seller paid closing). Saved $240/mo vs FHA because no PMI.
Retired E-7. 617 credit. Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged 3 years ago. Auto loan current. Manual underwriting approved. $275K home with VA.
Both active duty. Combined entitlement on one loan. Combined income $115K. Bought $520K home with $0 down. Tanya has 20% disability — her half of the funding fee waived. Saved $5,500+ on fees alone. Then used IRRRL to drop rate from 7.25% to 5.75%. $380/month savings.
If both you and your spouse are veterans (or active duty), you can combine your VA entitlements on one home. This is one of the most powerful — and least known — benefits in the VA program.
Each veteran brings their own COE. Both entitlements apply to the same property. This can push your $0-down limit well above the county loan limit.
A single veteran has a standard entitlement limit. Two veterans on one loan can double that — meaning a bigger home with no money down and no PMI.
Each spouse pays the funding fee based on their own history. If one has a 10%+ disability rating, that spouse's portion of the fee is waived. If both are exempt, the entire funding fee is $0.
Both veterans' income counts for qualification. Two incomes + combined entitlement = more home with better terms than any conventional product.
Marcus (E-6, active duty) and Tanya (E-5, active duty) are both eligible for VA loans. The standard VA loan limit in Harris County is $766,550. As individual borrowers, each could buy up to that amount with $0 down.
Together, they combine entitlements. Their combined qualifying income is $115K. They purchase a $520K home with $0 down, $0 PMI, and a 5.75% rate. Their funding fee: Marcus pays 2.15% on his half, Tanya pays 2.15% on her half — but Tanya has a 20% disability rating, so her half is exempt. They save over $5,500 on the funding fee alone.
Most loan officers do not know how to structure a joint VA loan. I do. Bring both DD-214s (or Statements of Service) and both COEs to the call.
Here are the scenarios I handle that other loan officers either do not know about or will not touch.
Chapter 7: 2 years after discharge. Chapter 13: 12 months of on-time plan payments with court approval. Manual underwriting available.
2 years after the event. Must show re-established credit. If the foreclosure was on a VA loan, your entitlement may be partially used — I can calculate what remains.
Collections do not automatically disqualify you. Under $2,000 in total collections can be ignored. Above that, the underwriter adds 5% of the balance to your DTI — or you pay it off before closing.
If you PCS and keep your first home as a rental, you can get a second VA loan on your new primary residence — as long as you have remaining entitlement. This is called second-tier entitlement.
Un-remarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability. May also be exempt from the funding fee entirely.
You can add up to $6,000 to your VA loan for energy-efficient improvements — solar panels, insulation, windows, HVAC. No additional appraisal needed for the improvement amount.
Print this page. Bring these items to our first call. The more you bring, the faster we move.
When the computer system says "Refer" instead of "Approve," a human underwriter reviews your file by hand. VA allows this. Most loan officers will not touch a manual UW file — I specialize in them. If you have a bankruptcy, foreclosure, limited credit, or late payments, manual underwriting may be your path. The checklist above for manual UW files is what makes or breaks the approval. Bring everything.
If your spouse will be on the loan, bring their documents too — ID, income, credit info. If your spouse is not on the loan but will live in the home, their debts may still count against your DTI. Better to know upfront.
I will pull your COE, run your numbers, and give you a straight answer.
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