VA Loans
Built for Those
Who Served.
Understand the VA loan benefit you earned—and how to use it to buy, refinance, or make your next move with confidence.
No ObligationSame Day Pre-ApprovalsVeteran-Owned Company
6 Topics
COE · Entitlement · Funding Fee · Limits · Refi
The Essentials
Verify your Eligibility
The COE and entitlement rules are the foundation of every VA loan — understand them before you write an offer.
COE process
How the Certificate of Eligibility works
The COE confirms you have VA entitlement and states how much remains. It is not a loan approval. Most lenders pull it electronically through the VA's Web LGY system in minutes; when automated verification fails, the request moves to manual review that can take ten business days or longer.
Order it before you write an offer. If manual review is pending, the file can still move through appraisal and underwriting on conditional approval, and a documented VA delay is far easier to negotiate with a seller than a last-minute surprise.
- Veterans
- DD Form 214 showing character of service
- Active duty
- Statement of service dated within 120 days
- Guard / Reserve
- NGB Form 22 and 23, or a points statement
- Surviving spouse
- VA Form 26-1817 plus the veteran's DD-214
Eligibility & entitlement
Who qualifies, and what entitlement actually means
Service requirements vary by era and status. Common thresholds are 90 continuous days of active duty during wartime, 181 days during peacetime, or six years in the Guard or Reserve — with exceptions for discharge due to a service-connected disability, where no minimum applies.
Entitlement is the VA's guaranty amount, not your loan amount. Basic entitlement is $36,000 with additional bonus entitlement layered above it. Borrowers with full entitlement have no VA-imposed loan cap; the limit is what the lender will approve and the appraisal supports.
Second-tier entitlement lets you keep one VA loan and open another, which is how families finance a purchase at a new duty station while renting out the prior home. Partial entitlement usually means a down payment on the second loan.
Costs & Benefits
Maximize Your VA Benefit
Funding fee
The funding fee, tier by tier
The funding fee sustains the VA guaranty program and replaces mortgage insurance. It is charged once, can be financed into the loan, and is refundable if a disability rating is later granted with an effective date before closing.
Only the down payment reduces the percentage. Credit score, rate, and lender choice do not change it.
$0
For exempt borrowers
2.15%
Purchase, first use, 0% down
3.30%
Purchase, subsequent use, 0% down
1.50%
Purchase, 5%–9.99% down
1.25%
Purchase, 10%+ down
0.50%
IRRRL (streamline refinance)
$0
Exempt borrowers
VA vs. conventional
VA compared with conventional financing
On a $400,000 purchase, conventional financing with 5% down requires a $20,000 down payment plus closing costs and may add monthly PMI. VA financing may require no down payment and carries no monthly PMI, with a typical first-use 2.15% funding fee that can be financed. Appraisal, title, escrow, recording, prepaid items, and other third-party costs may still apply.
Conventional generally wins when you have 20% to put down, when you are buying a second home or investment property, or when you want to preserve entitlement for a later purchase. VA wins decisively on low cash to close, thinner credit files, higher debt-to-income ratios, and for any exempt borrower.
- 01
Down payment
VA 0% · Conventional 3%–20%
- 02
Mortgage insurance
VA none · Conventional PMI until 80% LTV
- 03
One-time fee
VA 2.15% typical · Conventional none
- 04
Assumable by buyer
VA yes · Conventional no
- 05
Property types
VA primary residence only
Loan limits
Do VA loan limits still exist?
For borrowers with full entitlement, the VA no longer caps the loan amount. The guaranty applies regardless of size, so approval depends on income, credit, and appraised value rather than a county ceiling.
Limits still matter with partial entitlement — when you have an active VA loan or an unrestored prior loan. In that case the county conforming limit is used to calculate remaining guaranty, and a down payment covers the shortfall. Restoring entitlement by selling and paying off the prior VA loan removes the constraint.
0%
Down Payment
With full entitlement, VA financing requires no down payment — and no monthly mortgage insurance.
Refinancing
IRRRL versus VA cash‑out
The IRRRL is a streamline refinance of an existing VA loan: usually no appraisal, no income documentation, and a 0.5% funding fee. It requires 210 days from the first payment date, six consecutive payments, and a recoupment test showing all costs are recovered by monthly savings within 36 months.
A VA cash-out refinance returns equity as cash or converts a conventional or FHA loan into VA financing. It requires a full appraisal, full underwriting, and current occupancy, and the funding fee follows the purchase schedule at 2.15% or 3.30%.
Compare total cost over your expected hold period, not payment alone. A lower payment produced by a longer term frequently costs more overall.
Put Your VA Benefitto Work.
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