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VA Loans: Explained by a Veteran, for Veterans
Quick Facts:
0% Down Payment - Purchase a home with 100% Financing
Lower Interest Rates - When compared to other types of loans
Flexible Credit Requirements - more flexible credit score limits
No Private Mortgage Insurance - Save monthly on insurance fees
Reusable Benefit - utilize your VA loan benefit multiple times
Lower Closing Costs - VA limits on fees that can be charged
The VA Loan Process
1. Check your VA Eligibility
Our team will help verify your VA loan eligibility quickly and easily.
2. Get Pre-Approved
Get advice on what you can afford with our VA pre-approval process
3. Find your home with an agent
It’s critically important to use an experienced agent who understands your local market.
4. Make an Offer
Negotiate all the details of your new home using your agent and lender as experts
5. Lock in Your Rate
Secure a great rate with our streamlined VA loan process.
6. Close on Your Home
We handle the details so you can focus on your new home.
VA Loan Quick Lessons
What is a VA Loan?
The VA isn’t lending you money or setting your interest rate - lenders do that. What the VA does do is provide a set of guidelines for lenders to follow through the VA loan process. If a lender follows these guidelines, and then for whatever reason you can’t make payments, the VA guarantees that the lender will get back a portion of the loan.
That’s why VA Loans are often seen as “safer” than other types of loans. It’s also why they usually come with lower rates - because they’re backed by the government.
And remember, no lender is endorsed by the VA or any military branch, so don’t get tricked by savvy marketing.
VA Loan Eligibility
You likely qualify for a VA loan if one of these requirements describes your military service:
90 consecutive days of active duty service during wartime
181 days of active duty service during peacetime
6 years of service in the National Guard or Reserves, or served 90 days (at least 30 of them consecutively) under Title 32 orders.
You are the spouse of a service member who died while serving or died from a service-related disability.
How do I check my VA Eligibility?
The best way to find out if you are eligible is to get what’s called a “Certificate of Eligibility” or COE (you’ll need this anyway to start the process). There are 3 ways to get it:
A VA Approved lender can pull it for you (Novum can do this)
Do it yourself on VA.gov
Applying by mail with VA Form 26-1880, which you can get on VA.gov
The VA Loan Process
Step 1: Check your VA Eligibility
The answer above talks about how to get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). The easiest way is through a VA-approved lender (like Novum), who can pull it for you instantly in most cases. You can also apply on VA.gov or by mail using VA Form 26-1880.
Step 2: Get Pre-approved with a lender
Getting pre-approved BEFORE you start shopping is crucial - it gives you a clear budget, adds credibility to your offer and speeds up the process later. During this step, your lender should confirm your credit, income, and service history. A solid pre-approval can streamline the rest of the entire process, so make sure you choose a lender who will do the work upfront for you and your agent. Your agent will likely want to see your pre-approval before they spend time helping you look for homes
Step 3: Find your home with an agent
With your pre-approval ready, you can start searching for your home. Working with a VA-experienced agent ensures you fully leverage your benefits (like reduced closing costs) during negotiations.
Step 4: Make an Offer
Your agent and loan officer will help you create a competitive offer to negotiate with the seller. Most VA offers include protections for your earnest money and allow contingencies for inspections and repairs. You can also request that the seller covers closing costs and concessions. This is where it’s critically important to have a great agent and lender - it matters here.
Step 5: Lock your rate
Once your offer is accepted, the lender will lock your rate and arrange a VA appraisal to ensure the home’s value and condition meet VA standards. You will get a bunch of disclosures and we’ll start to verify all loan details. This is when it’s critically important to respond to your lender if they need updated or clarifying paperwork from you.
Step 6: Close on Your VA Loan
Before closing, you’ll receive a Closing Disclosure to review final costs and details. On closing day, you’ll complete the paperwork and receive the keys to your new home. You should walk out from closing with clear instructions on how and when to submit your first monthly payment.
Types of VA Loans
VA Purchase Loan
VA purchase loans allow you to purchase of single-family home, condo, manufactured home, multi-unit property (like duplexes), and even new builds.
Lender policies and guidelines can vary, so not all lenders may offer every type of VA purchase loan.
VA IRRRL (Refinance that reduces your monthly payment)
The VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) is a popular refinance option for Veterans with VA loans. Often called a VA Streamline, this low-cost, simplified refinance may not require credit underwriting, income verification, or an appraisal.
The IRRRL is only available to Veterans with existing VA loans, requires a reduced interest rate, and has limitations on recouping costs, ensuring full financial benefits for Veterans.
VA Cash-Out Refinance (Not available in Texas)
The VA Cash-Out refinance enables qualified homeowners to refinance their mortgage while accessing their home’s equity as cash. Available to Veterans with or without existing VA loans, this option generally allows refinancing up to 90% of the home’s value.
Lender-specific guidelines and loan-to-value ratios may apply. Veterans with non-VA loans can also use this as a rate-and-term refinance without taking out cash.
VA Loans for Investments
To be clear, VA Loans are only available for your primary residence. But your primary residence can be a single-family, duplex, triplex, condo or even a multi-unit up to 4 units.
So for example, you can buy a duplex with your VA Loan, live in one of the units and rent out the other to help pay for your VA Loan. You could then refinance the duplex with a conventional loan to free up your VA Entitlement, and move to a new home to live in using your VA Loan with 0% down for the new home.
VA Loan Limits and Entitlement
The terminology used for VA Loan caps, VA Loan limits and VA Loan Entitlement can be confusing. The VA does not set caps on how large of a VA Loan you can get, but your lender might. There are also VA Loan Limits depending on which county you’re in. Both statements are true which is why the terminology is confusing. The easiest way to think about this is to put yourself in one of two categories.:
Category 1 = you've either never used a VA loan before or if you have used a VA loan you've totally paid it off. If you're in Category 1, you really don't need to worry about VA loan limits.
Category 2 = you have an existing VA loan that you have not yet paid off, and you want to use a VA loan for your next property.
Category 2 is where your VA Loan Entitlement and VA Loan Limits will come into play. There is a calculation to determine how much entitlement you have left based on the loan limit in your county. It’s easiest to just reach out to a lender that you trust who can do these calculations for you to see what your entitlement looks like.
What they will calculate is what is the max loan amount you can get for your next VA loan and still have 0% down as an option. To be clear, you can still get a VA loan for 0% down, but there will be limits on it until your previous VA Loan is completely paid off.
Top 10 VA Loan Myths
Myth #1: Veterans can only use VA loan benefits once
Fact: While there are limits to property types and the total amount you can borrow with 0% down, Veterans may use their VA benefits more than once with remaining or restored entitlement.
Myth #2: I can only use a VA Loan for the home I’m living in
Fact: It’s true that VA Loans are only allowed for a Veteran’s primary residence. However, VA Loans can be used for single-family, duplex, tri-plex and even 4-unit multi family properties - as long as the Veteran is using one of the units as their primary residence.
Myth #3: Deployed military members can’t get a VA loan.
Fact: It’s true that Veterans must live in the property as their primary residence within 60 days of closing on their VA Loan. Obviously, that’s a problem if you’re deployed, which is why there are exceptions to occupancy requirements if you’re deployed. Often, a spouse can fulfill this requirement on your behalf.
Myth #4: Seller don’t like accepting offers from VA borrowers
Fact: Because there are limits to WHAT TYPE of fees a Veteran can pay, many agents think that means their seller will pay more to sell a home to a Veteran. When negotiating a home sale there are always plenty of things to negotiate between a Veteran buyer and seller. A good agent will help in this situation.
Myth #5: VA loans take longer to close
Fact: Nope. Some LENDERS who don’t have a lot of experience with VA Loans may take longer; but the VA Loan process itself does not take longer than other types of loans (which is why you should use a lender who knows VA Loans).
Myth #6: VA loans are stricter about the property
Fact: The VA is looking out for the Veteran with their property requirements which means certain aspects are required to be inspected. But good inspectors would note these inspection items for any other type of loan too.
Myth #7: VA loans aren’t available for short-sale or foreclosed properties
Fact: VA loans may be used for these properties as long as they meet minimum property requirements.
Myth #8: Veterans can only have one VA loan at a time
Fact: Veterans may have more than one VA loan as long as they have sufficient eligibility.
Myth #9: VA doesn’t allow for Jumbo loans
Fact: VA loans don’t have caps for Veterans with full Entitlement, but the amount you can borrow for 0% down may have a limit based on the lender.
Myth #10: VA loans require perfect credit
Fact: VA loans are known for their flexibility for those with credit issues.