VA Loans
A VA loan is a government-backed mortgage offering a low or zero down payment option to veterans, service members, and surviving spouses.
Quick Overview
By offering competitive interest rates and terms, VA loans allow eligible applicants to purchase single-family homes, condominiums, multi-unit properties, manufactured homes, or new constructions.
VA Requirements
As with most finance-related activities, your credit history is a very important factor in securing a VA home loan. The VA does not specify a minimum credit score, however, the lender in which your loan goes through may.
Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is also an important factor lenders consider when approving or rejecting VA loans. Generally speaking, the maximum acceptable DTI for a VA loan is 45%, however, the exact DTI for loan approval may depend on your lender.
In order to qualify for a VA loan you must be a veteran, service men, or surviving spouse. If a veteran or a service men, you have to have at least 90 days of active-duty service including at least 30 consecutive days of service.
All applicants must provide a copy of the Military DD214 form
and request a COE – Certificate of Eligibility.
If the applicant is a surviving spouse, the Certificate of Eligibility must reflect one of the following:
- Veteran is missing in action
- Veteran is a prisoner of war (POW)
- Veteran died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry (or)
- Veteran died while in service or from a service0connected disability and you didn’t remarry before you were 57 years old or before Dec 16, 2003 (or)
- Veteran had been totally disabled and then died, but their disability may not have been the cause of death (in certain situations).