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).