Home Mortgage of North Carolina, Inc.: VA Loans (Veterans Administration Loans)

VA Loans

A mortgage loan using Veterans Administration (VA) benefits is known as a VA home loan. The VA home loan program allows lenders to offer no down payment fixed rate loans with terms as long as 30 years to qualifying veterans and active duty service personnel. Applicants for VA home loans must meet specific guidelines regarding eligibility and qualification.

VA Advantages

fixed interest rates

terms of up to 30 years

100% financing up to $417,000

generally easier qualifying guidelines

If you are eligible for a VA loan and you have little or no down payment available, VA is definitely the right financing for you.

You may also want to visit the Veterans Administration web site http://www.va.gov

VA Disadvantages
Most VA loans require a VA funding fee that varies with (1) down payment and (2) previous use of entitlement. Generally, if you have a down payment of over 10% or will be borrowing more than $417,000 you will probably find more advantageous terms using conventional financing.

VA Eligibility
A veteran’s eligibility to receive a VA loan is determined using the Certificate of Eligibility. The Certificate of Eligibility verifies the amount of entitlement available for a VA loan. The Certificate of Eligibility is requested through the VA regional office using the VA form Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits (VA form 26-1880). (This is an Adobe PDF form. To print the form please use the print button on the form toolbar)

You may verify your VA home loan benefits by contacting the Veterans Administration at:

VA Eligibility Center
PO Box 20729
Winston-Salem, NC 27120
Phone: 888-244-6711

The request for eligibility may be made prior to loan application or we will make the request for you after loan application. You will find it helpful to locate your discharge papers, DD-214, for some of the information necessary to complete the request form. Give us a call and we will be glad to assist you.

The entitlement available for use toward a VA loan is expressed as a dollar amount on the back of the Certificate of Eligibility. VA does not directly limit the maximum loan amount. However, mortgage lenders require the veteran to have available VA loan entitlement plus any down payment equal to a minimum of 25% of the requested loan.

However, if a full entitlement is available, the maximum loan amount available is $417,000 with no downpayment. If the veteran has a partial entitlement sufficient to cover 25% of the requested loan amount, then typically no down payment is required.