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Military Mortgage Center
When buying a home, securing the right mortgage is critical to your future finances. Do your homework and be sure you get the best program for your unique situation. Use these resources to help with your homework!
● Are You Eligible for a VA Loan?
● VA Loan Limit
● Is VA eligibility a one time thing?
● Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
● BAH Calculator
● Pros & Cons of a VA home loan - Bankrate.com
● Keeping Tabs on your Finances - Mint.com
Are You Eligible for a VA Loan?
If you served during wartime (as defined by the VA) for at least 90 consecutive days or during peacetime for at least 181 consecutive days, you are eligible for the VA Home Loan Program. If you are currently on active duty after 90 days of active service you are eligible for the program.
Reservists are also eligible as long as you have served for at least six years, which can be non-consecutive and in different branches of the reserves. The Reserve branches that are eligible for the VA Home Loan Program are Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Air National Guard, Coast Guard Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Air Force Reserve. (Source: va.gov)
See full eligibility requirements here ~ www.va.gov
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VA Loan Limit:
Eligible Veterans, service members, and survivors with full entitlement no longer have limits on loans over $144,000. This means you won’t have to pay a down payment, and the VA guarantees to your lender that if you default on a loan that’s over $144,000, the VA will pay them up to 25% of the loan amount. (Source: va.gov)
You have full entitlement if you meet any of these requirements.
At least one of these must be true:
• You’ve never used your home loan benefit, or
• You’ve paid a previous VA loan in full and sold the property (in this case, you’d have your full entitlement restored), or
• You’ve used your home loan benefit, but had a foreclosure or compromise claim (also called a short sale) and repaid us in full
Note: You may have heard the terms additional entitlement, bonus entitlement, or tier 2 entitlement. We use these terms when we communicate with lenders about VA-backed loans over $144,000. You won’t need to use these terms when applying for a loan.
See full description here ~ www.va.gov
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Is VA eligibility a one time thing?
No, you can use a VA loan as many times as you want, but you need your entitlement restored from your previous use or have enough entitlement left to cover your new purchase or refinance. To fully restore entitlement, the previous or current VA loan will have to be paid in full. Sometimes, when you use it the second time there is an increased funding fee depending on your status. (Source: va.gov)
See full eligibility requirements here ~ www.va.gov
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Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH):
BAH is an allowance to offset the cost of housing when you do not receive government-provided housing.
Your BAH depends upon your location, pay grade and whether you have dependents. BAH rates are set by surveying the cost of rental properties in each geographic location. Therefore, BAH rates in high-cost areas will be much greater than those in low-cost areas.
BAH rates are published on the Defense Travel Management Office Web page.
See updated BAH figures here ~ www.dod.mil
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