Line V
VA
The strongest terms on the map, and the one route where the qualifying question is who you are rather than what you earn.
- Guaranteed by
- The US Department of Veterans Affairs
- Down payment
- Often none
- Monthly mortgage insurance
- None
What the program actually says
The VA guarantees part of the loan. That guarantee is what lets a lender write it with no down payment in most cases and no monthly mortgage insurance at all.
Eligibility runs on service history, and you evidence it with a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA. Service requirements differ by era and by whether service was active duty, Reserve or National Guard. Some surviving spouses qualify.
Most borrowers pay a one time VA funding fee, set as a percentage of the loan. It is higher on a subsequent use than a first use, and lower if you make a down payment.
The funding fee is waived for veterans receiving VA compensation for a service connected disability, and for some surviving spouses.
Entitlement is a real quantity, not a yes or no. It can be partly used by an existing VA loan, and it can be restored. The property has to be your primary residence and it has to pass a VA appraisal including the Minimum Property Requirements.
See what the payment does
Illustrative figures only. What that means.
Principal and interest, worked from numbers you choose. It carries no program specific mortgage insurance, fee or premium, because those depend on your file rather than on arithmetic.
10.0% of the price
A worked number, not a quote or an offer.
Principal and interest, monthly
$0
Property tax, homeowners insurance, any mortgage insurance and any HOA dues sit on top of this figure. They vary far too much by address for a national number to mean anything.
- Loan amount
- $0
- Loan to value
- 0%
- Total interest over the term
- $0
- Total of payments
- $0
Below 20% down, a conventional loan normally carries private mortgage insurance until you reach 20% equity. It is not in the figure above.