VA Loans

VA loan eligibility is based on your military service. You qualify if you served 90 consecutive days of active duty during wartime, 181 days during peacetime, or 6 years in the National Guard or Reserves. You must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected disability may also be eligible. To verify your eligibility, you will need a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which your DirectLender.com loan officer can help you obtain.

Yes, VA loans genuinely require zero down payment. This is one of the biggest advantages of VA financing. You can finance 100% of the home's appraised value with no money down. There is a VA funding fee that can also be rolled into the loan amount, so in many cases you can get into a home with minimal out-of-pocket costs. The funding fee ranges from 1.25% to 3.3% depending on your down payment and whether it is your first VA loan use. Veterans with service-connected disabilities are exempt from the funding fee entirely.

The VA funding fee is a one-time charge that helps fund the VA loan program so it remains available for future veterans. For first-time VA loan users putting 0% down, the fee is 2.15%. For subsequent uses with 0% down, it increases to 3.3%. The fee decreases with larger down payments: 1.5% with 5% down and 1.25% with 10% or more down. You can pay the fee at closing or roll it into your loan amount. Veterans receiving VA disability compensation and surviving spouses are exempt from the funding fee.

Absolutely. Your VA loan benefit can be used multiple times throughout your life. Once you sell a home purchased with a VA loan and pay off the mortgage, your full entitlement is restored. You can even have two VA loans at the same time in certain circumstances, such as a permanent change of station (PCS). There is no limit to how many times you can use your VA benefit, making it a lifetime advantage of your military service.

If you have full VA entitlement (meaning you have not defaulted on a previous VA loan or have one currently outstanding), there is no loan limit. You can borrow as much as a lender will approve with no down payment. If you have reduced entitlement, loan limits follow the conforming loan limits set by the FHFA, which for 2026 is $766,550 in most areas and higher in designated high-cost counties. Your DirectLender.com loan officer can check your remaining entitlement and explain exactly what you qualify for.