VA Loan Entitlement Explained: Everything You Need to Know
Most VA loan Certificates of Eligibility (COEs) are misunderstood, which leads Veterans to think they can’t buy when they actually can. If your COE says $0 entitlement, you still could have the ability to get a VA loan with 0% down.
Why is that?
There are two types of entitlement: your basic entitlement and your bonus entitlement. Your COE only shows your basic entitlement. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Your VA Loan Entitlement?
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) agrees to cover 25% of the loan for the lender if the Veteran does not make payments. Your entitlement is the amount the VA will cover for the lender.
Basic Entitlement
Your basic VA entitlement is $36,000. Since this represents 25% of the loan the VA guarantees, it means your basic entitlement covers a loan amount of $144,000 or less.
You are going to be hard-pressed to find a home at that price, which is where bonus entitlement comes in.
Bonus Entitlement
Bonus entitlement is not listed on your COE and needs to be calculated. My team can help do this for you, but the math works by taking the maximum VA loan in your county, dividing it by four, and subtracting the amount of entitlement that has already been used.
County loan limits change annually, but let’s say your county’s VA loan limit is $1,000,000. This means the VA would guarantee $250,000. That breaks down to $214,000 in bonus entitlement and $36,000 in basic entitlement.
What is the Max VA Loan?
There isn’t one. If you have never used your entitlement, or if you have used it and it has been restored, there is no maximum loan size with 0% down. You still need to qualify, and lenders can have their own limits, but if you want to buy a $3 million home with 0 down, it is possible.
Can I Get More Than One VA Loan at a Time?
Yes. Bonus entitlement also means you can have more than one VA loan at a time or get another VA loan even if you had one in the past.
If the maximum VA loan in your county was $1,000,000 and you own a home you bought for $300,000, you could still buy a new home for $700,000 without selling the first.
If you are planning on purchasing a home and want to use your VA benefits, you can text or call me at 571.340.4544, email me at jbrower@fhmtg.com, or click here to get started with a pre-qualification. We help hundreds of families each year and specialize in VA loans.
Jackson Brower (NMLS ID #2350083) www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org
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