The rules behind every VA decision.
Deep-dive guides on the topics that decide whether a VA file closes — appraisals, condo approval, the VA renovation loan, credit-event waiting periods, gift funds, self-employed income, manufactured housing, and the timeline itself. Every rule cited from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7 and 38 CFR Part 36.
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Where should you start learning about VA loans?
Our VA guides walk through the steps veterans actually get stuck on: getting a Certificate of Eligibility, the VA appraisal and Minimum Property Requirements, the funding fee and exemptions, entitlement and second VA loans, and how the IRRRL and cash-out refinance rules work.
- Every guide is written against current VA Lenders Handbook M26-7 and 38 CFR Part 36 rules
- Start with the eligibility guide if you're not sure you qualify
- The appraisal guide explains what fails VA Minimum Property Requirements
- The funding fee guide covers exemptions and refunds
- Refinance guides cover the IRRRL's 210-day/36-month rules and cash-out LTV limits
Read the guide that matches your next decision — eligibility, the funding fee, or choosing a program — then run the matching calculator.
Reviewed by the licensed mortgage team at Simply Approved Mortgages · Last verified August 24, 2026 against the VA Lenders Handbook (M26-7)
Open the VA toolsEligibility & Entitlement
7 guides on eligibility & entitlement, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
Getting your VA Certificate of Eligibility
The three ways to get a VA Certificate of Eligibility — instantly on VA.gov, through a lender via WebLGY, or by mail with VA Form 26-1880 — plus exactly which documents each path requires.
- • What is a Certificate of Eligibility?
- • Can I get my COE without a lender?
VA loan eligibility and service requirements
The exact active-duty, wartime, peacetime, and Guard/Reserve service thresholds that qualify you for a VA loan, plus surviving-spouse eligibility and discharge-status rules.
- • How much service do I need for a VA loan?
- • Can I qualify with a general discharge?
VA entitlement, basic vs. bonus, and buying a second home
How VA basic and bonus entitlement work, how remaining entitlement lets you buy a second home with a VA loan, and how restoration works after you sell or pay off a prior VA loan.
- • What is VA entitlement?
- • Can I buy a second home with a VA loan?
VA loan limits after the Blue Water Navy Act
Why full-entitlement veterans have no VA loan limit since 2020, how the FHFA conforming limits still apply to partial entitlement, and the 2026 baseline and high-cost figures.
- • Is there a VA loan limit in 2026?
- • Who does a loan limit still apply to?
VA loans for surviving spouses
How a surviving spouse qualifies for a VA loan, the remarriage rules that preserve eligibility, and how the funding fee exemption applies to DIC recipients and spouses of veterans who died in service.
- • Can a surviving spouse get a VA loan?
- • Do surviving spouses pay the VA funding fee?
PCS moves and occupancy rules
How the VA's 60-day occupancy requirement works around a PCS move, how remaining entitlement lets you buy again at your new duty station, and what happens to your old home.
- • Do I have to occupy a home I buy with a VA loan right away?
- • Can I buy a new home with a VA loan while PCSing, even though my spouse or family hasn't moved yet?
VA joint loans and non-veteran co-borrowers
Who can be on a VA loan with you, when the loan becomes a joint loan requiring VA prior approval, how the guaranty is prorated, and what that means for the down payment.
- • Can a non-veteran be on a VA loan?
- • Does a joint loan still allow $0 down?
Costs & Financing
3 guides on costs & financing, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
The VA funding fee explained
The complete 2026 VA funding fee chart by down payment and use, the reduced IRRRL and NADL fees, and every exemption that brings the fee to zero.
- • What is the VA funding fee?
- • How much is the VA funding fee?
VA loan closing costs and non-allowable fees
The closing costs a veteran can be charged on a VA loan, the 1% origination cap, the list of non-allowable fees the veteran can never pay, and how seller concessions of up to 4% work.
- • What closing costs can a veteran pay on a VA loan?
- • What is the 1% origination cap?
VA temporary buydowns: how 2-1 and 1-0 buydowns actually work
What a VA temporary buydown is, who is allowed to pay for it, how it interacts with the 4% seller concession limit, why you are qualified at the full note rate, and how lender overlays change availability.
- • What is a VA temporary buydown?
- • Who can pay for a VA temporary buydown?
Underwriting & Credit
5 guides on underwriting & credit, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
VA residual income requirements
How the VA's residual-income test works, why it can qualify a veteran that a debt-to-income ratio alone would reject, and how the figures vary by region, family size, and loan amount.
- • What is VA residual income?
- • Does residual income vary by state?
VA loan credit score reality
The VA sets no minimum credit score — lenders do. Here's how lender overlays typically run from 580 to 620, and how residual income and compensating factors change what's actually approvable.
- • What credit score do I need for a VA loan?
- • Why do different lenders quote different minimums?
VA loan waiting periods after a credit event
The VA's seasoning expectations after Chapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure, short sale and deed in lieu — plus what re-established credit actually has to look like and how a prior VA loss affects entitlement.
- • How long after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can I use a VA loan?
- • Can I get a VA loan while in a Chapter 13 plan?
Gift funds on a VA loan
VA loans allow $0 down, but gift funds still matter for closing costs, reserves and buying above your entitlement — here's who can give, what documentation is required, and what disqualifies a gift.
- • Can you use gift funds on a VA loan?
- • Who is allowed to give the gift?
Self-employed income on a VA loan
How underwriters document and average self-employed income for a VA loan — the two-year rule, which tax return lines get added back, what a declining trend does, and the documents to gather first.
- • How long do I need to be self-employed for a VA loan?
- • What income figure do underwriters use?
Property & Appraisal
4 guides on property & appraisal, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
The VA appraisal, MPRs, and how to challenge a low value
How a VA appraisal works, the Minimum Property Requirements it checks, what the Notice of Value means, and how Tidewater and Reconsideration of Value let you challenge a low appraisal.
- • Who orders a VA appraisal?
- • What are Minimum Property Requirements?
Using a VA loan on a multi-unit property
How VA financing works for 2–4 unit properties: the occupancy requirement on one unit, how rental income from the other units can help you qualify, and how entitlement applies.
- • Can I use a VA loan to buy a duplex, triplex, or fourplex?
- • Do I have to occupy every unit?
Buying a condo with a VA loan
How VA condo approval works, how to check whether a project is already on the VA-approved list, what the VA reviews in HOA documents, and what to do when a building has never been submitted.
- • Does the VA have to approve a condo building?
- • Can a single condo unit be approved on its own?
VA loans on manufactured homes
What the VA requires for a manufactured home — permanent foundation, real property classification, HUD certification labels, land ownership, and the term limits that separate a manufactured file from a stick-built one.
- • Can you buy a manufactured home with a VA loan?
- • Does the land have to be included?
Refinancing
2 guides on refinancing, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
The IRRRL streamline refinance, step by step
How the VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan works: streamlined review subject to lender requirements, a 0.50% funding fee, the net tangible benefit test, seasoning rules, and 36-month recoupment.
- • What is a VA IRRRL?
- • Do I need an appraisal for an IRRRL?
VA cash-out refinance
How a VA cash-out refinance works, the difference between Type I and Type II, LTV limits, the 2.15%/3.30% funding fee, and how it can refinance a non-VA loan into a VA loan.
- • What is a VA cash-out refinance?
- • What's the difference between Type I and Type II?
Loan Programs
5 guides on loan programs, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
The Native American Direct Loan (NADL)
How the VA's Native American Direct Loan works: the VA as direct lender, the tribal Memorandum of Understanding requirement, eligibility, funding fees, and how it differs from a standard VA loan.
- • What is the Native American Direct Loan?
- • Why is the VA the lender instead of a bank?
The VA renovation loan, rule by rule
How the VA renovation (alteration and repair) loan lets you finance the purchase price plus improvements in one VA loan — eligible work, contractor requirements, escrow, and the limits that surprise people.
- • What is a VA renovation loan?
- • Can I do the work myself?
The VA loan process, step by step
What actually happens between a first conversation and the keys: COE, pre-qualification, offer, appraisal and MPRs, underwriting conditions, closing disclosure, and final signing — with the things that most often stall a file.
- • What are the steps of a VA loan?
- • How long does a VA loan take to close?
Assuming a VA loan
How a VA loan assumption works for buyers and sellers, why release of liability and substitution of entitlement are the two things that matter most, and the fees the VA sets.
- • Are VA loans assumable?
- • Does the buyer have to be a veteran?
VA loan vs. FHA loan
A straight comparison for eligible veterans: down payment, mortgage insurance, upfront fees, credit expectations and property standards — and the specific cases where FHA still makes more sense.
- • Is a VA loan better than an FHA loan?
- • Does an FHA loan have mortgage insurance?
Veteran Benefits
1 guide on veteran benefits, written for borrowers and sourced from the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7.
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