The VA Loan Guaranty Service offers VA home loans to military personnel through private mortgage lenders who are approved by and participate in the VA home loan program. These private mortgage companies can be very helpful in navigating the complicated process of both applying for a VA loan and acquiring a Certificate of Eligibility for military loans.
Applying for a VA Home Loan
Military personnel are not required to go directly through the VA Loan Guaranty Service when applying for a VA home loan. In fact, it is customary (and easier) to apply for a military loan through any participating private mortgage lender, of which there are many. Simply shop around for the company and mortgage which is best, and apply directly through the private company.
Of course, there is always the matter of being eligible for a VA home loan, as well as acquiring the necessary Certificate of Eligibility from the VA to prove such eligibility. This issue is addressed in the next section.
Getting a Certificate of Eligibility for a VA Home Loan
Military personnel who want to go directly through the VA Loan Guaranty Service to gain a Certificate of Eligibility may do so by completing the following two steps:
- Complete a "VA Form 26-1880," which requests a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA;
- Send the completed form to the Winston-Salem Eligibility Center with proof of service.
However, those seeking a military loan should know that private lending companies are able to acquire a Certificate of Eligibility for borrowers from the VA. Companies are able to do so if they have access to the WEB LGY network run by Veterans Affairs. This system is incredibly convenient because it can produce for borrowers a Certificate of Eligibility online almost instantaneously, assuming the database has all the necessary military information for a given VA home loan applicant. Ask participating mortgage lenders about this service.
Applying for Multiple VA Home Loans
It is possible to be eligible for VA home loan benefits more than once. Typically, this can happen if the first military loan has been paid off and the property disposed of. In such a case, it is possible to apply one's VA home loan eligibility for use on another mortgage.
It's also important to know that for one time only, the VA Loan Guaranty Service allows military personnel to extend eligibility to a second VA home loan even if they still own the first property (assuming it has been paid off). This benefit is only available once, and only if the borrower can prove the first loan has been paid in full. According to the VA Loan Guaranty Service, "this evidence can be in the form of a paid-in-full statement from the former lender, or a copy of the HUD-1 settlement statement completed in connection with a sale of the property or refinance of the prior loan."
Can a Surviving Spouse Apply for VA Home Loan Benefits?
The short answer is yes, so long as the military service member was either killed while on active duty or passed away as a result of a service-induced disability.
Surviving spouses should consider the following guideline from the VA Loan Guaranty Service regarding remarriage: "A surviving spouse who remarries on or after attaining age 57, and on or after December 16, 2003, may be eligible for the home loan benefit."
For more information on this issue or any other issue contained in this article concerning applying for a VA home loan through private mortgage companies, reference this VA facts page, from which the information for this article was gleaned.
David Harris-Gershon - David Harris-Gershon – a blogger for Tikkun magazine and a freelance writer on Israel, the Middle East and America’s role in ...
