Have you heard of the VA loans provided to the retired US army members? Well, VA loan is one of the cost-effective and long-term home loans that is specifically designed to help the veterans who want to buy their dream home. Besides being used to purchase and construct your home, VA loan can be used to renovate a home. Look out for best VA mortgage rates.
But similar to any other home loan or construction loan, VA loan has certain eligibility requirements. In fact, the eligibility criteria for VA loan is a bit strict and different from the rest. First of all, VA loan is only provided to the active duty service members, National Guard members, Veterans, and reservists of the United States. Any other commoner is not eligible to apply for this loan. The eligibility criteria for obtaining VA loan is set by the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to these criteria, the spouse of the National Guard or active duty member who died while serving the country is also eligible to apply for VA. Any veteran or military member who got dismissed under dishonorable conditions are not eligible for VA loans.
Make sure that it’s the Veterans Affairs department that ascertains the eligibility of the loan seekers. Here we’re presenting some major VA loan eligibility conditions for the veterans. Let’s have a look:
- The borrower should have worked for 90 consecutive days during the critical war period;
- The borrower must not have more than 6 years of service records in the National Guard of Reserves;
- The borrower is the spouse of the military man who died while serving the country or due to the duty-based disability;
- The borrower works in certain organizations that indirectly serves the country, for example, Public Health Service Officers, plebe at Air Force, midshipmen at the US Naval academy, Coast Guard Academy, merchant seaman with World War 2, and more.
- The borrower must have worked for 81 days in common peacetime days;
- The United States citizens who weren’t specifically part of the US military force but who served in the government armed forces associated with the US in World War 2.
VA Loan Income Requirements
The best part about the VA loan is there are no strict income requirements for the borrowers. You can enjoy the home loan benefits if you earn a decent amount of income a month. However, you will still need to have a stable source of income which can help you meet your monthly expenses. In addition, the Veterans Affairs condition also state that the borrower should keep a certain part of their leftover income after paying the monthly expenses. This saving is considered mandatory for the retired military members to fulfill the basic necessities of their family such as transportation, food, and more.
Additional Eligibility Requirements
Even though the eligibility criteria for VA home loans is determined by the Veterans Affairs department, there are some private VA lending institutions that may have some specific criteria for VA loan application approval. According to the additional requirements of the private lenders, the borrowers must meet the income, debt to income ratio, and other credit requirements to be considered eligible for VA loan. When a borrower applies for the VA loans at private lending institutions, the lenders obtain their credit report from the three major credit departments in the USA. Besides, the lenders will also take into consideration your debt-to-income ratio before approving your loan request.
This was the eligibility criteria for the veterans who are looking forward to applying for VA loans. It is essential to note that it is mandatory for the VA loan borrowers to meet the eligibility requirements.
