TEXAS FIVE STAR LENDER

How to determine your VA entitlement

The easiest way to check your VA entitlement is to request a certificate of eligibility (COE) online at the Veterans Information Portal.

Your COE will list exactly how much entitlement you have; if you don't currently have a VA loan, it will show the maximum basic VA entitlement of $36,000. If you own any other VA-financed properties, the COE will provide details about the loans and how much entitlement you've used.

For veterans with full entitlement, there is no limit on how much the VA will guarantee. Whatever the loan amount, if you can find a lender who will approve you for that loan, the VA will guarantee a quarter of the loan amount.

For more information and an example of calculating your remaining entitlement, click here.

Example:

To take a concrete example, say a veteran bought a house with a VA loan of $200,000 four years ago and still makes payments on it. Now, he wants to move and buy a second home in the new location with a second VA loan. He has already used all of his basic entitlement because 25% of his first loan amount is $50,000 — more than the $36,000 maximum basic entitlement. The resulting number is the amount of basic entitlement you have left. If it's a negative number, consider the remaining basic entitlement of $0.

However, there is likely additional remaining entitlement because of a "bonus" entitlement. Your total remaining entitlement (basic plus bonus) is 25% of the County's conforming loan limit in which you buy your second (or most recent) house minus the amount of your entitlement you've already used.

Let's say the conforming loan limit in his County (Collin County of Texas for the year 2023) is $531,300, meaning his maximum total guaranty is $132,825. But he's already used that $50,000 on the first loan, so his remaining entitlement is $82,825.

He can purchase a new house up to four (4) times his remaining entitlement of $82,825 ($331,300) with a VA guarantee loan with no down payment.