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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. |
