5 Things Every VA Buyer Should Know Before Writing an Offer

By Gregg Tepper

I have been married to my wonderful wife Letha for 29 years. We have 3 children: Max, Alexander and Charlotte. I have been a licensed Realtor in the New Orleans area for 20 years and am the Operator of The Tepper Group with Keller Williams Realty in Mandeville. Our team services the entire New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Our team of partners has well over 40 years of experience. In 2024 we helped 132 families buy, sell and lease homes, land and commercial investments.

You might be wondering why we filmed this video inside a dingy-looking mobile home with bad lighting. Here’s the reason, and it’s something most buyers don’t know: VA loans can actually be used for mobile homes, AND they can be used for rehab projects. You can purchase a fixer-upper and roll the renovation costs into your VA loan, as long as the home meets certain condition guidelines. That alone makes VA financing far more flexible than most people assume.

But that’s just the beginning. If you’re eligible for a VA home loan, it’s one of the cleanest paths to homeownership out there. No money down. No private mortgage insurance. And contrary to what a lot of sellers worry about, VA loans don’t take any longer to close than conventional loans when they’re structured correctly.

A few months ago, we worked with an active-duty military buyer who was on a tight timeline and convinced that the VA process would slow everything down. We mapped the pieces out together, structured the offer so we stayed within VA seller concession limits, and closed smoothly and on time. That’s the goal with every VA transaction, and it starts with understanding the rules upfront.

Here are the five things every VA buyer (and every seller considering a VA offer) needs to know.

1. A VA loan is not money from the VA directly. You work with a lender, and the loan follows VA guidelines. Those guidelines include things like guardrails on seller concessions and how the loan can be structured. Most lenders charge some kind of origination or loan fee on the front end. That varies lender to lender, but it’s not avoidable. One thing worth mentioning here is Veterans United. They’re a solid company, but their marketing often makes veterans feel like they’re working directly with the VA. They’re a loan company like any other. Any lender, including our partner Envoy, Rocket Mortgage, or any national provider, can do a VA loan.

2. Why 0% down actually matters. The headline benefit is simple. You can buy a home with no down payment. But the bigger win is the savings on private mortgage insurance. Most low-down-payment conventional loans come with PMI that adds $200 to $400 a month depending on your loan size. That’s money out of your pocket every month that VA borrowers don’t have to spend. Keep in mind, though, the home has to appraise for the contract price. If you’re buying a $250,000 home, it has to appraise for at least $250,000 for the deal to work.

3. Your Certificate of Eligibility comes first. Before you talk to a lender, before you get pre-approved, before you start shopping for homes, fill out VA Form 26-1880. The Certificate of Eligibility, or COE, shows that you qualify based on your military service history and status. Getting this out of the way upfront eliminates one of the biggest friction points in the VA loan process.

4. The VA funding fee. This is a one-time fee based on your loan amount and whether you’re making a down payment. Most buyers roll it into the loan, which is the simplest way to handle it. You can also write a check for it at closing if you’d rather keep it out of your financed amount. Your lender will clarify the exact number early in the process because it affects your cash to close.

5. The 4% seller concession rule. Closing costs on a VA loan can technically be unlimited, meaning the seller can cover your attorney fees, loan fees, and more, which is how VA buyers get into a home with truly zero money down. But seller concessions are capped at 4% of the home’s reasonable value (think appraisal value). On a $250,000 home, that’s $10,000 in concessions. Concessions are different from closing costs. They include things like prepaid insurance, temporary rate buy-downs, new appliances for new construction, a fence, or a blinds package. Your lender will delineate between closing costs and concessions to keep everything within VA guidelines, so there are no delays or red flags in final underwriting.

And here’s our lagniappe, a little something extra because you made it this far: remember, VA loans aren’t just for move-in-ready homes. You can use a VA loan to finance a fixer-upper. The purchase price plus your renovation costs can be rolled together, and the process is typically smoother than an FHA 203k. We’ve done them for buyers before, and for eligible borrowers, it’s one of the most overlooked uses of the VA benefit.

If you’re active-duty military, retired, or you have a VA benefit and you’re thinking about buying in Southeast Louisiana, we’d love to help. You make quick decisions, you know what you’re looking for, and there’s no muss, no fuss. Call us at (985) 218-5445, email us at TGroup@kw.com, or visit findnolahomes.com to get started.

And thank you for your service. We’re happy to help you in return.