"Occupancy by the spouse of a veteran satisfies the occupancy requirement VA Law of Occupancy for a veteran who is on active duty and cannot personally occupy the dwelling within a reasonable time: that is, a veteran assigned to an overseas or other remote duty station." Therefore, the veteran is eligible for a loan if - they have at least 12 months remaining on their term of enlistment. If they have less than 12 months, and plan to re-enlist, there are steps to take and they would still be eligible. If the veteran doesn't plan to re-enlist, they need to have a civilian job lined up and be verified. The civilian job income would be used to qualify for the loan.

We recently wrote about the Temporary Increase in Maximum Loan Guaranty Amount for Certain Housing Loans Guaranteed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for loans originated from July 30, 2008 through December 31st, 2008.

We are pleased to announce that the VA has extended this through December 31st, 2009.

Here is the exact VA information as presented: Maximum Guaranty Amounts for Loans Originated After January 1, 2009.

For all locations in the United States other than Alaska and Hawaii, the maximum guaranty amount is 25% of the greater of: (a) $417,000 or (b) 125 percent of the area median price for a single-family residence, up to $729,750.

So how do you find out if you can get a $0 down loan for up to $729,750? Simply go to The home page of VALoans.com

Scroll down to VA Loan Lending Limits. Click on the desired state and the information comes up for each county. The results for the single family home allows for an eligible Veteran to purchase a new VA home loan with $0 up to that amount.

This only applies to new houses and does not cover cash out refinances or streamline refinances.

While there seems to be confusion in the marketplace, our company, is currently originating VA Home loans with these guidelines Nationwide.

An Active Duty Veteran recently was denied a VA home loan due to having late payments on their credit report. They want to know what to do for the future?

WHAT THE VA LENDER'S HANDBOOK SAYS CONCERNING LATE PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNTS

In circumstances not involving bankruptcy, satisfactory credit is generally considered to be re-established after the veteran, or veteran and spouse, have made satisfactory payments for 12 months after the date of the last derogatory credit item(s). When the underwriter analyzes the borrower's credit; it is the overall pattern of credit behavior that must be reviewed, rather than isolated cases of slow payments. Account balances reduced to judgment by a court must either be paid in full or subject to a repayment plan with a history of timely payments. If you re-establish good credit over 12 months, you can re-apply for a VA loan at that time.

I am a veteran and want to use my VA Eligibility. Will I qualify to purchase a New VA Home if I only recently started my civilian job?

Generally, employment less than 12 months is not considered stable and reliable. However, it may be considered stable and reliable if the individual facts warrant such a conclusion. The underwriter must carefully consider:

(1) the employer's evaluation of the probability of continued employment, if provided. (2) assess whether the applicant's training and/or education equipped him or her with particular skills that relate directly to the duties of his/her current position. This generally applies to skilled positions. Examples include nurse, medical technician, lawyer, paralegal, and computer systems analyst.

If the probability of continued employment is high based on these factors, then the lender may give favorable consideration to including the income in total effective income. An explanation of why income of less than 12 months duration was used must accompany the loan submission.

If the probability of continued employment is good, but not as well supported, the lender may still consider the income if the applicant has been employed at least six months to partially offset debts of 10 to 24 months duration.

The underwriter must determine the amount which can be used, based on such factors as: 1) the employer's evaluation of the probability of continued employment, if provided. 2) the length of employment (for example, ten months versus six months). 3) include an explanation with the loan submission.

We ask that all applicants fully describe their work, previous experience in directly related fields, any related education, the length of time for any internships and their overall education levels.

Numerous Veterans contact our company for information when they receive PCS orders (Permanent Change of Station - a U.S. military term referring to being "permanently" moved to a new post.)

Many veterans currently have existing VA home mortgages that are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs VA home loan guaranty program. "I am PCS'ing and our house is currently up for sale and we plan on using the VA home loan eligibility for our new home. How does the timing on this work?"

It is the job of your VA Lender to know the VA lender's handbook and how to get this process completed in a timely manner. Any prior VA home loan must be paid off in order to have entitlement restored. If the Veteran's current property is for sale, then that sale must occur and either the VA or the Lender will need proof of the sale in the form of a HUD-1 closing statement from the title company or closing attorney. This process can be expedited with the use of a Lender who uses the Automated Certificate of Eligibility Program (ACE).

Many Veterans currently have used only a portion of their eligibility and want to know if they can use the remaining portion on their new home in the event their old home does not sell in time or they want to keep it.

The answer is Yes, depending on the circumstances. If a veteran has already used a portion of his or her eligibility and the used portion cannot yet be restored, any partial remaining eligibility would be available for use. The veteran would have to discuss with their lender whether the remaining balance would be sufficient for the desired loan amount and whether any down payment would be required. The basic formula in order for the VA loan to be fully insured is as follows:

Remaining eligibility multiplied by 4 = Maximum Insurable Loan Amount. For example, if the veteran has $25,000 remaining eligibility, multiply that by 4 to get a maximum loan of $100,000. On any amount over that, the veteran would have to put a 25% down payment in order to have the loan saleable in the secondary market. Also remember that there will be two home mortgages counting against the debt to income ratio which in most cases - disqualifies the veteran. So while it is possible to own two VA home loans at the same time, it is rarely done or realistic.

Many Veterans and Real Estate Agents do not know exactly what Can and Cannot be charged to Veteran's when utilizing their VA loan eligibility on the purchase of a home. So here are the Facts on VA Closing Costs.

The following list of allowable items applies to all VA home loans.

VA Appraiser, Appraiser Compliance Inspection, Recording Fees, Credit Report, Escrow account for Taxes and Insurance, Initial Hazard Insurance Policy, Survey, Title Examination and Title Insurance, VA Funding Fee, Authorized State and Local Fees, MERS Registration.

Additionally, the lender has the option of charging a flat 1% Origination Fee, or charging actual costs for the items listed, so long as the total does not exceed 1% of the loan amount.

Assignment Fee, Application Fees, Notary Fees, Tax Service Fees, Warehousing Fees, Builder's 10 year home warranty, Commitment Fees, Closing or Settlement fees, Underwriting fees, Document Preparation fees, Photo Charges, Attorney fees, Amortization fees.

Termite Reports and Courier Fees are allowable charges to veterans only on refinances.

An applicant cannot be considered a satisfactory credit risk if he or she is presently delinquent or in default on any debt to the Federal Government until the delinquent account has been brought current or satisfactory arrangements have been made between the applicant and the Federal agency.

In addition, an applicant cannot be considered a satisfactory credit risk if he or she has a judgment lien against his or her property for a debt owed to the Government until the judgment is paid or otherwise satisfied.

The method of finding out about these delinquent Federal Debts is using a system called CAIVRS. CAIVRs is an acronym for Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System. It is a HUD-maintained computer information system that enables lenders to learn if an applicant has previously defaulted on a federally-assisted loan from any of the following agencies:

Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administation, Department of Education, Department of HUD and the Department of Veteran's Administration .

We are underwriting a Veteran home loan where an active duty borrower is currently engaged to be married in the next six months. (Congratulations!) They are purchasing a home for $300,000 with a $0 down payment, yet the Veteran does not qualify on the Debt to Income Ratio and needs his fiancé's income to qualify. He asks if she can be the Co-Borrower?

While this may seem like a no-brainer, the actual answer for the VA home loan program is NO unless the co-signor is the legally married spouse of a military member or another eligible veteran. In these two cases, the veteran loan is still fully guaranteed by the VA. When a military member or veteran wants to bring an unrelated, non-military cosigner, the VA allows this with one major exception. The VA guarantee is limited to the amount of the veteran's interest in the property. We are not aware of any company allowing these types of "mixed" loans, so you may have a bit of shopping around to do before finding a lender willing to work with you. The reason is that VA loans are pooled into Ginnie Mae (GNMA) securities and they require a full 25% guarantee from the VA. The limited guarantee prevents this from happening.

If you find yourself in this position, give yourself plenty of extra time to hunt for the right lender. Also, the borrower can change to an FHA Loan, but that requires a 3% minimum down payment.

Many active duty veterans currently serving in the Military who are desirous of purchasing a New VA home contact us asking the same question. What documentation do we need to prove our income if we reenlist or separate?

When the veteran receives income from Non-Military employment, the lender needs to verify a minimum of two years employment with a Verification of Employment (VOE).

When the veteran receives income from Non-Military employment, the lender needs to verify a military Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) instead of a VOE.

The LES must furnish the same information as a VOE. On loans underwritten by an in house VA underwriter, the LES must be no more than 120 days old of the date the note is signed. The LES must be an original or a copy certified by the lender to be a true copy of the original.

Proof of Income for Service members within 12 months of release from active duty planning on reenlisting - Documentation that the service member has in fact already reenlisted or extended his/her period of active duty to a date beyond the 12 month period following the projected date on which the loan will be closed.

Proof of Income for Service members within 12 months of release from active duty NOT planning on Reenlisting - Verification of a valid offer of local civilian employment following release from active duty. All data pertinent to sound underwriting procedures (date employment will begin, earnings, etc.) must be included. If any income will be derived from pension or other retirement benefits, that must be verified.