Eligibility, the Certificate of Eligibility, the funding fee, and the one circumstance that removes that fee entirely.
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not lend you money. It guarantees a portion of a loan that a private lender writes, and that guarantee is what allows the lender to skip the down payment and the monthly mortgage insurance. Understanding that one structural fact explains most of how the program behaves.
Service requirements vary by era and by whether you served active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard. Surviving spouses of service members who died in service or from a service-connected condition qualify as well. The rules are specific enough that guessing wastes time, and the Certificate of Eligibility settles the question in writing.
The certificate states your entitlement and confirms you can use the benefit. You can request it yourself through the VA portal, and most lenders pull it in minutes through the same system. Steev pulls it on the first call, before you have filled anything out, because the answer shapes every number that follows.
In place of mortgage insurance, the VA charges a one-time funding fee that goes back into the program. The fee rises for a second or later use and falls when you make a down payment. You can roll it into the loan rather than bring it to closing, which is what most borrowers do.
A borrower with a service-connected disability rating pays no funding fee at all.
That waiver is the single most valuable detail on this page. Veterans who received a rating after closing can also apply for a refund of a fee already paid. Tell your lender about a rating or a pending claim on the first call.
A VA appraiser establishes value and also confirms the house is safe, sound and sanitary. Working heat, a sound roof, safe electrical and no obvious health hazards. Most Colorado homes clear this without comment. An older mountain property with an unpermitted addition or a failing septic system draws attention, and a seller who understands the list usually stops worrying.
The VA limits which fees a veteran may pay and allows the seller to contribute toward the rest. A lender credit can absorb more in exchange for a slightly higher rate. Between the two, a well-structured VA purchase often reaches closing with very little cash out of pocket.
Bring your service dates and your rating status, if you have one, and we will price the file the same day.
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