How Many Times Can You Use a VA Loan? 

A VA loan is a mortgage loan given by private lenders via a program set up by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (formerly the Veterans Administration). Due to the VA guarantee, these loans feature home loan benefits like lesser lender risk, limited fees, etc., compared to other traditional loans. 

The hallmark features of the VA loans program make homebuying easier for eligible candidates. With VA loans, Active Service Members, their Surviving Partners, and Veterans can buy a house with less or no down payment, no private mortgage insurance, and get a competitive mortgage interest rate. 

The advantages of a VA loan are the same, regardless of your choice of lender. They include: 

• No requirement for private mortgage indemnity. 
• No deposit consequence if the lender pays off the loan on time. 
• No compulsory down payment unless mandated by the lender or if the residence’s purchase price is more than the fixed worth of the property. 
• Help is available from the VA to assist borrowers in preventing defaults. 
• Closing prices are reduced and may be paid by the seller. 

Eligible Veterans qualify for this loan depending on what time you served and if you were on active duty in the National Guard or the Reserves. 

Generally, if you started your service after Aug. 2, 1990, and you were an Active-Duty Service Member, your qualification for a VA loan will involve that one of the following situations applies to you: 

• Minimum of 24 months of service nonstop. 
• 90 days at least during which you were ordered or called to active duty. 
• Less than 90 days if you obtained a service-connected disability discharge. 
• Minimum of 90 days if you were liquidated for a hardship, the government convenience, or a force reduction. 
• No account of a dishonorable, other-than-honorable, or bad-conduct discharge. 

As mentioned, VA loans are home loans offered through banks and mortgage companies but backed by U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) Department. Consequently, the government and the lenders may have unique eligibility requirements just like any other loan. Ensure you confirm these requirements to be sure you qualify to apply. 

Yes! You can use your VA loan benefit unlimitedly throughout your lifetime; so far, you still meet the VA and your lender requirements. Your VA entitlement determines your loan amount. As long as your entitlement remains, you typically have the chance to get another VA loan. 

For eligible borrowers who qualify with an approved lender, there’s no limit on the number of times you can use a VA loan benefit in your lifetime. 

In some cases, it is possible to have more than one VA loan at a time. This sometimes happens when a Service Member obtains Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, meaning they need to relocate to a new duty station. However, you may have to sell your VA-financed home before you can use a VA loan to purchase another house. 

The key to using your VA loan two or more times is entitlement. VA loan entitlement is the amount the VA is willing to pay the creditor if the lender defaults on their loan. It’s usually 25% of the loan amount. 

Eligible borrowers have two entitlement levels: Basic (or Primary) and Bonus (or Secondary). When Veterans procure a home, they use some or all of their loan entitlement. 

Your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) includes an entitlement code that shows your lender how you got your entitlement. Also, it’ll show your Basic Entitlement amount – $36,000. With the VA promising to repay 25%, it means you have access to about $144,000. Typically, this is the maximum amount you can borrow. 

However, this doesn’t mean your loan rate has to be $144,000 or below; it can be more, implying that you’ll use your bonus entitlement. 

Bonus entitlement begins when your loan is above $144,000. If you have full entitlement, the VA will cover 25% of your loan sum, even if it’s higher than $144,000. If you have reduced entitlement because you’ve already used some of your entitlement, the VA will sum up to 25% of your county’s specified loan limit. 

Below is a step-by-step guide to applying for a VA loan:

Step 1: Choose A VA-Approved Lender

Step 2: Get A Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

Step 3: Pre-Qualify for Your Loan Amount (Optional)

Step 4: Go House Hunting

Step 5: Sign a Purchase Agreement After Finding Your Choice Home

Step 6: Lender Processes Application and Orders VA Appraisal

Step 7: Complete the Closing Process and Move In

However, understand that these steps may not always sequentially occur, as explored above. Nonetheless, they represent the normal application process for obtaining a VA loan.

• Pay Off Your Current VA Loan First: You can apply for your full entitlement restoration; with that, you’ll be able to use that full entitlement on your subsequent VA loan, but remember that this can only be applied once. 
• Delay 2 Years After a Foreclosure on A VA Loan: You’ll miss the entitlement used in the foreclosed residence, but you can use your remaining entitlement for a new VA loan. 
• Refinance To a Non-VA Loan: This is helpful if you want to possess a house as your second home or investment property to create your VA loan benefits for a primary residence. However, you’ll need to repay the VA fully to restore your full entitlement. 

The bottom line is that once you’re eligible and meet a lender’s requirements, you can use a VA loan as often as possible during your lifetime. 

However, some situations may limit the amount you can borrow without paying a down payment. For example, if you’re planning to get another VA loan without paying off the existing one, or if you’ve settled your former VA loan but still retained the home, you might have a partial or reduced entitlement or apply for one-time entitlement restoration. 

Overall, the VA home loan benefits you’ve earned for serving your country; therefore, once you are eligible and qualified, you can use this great benefit for housing options and affordable mortgages as often as you want in your lifetime!