Texas Vet Loan & VA Loan Requirements

Like any home loan, there are certain requirements needed to qualify. The Texas Vet loan requirements and VA loan requirements are often less strict than other loan types.

Following is the amount of time most active-duty personnel or veterans will need to have served, the credit requirements, income requirements and documents needed in order to be eligible for a VA loan or Texas Vet loan…

Service Record

  • 181 Days of Peacetime Active Duty Service
  • 91 Days of Wartime Active Duty Service
  • 6 Years of Reserves or National Guard Service
  • You are the spouse of a service member who was killed in the line of duty

The VA will verify based upon your service record that you meet the VA loan requirements by issuing a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). This is the first step in qualifying for a loan, because it provides verification to the lender that the VA will guarantee your loan. You must have a COE to receive a VA loan from any lender.

Credit

Although the VA does not have a minimum requirement for credit scores, lenders have their own requirements. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs leaves it up to private lenders to set their own credit score requirements to limit their exposure to risk.

We can in most cases approve veterans or active-duty personnel with a credit score as low as 600 for VA purchase and VA cashout loans.

If you have a few credit bumps, we can work with you to hopefully raise your score up enough to qualify for a home purchase or refinance.

If you have had past issues such as a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed in lieu foreclosure or a short sale, the minimum waiting period to be eligible to apply is as follows…

  • Two years from the date of discharge for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
  • Twelve months from the date of discharge for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  • Two years from the date the Trustee’s Deed was filed for a foreclosure

Income

Like most other loan programs today, a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio plays an important role in determining a veteran’s ability to repay their mortgage, and therefore their Texas VA mortgage rates. VA loan requirements include another important calculation called Residual Income. This is a calculation to determine in real dollars how much income the veteran has left over at the end of the month after paying their new mortgage (including the escrow for property taxes and homeowners insurance), living expenses, credit report debt, and income tax.

Certificate of Eligibility

In order to meet the Texas Vet loan requirements and be eligible for a Texas Vet Loan, the veteran will need a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). This is also a Texas VA loan requirement. As an approved lender with the Veterans Administration, we have the ability to order your COE through the VA’s online Web LGY System (previously known as the “ACE” system).

Get Started Today With Your VA Loan Request!

If you would like to speak with a loan professional about the prequalification process, please call our toll-free number at 866-704-2826 or click on the button below and complete our quick-and-easy online form and a member of our staff will contact you right away to discuss your options.

We welcome the opportunity to assist you.