A VA loan can help you achieve your dream of homeownership with more flexible lending criteria. However, these loans are only available for eligible veterans, active duty service members, and surviving spouses. If you’ve used your VA loan before or are considering using your entitlement to purchase your first house, you might wonder, “How many times can I use my VA loan?”
Believe it or not, you can use your VA loan more than once, and it’s a great option for borrowers who have already paid off their loan and want to move. However, how many times you can use your VA loan depends on several factors because you’ll have to meet both the VA and a private lender’s requirements and criteria to qualify.
How many times can you use a VA loan? If you’ve already used your VA loan and have remaining entitlement, you can use your VA loan as many times as you need. However, there are several things to keep in mind. Keep reading to get a better understanding of how many times you can use a VA loan.
The VA home loan is one of the best mortgage programs available for eligible veterans active-duty service members and surviving spouses. It allows borrowers to purchase a home with no down payment and low interest rates. One of the key benefits of VA loans is that they can be reused – you can take out a VA mortgage more than once in your lifetime. But how exactly does it work? Can you use a VA home loan twice? Or three times? In this comprehensive guide, we will explain everything you need to know about reusing your VA home loan benefit.
Overview of VA Loans
First, let’s start with a quick refresher on what VA loans are and who is eligible. VA loans are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which guarantees a portion of the loan amount. This allows lenders to offer favorable terms like no down payment and no private mortgage insurance requirements.
To qualify for a VA loan, you must be one of the following:
- Active duty service member
- Veteran who served minimum duty requirements and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable
- Surviving spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability
Some key benefits of VA loans include
- No down payment required
- No monthly mortgage insurance
- Flexible credit score requirements
- Ability to reuse the benefit multiple times
Can You Use a VA Loan Twice?
The short answer is yes! You can absolutely take out a VA home loan more than once in your lifetime. There is no specific maximum to how many times you can reuse your VA loan entitlement. The key factor is that you have remaining entitlement available.
Your entitlement refers to the amount the VA guarantees to repay the lender if you were to default on the loan. Typically, the VA guarantees 25% of the loan amount. So if you get a $200,000 loan, you would use $50,000 of your total entitlement.
As long as you have entitlement remaining, you can keep using your VA home loan benefit to purchase additional properties in the future. Veterans have reused their benefits as many as 7 times over their lifetime!
When Can You Use VA Entitlement Again?
There are two main ways to restore your VA entitlement in order to take out another VA loan:
1. Paying off your previous VA loan in full
Once you have paid off a VA loan completely and the lien against the property is removed, you can have your full entitlement restored. This allows you to purchase a new home or refinance your existing mortgage using the full VA loan amount you qualify for.
Many veterans choose this option when they are relocating or “moving up” to a new house. They sell their current home, pay off the VA loan, and regain eligibility to use the benefit again.
2. Using your remaining available entitlement
If you have only used a portion of your total entitlement on your existing VA loan, you may be able to take out another VA loan using your remaining eligibility.
For example, you purchase a home with a $150,000 VA loan, so you have used $37,500 of entitlement. If you had $100,000 total eligibility, you would have $62,500 remaining. You can then apply this leftover entitlement to a second VA home loan.
The main requirements are that you must occupy the originally financed home and qualify for the new loan. This route allows you to own and finance two homes at the same time using the VA program.
Key Tips for Reusing Your VA Loan
When considering taking out another VA home loan, keep these tips in mind:
- You can have up to two VA loans at the same time if you meet occupancy requirements
- Submit a Certificate of Eligibility to restore your full entitlement if paying off initial loan
- Lenders will assess your remaining eligibility for second loan if not fully restored
- There’s no specific limit, so reuse benefit as many times as needed
- VA funding fees may be higher on subsequent loans
Always discuss your specific situation with a lender early on to ensure you understand how much entitlement you have available and the process to reuse your VA benefits.
Scenarios to Use Your VA Loan Again
Here are some of the most common scenarios for veterans and military members to take out multiple VA home loans:
Relocating for a new duty station: Active duty service members who receive new orders across the country can take out another VA loan to purchase their next home, even if renting out the former property. This allows them to keep the home rather than selling.
Moving into a larger home: As your family grows, you may want a larger home with more space. VA loans allow you to upsize without having to save up for a conventional down payment. Sell the current home, repay that VA loan, and restore your full eligibility.
Buying investment property: By using your remaining entitlement, you may qualify to purchase a 2-4 unit multi-family property to rent out. This can provide added income through your VA benefits.
Refinancing existing VA loan: You can reuse entitlement to refinance into a lower rate/term on an active VA mortgage for savings, cash-out, or to remove a co-signer.
Buying second home: If you have leftover entitlement, you may be able to buy a vacation property or second home while keeping your primary residence VA loan.
The Bottom Line
One of the best perks of VA loans is the ability to reuse your benefits to finance multiple homes over your lifetime. There is no set limit on how often you can take out a VA mortgage, as long as you have entitlement available. Be sure to explore your options and entitlement amount with a VA-approved lender to make the most of this incredible program.
How Many Times Can You Use a VA Loan?
There’s no limit on how many times you can use your VA loan benefit. As long as you’re eligible according to the VA’s rules, the only restriction is your remaining entitlement. If you’re eligible for a VA loan, you’ll receive your entitlement, a specific amount guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thus, how many times you can use a VA loan depends on whether or not you have full or partial entitlement. Even then, having partial entitlement won’t prevent you from using your VA loan a second time, but it may come with a down payment requirement.
Before using your VA benefit, we recommend learning how to get a VA loan to ensure you understand the process. Every time you use your VA loan, you’ll have to meet the various requirements of your lender and the VA.
Griffin Funding is dedicated to providing our veterans with unparalleled service and the most favorable terms.
Your entitlement is what the VA will pay to the lender if you default on your loan and is up to 25% of the total loan amount if you have your full entitlement. If you don’t have your full entitlement, the VA will guarantee part of the loan, and you may be responsible for providing a down payment to cover the 25% of the loan.
Full entitlement is the maximum amount the VA will guarantee the lender if you default on the loan and equals 25% of the loan amount. Full entitlement is crucial if you want to keep using your VA loan benefit without making a down payment. You have your full entitlement if you’ve never used your VA loan before, and you can restore full entitlement multiple times throughout your life, but it ultimately depends on whether you’ve paid off the loan and sold the property.
If you haven’t used your VA entitlement yet, read these first-time home buyer VA loan tips to learn more about the process.
Partial entitlement is when you’ve already used your VA loan, and your full entitlement hasn’t been restored. Someone may have partial entitlement if they:
- Are currently repaying the VA loan
- Fully repaid a VA loan but still own the home
- Refinanced the VA loan into a conventional or non-VA loan
- Get their home foreclosed
You can use the VA loan as many times as you want throughout your life as long as you have remaining entitlement. For example, if you’ve already purchased a home using your VA entitlement and haven’t paid off the loan and sold the home, you may still have partial entitlement that you can use to qualify for a loan. However, you may be required to make a down payment if the entitlement doesn’t cover 25% of the loan value.
The VA uses local conforming loan limits to determine whether your remaining entitlement will cover the 25% guarantee. Let’s look at an example in which you’ve already used $150,000 of your entitlement, and it hasn’t been restored. You’re interested in purchasing a property worth $250,000 in a location with a conforming loan limit of $766,550.
First, the VA will calculate 25% of the loan limit before subtracting your used entitlement. In this case, the equation will look something like this: 766,500 x 0.25 – 150,000 = $41,625.
Next, they’ll determine 25% of the total loan amount: $250,000 x 0.25 = $62,500
The VA will take the lesser amount, guaranteeing $41,625 of the loan. However, since you’ve already used your VA loan, you’ll be responsible for a down payment of $20,875 (62,500 – 41,625) to cover the 25% guarantee on the loan.
There are two types of VA loan entitlement: basic and bonus. Every eligible borrower is entitled to the basic entitlement of $36,000 based on the average home price of $144,000, and the VA allows you to borrow up to four times that amount. The bonus VA entitlement is similar but covers 25% of a home price above $144,000, so if you need a larger loan amount, you’ll use the bonus entitlement.
There’s no maximum loan amount for VA loans. Therefore, as long as you have full entitlement, the VA will guarantee up to 25% of your loan.
How Many Times Can a Veteran Use Their VA Home Loan Benefit?
Can I have two VA loans at the same time?
An experienced VA loan officer can help you get started. It is technically possible to have two VA loans at the same time. To do so, you would need enough remaining entitlement for a new loan, on top of your existing one. Generally, if you’re interested in getting a new VA loan, the best option is to pay off the original VA loan in full.
How many times can you use a VA loan?
There is no maximum or limit on how many times you can use a VA loan. You can use a VA loan once, twice, three times or seven. As long as you have remaining entitlement, you typically always have the option to obtain another VA loan. Veterans United has even worked with a handful of Veterans on their 9th VA loan.
Can you use VA loan benefits more than once?
It’s not meant to be used as an income-generating tool or to build your real estate portfolio. You can use your VA loan benefit more than once. Much more than once, in fact. Veterans and active duty personnel, as well as members of the Selected Reserves, are eligible for another loan at the same low VA loan rates enjoyed by first-time home buyers.
Can a qualified borrower use a VA loan multiple times?
“A qualified borrower could use their VA loan benefit multiple times,” said Rob Killinger, a senior loan officer with Mortgage Network, Inc., in Danvers, Massachusetts.