How Many Times Can I Use a VA Home Loan? A Guide to Reusing Your Benefit

Purchasing a home is often one of the biggest financial decisions someone can make. For veterans, active-duty military members, and their families, VA home loans offer unique benefits that can make buying a home more accessible. One of the most valuable features of these loans is that you can reuse the benefit multiple times under certain conditions.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about using a VA home loan more than once.

What is a VA Home Loan?

VA home loans are mortgages backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They allow eligible borrowers to purchase a home with no down payment and lenient credit requirements.

Some key features of VA loans include:

• No down payment required – VA loans don’t require any down payment. This removes a major barrier to homeownership.

• No monthly mortgage insurance – Conventional loans with less than a 20% down payment require private mortgage insurance. VA loans don’t have any monthly mortgage insurance premiums

• Flexible credit guidelines – VA loans are available to borrowers with credit scores as low as 580. Many conventional loans require higher scores.

• Interest rate discounts – VA loan rates are consistently lower than rates for conventional loans. On a $200,000 loan amount, this can mean over $1,000 in savings per year.

• Seller concessions – VA guidelines allow sellers to cover closing costs, unlike most other loan programs. This provides flexibility in negotiations.

Overall, VA loans offer significant advantages for eligible borrowers. But one of the least-understood benefits is the ability to reuse the program multiple times.

VA Loan Entitlement

The key to understanding how you can get multiple VA loans is the concept of entitlement.

When you qualify for a VA loan, you have a certain dollar amount of entitlement that the VA guarantees on your behalf. Typically, this guarantee amount is 25% of the total loan amount.

For example, if you purchase a $200,000 home, the VA would guarantee 25% or $50,000 of that loan amount. This guarantee means that if you were to default on the loan, the VA would reimburse the lender for losses up to $50,000.

Now here’s the critical part – you don’t use up all of your available entitlement on that first loan. The remaining entitlement can then be applied to a second VA loan in the future.

There are two levels of VA entitlement that determine your total guarantee amount:

• Basic entitlement – The standard amount of entitlement available to most veterans. This is typically $36,000, though it can vary.

• Bonus entitlement – Extra entitlement available only to certain veterans, including those who receive compensation for a service-connected disability. Bonus entitlement ranges from $50,000 to $80,000+.

Add your basic and bonus entitlement together, and that’s your total VA guarantee amount available across multiple loans.

How Many Times Can You Use VA Loan Benefits?

There is no maximum limit on how many times you can tap into your VA loan benefits. As long as you have remaining entitlement, you can keep using VA loans repeatedly to either purchase additional homes or refinance existing ones.

In fact, Veterans United has worked with borrowers on their 9th VA loan!

With each new VA loan, you simply apply some of your leftover entitlement to that mortgage. Here are a few examples of how this works in practice:

Example 1

• You purchase a $200,000 home with a VA loan and use $50,000 of your total $100,000 entitlement.
• You have $50,000 of entitlement left over after the first loan.
• A few years later, you sell that home and want to buy another VA property for $250,000.
• You can apply the leftover $50,000 entitlement to cover 25% of the new loan amount.
• You now have $0 entitlement remaining from your original $100,000.

Example 2

• You qualify for $100,000 in total VA loan entitlement.
• You purchase a $150,000 home, using $37,500 of your available entitlement.
• You have $62,500 entitlement remaining.
• Two years later, you buy a second home for $200,000 and apply your $62,500 leftover entitlement to the loan.
• You’ve now exhausted your $100,000 in total VA entitlement.

The key takeaway is that with strategic entitlement usage, you can often qualify for multiple no-down-payment VA loans throughout your lifetime.

When Can You Reuse VA Loan Benefits?

There are a couple scenarios where you can tap into your prior VA entitlement to take out another mortgage:

1. After selling a previous VA home

If you sell your existing VA property, pay off that loan, and have entitlement remaining, you can restore your full entitlement and purchase another VA home.

You simply submit a Certificate of Eligibility form to indicate the first loan has been repaid. This “resets” your entitlement back to the original amount.

2. By retaining two VA loans at the same time

It is possible to keep your current VA home, rent it out, and utilize leftover entitlement for a second VA loan on a new primary residence. Certain occupancy and underwriting requirements must be met when holding two loans.

For active duty service members with changing duty stations, this is a common way to qualify for and retain two VA mortgages simultaneously.

Outside of these two cases, other scenarios where reused entitlement comes into play include refinancing an existing VA loan or taking out a VA home equity loan.

How Many VA Loans Can You Have at Once?

You can have two VA loans open at the same time under certain conditions. This is often seen with active duty borrowers who move to a new duty station.

Here are some limitations around having two concurrent VA loans:

• You must occupy (or previously occupied) both homes. VA loans can’t be used to buy pure rental or investment properties.

• Your total loan amounts cannot exceed the limit for your area. If the combined loan totals are higher, you may need to refinance the first home to a conventional loan.

• Your total entitlement will be split across both loans.

• You can only restore your full entitlement once both properties are sold or VA loans are repaid.

Outside of military relocations, accumulating two VA mortgages simultaneously is less common. But the option exists depending on your situation and entitlement.

Can Someone Take Over Your Existing VA Loan?

In some cases, another eligible veteran can assume your current VA loan. This usually happens when you sell the home and the buyer wants to take responsibility for paying off the existing mortgage.

Here are some requirements around transferring a VA loan:

• The new borrower must fully qualify and meet VA eligibility guidelines.

• You remain liable for the loan until the buyer has made six consecutive on-time payments. At that point, liability shifts and your credit is no longer impacted by loan performance.

• If the buyer defaults down the road after assuming the loan, you will not have to repay it. But you will lose entitlement until the default is cured.

Overall, a VA loan assumption can facilitate the sale to another veteran. But specific guidelines must be followed to initiate a proper transfer.

When Does It Make Sense to Use VA Loans Multiple Times?

Reusing your VA entitlement offers flexibility and savings throughout your homebuying journey. Here are some of the best times to consider multiple VA loans:

Moving up the property ladder – As your family grows or income increases, VA benefits allow you to scale up your real estate without a large down payment.

Relocating to a new duty station – Active duty service members can tap their entitlement when assigned to new bases, allowing home ownership in multiple locations.

Refinancing an existing VA loan – You can refinance a current VA mortgage to lower your rate or monthly payment while extending your loan term.

Tapping home equity – Through a VA Streamline Refinance or VA cash-out loan, you can access equity for renovations, debt consolidation, educational expenses, etc.

Purchasing investment property – Although not a primary residence, VA loans can be used to buy a 2-4 unit multi-family home to generate rental income after meeting certain requirements.

Potential Drawbacks of Multiple VA Loans

While reusing your VA benefit offers advantages, there are some drawbacks to be aware of:

• Each loan reduces your available entitlement, which could limit your potential loan amounts. Proper planning can overcome this.

• Closing costs and funding fees apply each time you obtain a new VA loan. These costs can add up, so be sure to budget accordingly.

• Holding two mortgages leads to higher monthly obligations overall, which impacts your debt-to-income ratio.

• Future entitlement is not guaranteed. Make sure any plans involving multiple loans account for risks.

VA Loan Options and Alternatives

Beyond traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgages, you can utilize your entitlement with different types of loan programs:

• VA Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs)