How Can I Get a VA Certificate of Eligibility?

VA Loan Five Step Process

1. Apply for a VA Certificate of Eligibility to start a VA Loan. If you don’t have one of these and you are a veteran, you can obtain one by

2. Choose a home to buy and sign a purchase agreement.

3. Order an appraisal from VA for your VA Loan. (Usually the lender takes care of this.) You can also use the “speed up” telephone appraisal system if your VA regional office offers it. Call the local VA office for details.

4. Apply for a VA loan. During the appraisal process, the lender (mortgage company, savings and loan, bank, etc.) can be gathering credit and income information. If the lender is authorized by VA to do automatic processing, upon receipt of the VA or LAPP appraised value determination, the VA Loan can be approved and closed without waiting for VA's review of the credit application. For VA Loans that must first be approved by VA, the lender will send the application to the local VA office, which will notify the lender of its decision.

5. Close the VA Loan and move in.

Remember to start this whole process off you must get a VA Certificate of Eligibility. It is worth the extra effort.

Keep in mind that even for a VA loan you need to make sure to have good credit. Also if you need down payment assistance, be sure to check out grants for your state or our down payment assistance pages. They have lots of information to help you.

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