Hey everybody, it’s Jimmy Vercellino here and today, I’m going to talk with you about the VA Loan certificate of eligibility, what is it and how do we get a copy? Or most importantly, how do I know if I am eligible for a VA loan?
So simply stated, let me explain to you what the C.O.E., perhaps you’ve heard it referred to as that before, but what the C.O.E. is referred to as a certificate of eligibility, What is it? Well, simply stated, the C.O.E. tells you and me the lender that you as the Veteran are eligible for a VA home loan. That’s it. In other words, you’ve done your time in the military and now you are eligible to be able to take advantage of this benefit that Veteran’s are entitled to.
So, for example, you can purchase a home up to any purchase price you’d like with no money down, so long as you have the credit scores and income, minimum credit scores usually around 600, and the income will really depend on your existing liabilities.
So that’s what the certificate of eligibility is designed to do. Now, how do you get a copy of that? There’s multiple ways. You can roger up with a mortgage lender, somebody like myself. We can request a copy for you from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Or you, as the Veteran can actually go to your E-benefits portal and you can take advantage of it by downloading a copy from that portal. So that way you’re equipped, you’re armed, you’re dangerous right and ready to go out there and put some rounds down range.
Let’s talk about one other thing. How do I know if I’m eligible? Well, first, you can start off by requesting a copy of the certificate of eligibility.
That’s pretty straightforward, okay? But in order to be able to obtain a VA home loan, you must be honorably discharged from the military. Good to go? You got to be honorably discharged. Now there are some circumstances where you, as a Veteran, can take advantage of a VA loan if you have a general under honorable conditions.
Typically that’s got to be sent to the VA and they have to make the determination on that. Now there are some exceptions to this rule. If you are medically discharged, Let’s say that a Veteran service member was wounded in action. They got out of the military as a direct result of their injuries sustained in combat, or perhaps even in the service. They can still take advantage of the VA home loan benefit.
Now, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if you got hurt in boot camp, you didn’t fulfill the 90 days of active service. You’re probably not going to get a VA Loan, but that’s a little bit more niche there. A couple of other follow ups… If you’re an active duty service member, you have to have served at least 90 days of active duty service in order to get a VA home loan. So if you haven’t done your 90 days yet, you’re not going to be eligible for your VA home loan benefit. You’ve got to do your 90 days. Very seldom do I ever see an active duty service member, by the way, wanting to purchase a home in 90 days. You’ve got probably at least a year before things settle down and you’re in a position to buy.
Now really quick, let’s talk about my reservists. If you’re a reservist and you’re watching this video right now, this information is important for a reservist. You need to have served at least A- you’re six years, so your full enlistment six years. And in addition to that, you have to have enough points or drill summary points.
How do we know that, well we as the mortgage lender are going to request a copy of your drill or your points summary statement along with your DD Form 256, that’s your honorable discharge, and we’re going to go directly to the VA and ensure we can get a copy of that certificate of eligibility upfront before you go out and start shopping for that house because typically with a reservist, there’s additional steps that we need to take in order to ensure that your are eligible because we often times see a reservists that maybe didn’t fulfill the full drill summary requirement in order to be able to utilize their VA home loan benefit.
But I’ve got good news for you, though. if you’re a reservist and you did 90 days of active duty service, you too are now eligible to utilize your VA home loan benefit. So that’s a little bit about VA loans, and how you as a Veteran, can determine whether or not you’re eligible for a VA loan. Let me tie it all together really quick with the lender needs from you, it’s a copy of your DD214, we want to ensure that you’ve been honorably discharged, and from there we’re going to help you get a copy of once again your certificate of eligibility. So that way you can take part in the America Dream, which is purchasing a home. All right.
My name is Jimmy Vercellino. If you have more questions, my team and I are here to be a resource for you.
