Loan Programs

Service earned this. Use it.

Guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for most eligible borrowers the strongest terms available anywhere.

What Is a VA Loan?

A benefit you earned, guaranteed by the VA.

A VA loan is guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans, active-duty service members, and in many cases surviving spouses. The guarantee is what lets a lender lend with nothing down and no monthly mortgage insurance.

A United States flag on a brass pole beside the white covered porch and navy front door of a home

Why Veterans Choose VA Financing

Four reasons it is, for most eligible borrowers, the strongest set of terms on this site.

Buy with nothing down. The guarantee stands in for a down payment, so a qualified borrower can finance the whole purchase — the one thing almost no other program allows.
No monthly mortgage insurance, ever. A VA loan charges none at all, where every low-down-payment conventional or FHA borrower pays it every month for years.
The benefit is reusable. Using entitlement once does not spend it permanently — veterans buy again with it, and in some cases carry two VA loans at the same time.
Limits on what you can be charged. VA restricts certain closing costs a lender may pass to the borrower, and lets a seller cover more of what is left than other programs permit.

More Than a Loan Program

Twenty years of watching eligible buyers save for something they never needed.

It is the most under-used benefit we see. Eligible buyers spend years saving a 20% down payment they were never going to need, and the rent paid while saving it is the part nobody adds up.

Alliance helps you use it well. With more than 20 years of mortgage experience, Alliance pairs market knowledge with a dedicated loan officer who knows what the benefit covers, what it costs, and what it does not do.

Is a VA Loan a Good Fit?

Four things a VA loan does that no other program on this site can.

Nothing down beats 3% down. A conventional loan starts at 3% and FHA at 3.5%; a VA loan can start at nothing, and that gap is measured in years of saving.
No mortgage insurance to cancel later. Conventional borrowers wait for equity to clear 20% before PMI comes off, and most FHA borrowers never get there at all — a VA borrower has nothing to wait for.
Use it more than once. Entitlement restores after a sale rather than expiring, so having bought with a VA loan before does not put this one out of reach the way a one-time program would.
Help if the payments get hard. The VA intervenes for borrowers in trouble in a way no conventional or jumbo servicer is obliged to — a benefit that only shows itself when it is needed.

A small United States flag in a brass desk holder beside a closed navy document folder and a set of house keys on a walnut desk

Compare the Paths With Alliance

One conversation, and the benefit weighed honestly against everything else you qualify for.

Eligibility is the first question, not the last. Your Alliance loan officer pulls your Certificate of Eligibility, reads the entitlement you have left, and sets the VA path beside conventional, FHA and USDA on cash at closing and monthly payment.

The funding fee belongs in the comparison. A VA loan is not automatically the cheapest option once the funding fee is counted, and the only way to know is to run both files — which is what this conversation is for.

Getting VA-ready

Five things shape a VA file. Most of them a loan officer can check for you before you do anything.

An aluminium ladder leaning against the eaves of a cream clapboard home with a deep covered porch, seen from the driveway in morning light

Eligibility and the Certificate. Service history decides eligibility and a Certificate of Eligibility proves it. A loan officer can pull yours — you do not have to work it out or request it yourself.
The funding fee. Most VA loans carry a one-time funding fee, which can usually be rolled into the loan rather than paid at closing. It is waived entirely for borrowers with a service-connected disability rating.
Entitlement you have already used. A previous VA loan does not spend the benefit permanently, and the entitlement remaining decides how much you can borrow now with nothing down. It is a figure a loan officer reads off the Certificate.
The property and the appraisal. The home has to be your primary residence and it has to pass a VA appraisal, which applies minimum property requirements a house in poor repair can fail.
Credit and residual income. VA publishes no credit floor, though lenders set their own. It also applies a test no other program uses — residual income, meaning what is genuinely left each month once the bills are paid.

VA Loan FAQs

The questions veterans and service members ask most before using the benefit.

Who is eligible for a VA loan?

Veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members who meet the service requirements, and in many cases surviving spouses. A loan officer can pull your Certificate of Eligibility and settle the question in one conversation.

Do I really need no down payment at all?

For most eligible borrowers with full entitlement, yes — the guarantee stands in for the down payment. Putting something down can still reduce the funding fee, which is one of the trade-offs worth running before you decide.

What is the VA funding fee?

A one-time charge that keeps the program running without taxpayer support. It can usually be rolled into the loan rather than paid at closing, and it is waived entirely for borrowers with a service-connected disability rating.

Can I use a VA loan more than once?

Yes — entitlement is reusable and it restores once a previous VA loan is paid off. Some veterans hold two at the same time on remaining entitlement, which is worth asking about rather than assuming either way.

Can I buy a rental property with a VA loan?

Not directly — the home has to be your primary residence, though a multi-unit property you live in can work. For a straight investment purchase, conventional financing is the program that covers it.