VA checklist

Decide that the home will be where you live. VA loans are for a home you occupy.

Gather the service papers the COE walk-through names for your kind of service.

Get your Certificate of Eligibility: through a lender, online at the VA, or by mail with VA Form 26-1880.

Read your own credit reports and fix any mistakes you find.

Ask a lender that makes VA loans for a pre-approval, and ask for the Loan Estimate in writing.

Ask whether you would owe the funding fee, whether you may be exempt, and how it would be paid.

Ask how much of your entitlement is available, and whether a loan limit applies.

Choose a home and make an offer. Ask your agent how a VA appraisal changes the offer.

Book your own inspection. The VA appraisal is ordered through the lender; the inspection is yours.

Compare the Loan Estimate to the Closing Disclosure a few days before closing.

Find a home