Here’s How:

1. First you will need a COE (Certificate of Eligibility). If you don’t have one, you can complete VA Form 26-1880, (Request for a Certificate of Eligibility) and submit it to the VA Eligibility Center along with copies of your most recent discharge or separation papers reflecting an honorable discharge from active duty service after September 16, 1940. Most lenders can acquire your COE for you quicker through the VA ACE system.
2. Obtain a credit pre-approval/pre-qualification from a certified VA Lender.
3. Find the house you want and sign a purchase agreement.
4. Submit your contract, application and required documents to the lender.
5. You will close your loan with a specified title/escrow company or attorney.

Tips:

It’s best to have the lender order the appraisal right away as VA allows a specified time to the VA appraiser to complete the report. This time can be up to 14 days depending on the state. Of course, if you are building a new home, the appraisal does not need to be ordered until the home is 95% complete. If the appraisal is ordered sooner, the appraiser may charge an additional “trip charge” to go back out to complete the report. If the lender is a LAPP lender, or in other words, authorized by VA to issue the Notice of Value (NOV), the loan can be approved and closed without waiting for VA’s review of the credit application. This can save some processing time over non-LAPP lenders that have to wait for VA to issue the NOV.
Even though many veterans have already used their loan benefits, it may be possible for them to buy homes again with VA financing using remaining or restored loan entitlement.
For more information or to inquire about a No Cost VA loan, submit a No Obligation Inquiry Here.

That’s not the secret I’m referring to though, even though many don’t know that is the case. What so many more don’t know, including lenders, is that veterans can have two VA loans at once. It’s called “2nd Tier Entitlement”. The main point to keep in mind if you are looking to qualify for a 2nd VA loan while all or a portion of your basic entitlement is being used, is this – Your 2nd VA loan MUST be more than $144,000.

You probably want to know how figure the maximum VA loan amount should you have a VA loan already, right?

Lenders that truly know how to calculate this number will give you a calculation that might make your head spin. At the very least it should have the same affect as a sleeping pill. It would probably look like this:

zzzzzzzz…….

I actually grabbed that calc from another post to show the example. Now, if I do a reverse calculation, I can find out what the actual original loan amount was on the current home:

$36,000 (basic entitlement) – $21,853 (the assumed remaining entitlement) = $14,147 (actual entitlement used) x 4 = $56,588 (the original VA loan amount on the current home)

You’re probably asking, why would you do that? What purpose would that serve?

Because there is a more TOP SECRET, secret to knowing how to calculate the maximum VA loan if you already have a VA loan…or even if you may have foreclosed on a VA loan and never restored the entitlement. It is absolutely amazing that even the smartest VA Loan Specialists that want to throw the mind-numbing guaranty/entitlement calculation at you, don’t even know this. In fact, even the smartest VA Specialists have used the same calculation above, and because of its complexity, have come back with an erroneous answer.

So imagine, you’re trying to buy a house and have gone almost all the way through the process. You’ve signed the purchase contract, put a huge earnest money deposit down, paid for an appraisal and the loan just went to underwriting. The whole time you’ve put your life in the hands of this seemingly too-smart-for-school VA “Specialist” and believed that s/he has calculated the maximum 2nd tier entitlement correctly. Then the bomb drops. The calculation was off. Now you have to bring an extra $5,600 to the table that you hadn’t budgeted for or simply don’t have.

That’s not a position I would expect any veterans want to be put into. In fact, pretty much all veterans and current military have higher standards than that and expectations that their VA Specialist delivers exactly what they promise with no surprises.

That’s why the more error-free (and Top Secret) solution should always be used….

I bet the curiosity level is pretty high right now. Unfortunately, I’m going to keep it Top Secret. However, if you are a veteran or currently on active duty and are wanting to have 2 VA loans at the same time, and you want to know what the Top Secret calculation is or just want to be sure you have a VA Specialist that knows how to use the calculation correctly to calculate (every time), the maximum 2nd Tier VA loan amount, I will point you in the right direction.

TOP SECRET 2ND TIER MAX LOAN AMOUNT CALCULATION HERE>>>

What Form Do I show the Lender I’m Eligible?

The first form you need is a Certificate of Eligibility before you can get a VA guaranteed loan.  Below are some instructions for you.

Among categories A, B, and C below, find the one that matches your situation.

Category A: Veterans, Active Duty, and Reservists/National Guard Members Who Have Served on Active Duty

You can get a Certificate of Eligibility in any of three ways:

1. Apply online. Go to the Veterans Information Portal (http://vip.vba.va.gov) and click on User Registration.  For more information, click on this link for user instructions for applying online.
2. Apply through the lender. In many cases, lenders can obtain a Certificate online in minutes through VA’s ACE system.  Check the table below entitled, “Evidence Needed for the Certificate of Eligibility.”
3. Apply by mail. Use VA Form 26-1880.  If you can’t print the form, just call 1-888-244-6711 and follow the prompts for Eligibility.  VA can mail it to you.

Evidence you’ll need when you apply (Category A)

Category B: Reservists/National Guard Members Who Have Never Served on Active Duty

You can get a Certificate of Eligibility in any of three ways:

1. Apply online. Go to the Veterans Information Portal (http://vip.vba.va.gov) and click on User Registration.  For more information, click on this link for user instructions for applying online.
2. Apply through the lender. Your lender can submit your application online for you.  Check the table below entitled, “Evidence Needed for the Certificate of Eligibility.”
3. Apply by mail. Use VA Form 26-1880. If you can’t print the form, just call 1-888-244-6711 and follow the prompts for Eligibility.  VA can mail it to you.

Evidence you’ll need when you apply (Category B)

Category C: Surviving Spouses of Veterans Who Died In Service or As a Result of Service

You must apply for the Certificate by mail.

If your veteran spouse died after service, VA must determine that the death was due to a service-connected disability.  Please allow 2-3 months for this process unless you know that the decision on service-connected death has already been made.

Apply using VA Form 26-1817.  If you can’t print the form, just call 1-888-244-6711 and follow the prompts for Eligibility.  VA can mail it to you.

Send the completed form to:

VA Loan Eligibility Center
PO Box 20729
Winston-Salem, NC 27120