There’s been a few questions emailed in about what the rules are for occupancy. Hopefully this post helps answer some of those questions. If you have some other questions, please email in or use the Live Chat feature. The more questions you have, the more information will be provided on this site.
First, regarding occupancy rules, VA requires a veteran obtaining a VA guaranteed loan to certify that he or she intends to personally occupy the property as his or her home. As of the date of certification, the veteran must either personally live in the property as his or her home, or intend, upon completion of the loan and acquisition of the dwelling, to personally move into the property and use it as his or her home within a reasonable time (within 60 days of closing). A spouse can satisfy this requirement if the veteran is on active duty and can’t personally occupy within this time.
In addition, VA loans are not only for Single Family Residences. You can use your VA loan to purchase up to a 4 unit property and one business unit so long as it is not a joint loan, the nonresidential unit doesn’t make up more than 25% of the total floor plan, AND you plan to occupy one of the units of the property.
The occupancy requirement applies to all types of VA guaranteed loans EXCEPT Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans (IRRRL’s) or otherwise known as Streamline Refinances. For these loans, the veteran need only certify that he or she previously occupied the property as his or her home.
