Field instrument · St. 05 · VA loan fit
Check the address before you check the listing photos.
The VA loan is the strongest financing tool most buyers will ever hold, and buying from three states away during a PCS is where it gets misused. Step one is simpler than any of that: how far is the house from the base, really? Run any address and get the straight-line distance, an honest commute read, and the VA-loan facts that actually decide whether a given house works.
Run it
The VA-loan facts that decide whether a house works
- 01
$0 down is real
Eligible buyers can finance 100% of the purchase price. That is the headline benefit and it is not a gimmick. Entitlement and eligibility are set by the VA; a VA lender confirms yours.
- 02
No PMI, ever
VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance at any down payment. On a typical Fort Worth-area price point that saves real money every month versus a low-down conventional loan.
- 03
The funding fee exists
A one-time VA funding fee applies to most loans and is usually rolled into the balance. It is waived for buyers receiving VA disability compensation (and a few other exempt groups); a rating with no compensation does not qualify on its own. Ask the lender which rate applies to you.
- 04
Primary residence only
You have to occupy the home as your primary residence, generally within 60 days of closing. No pure investment purchases on a VA loan.
- 05
Condition standards are real
The VA appraisal enforces minimum property requirements: safe, sound, sanitary. Bad roofs, dead HVAC, exposed wiring, and some heavy fixer-uppers will not pass without repairs before closing.
- 06
Talk to a VA lender
This page covers geography and program facts, not your numbers. Rates, entitlement, and qualification are the lender's lane. Get pre-approved with someone who closes VA loans regularly.
Program rules as published by the VA at va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans. Your lender confirms your entitlement and terms.
PCSing in and buying sight-mostly-unseen?
The distance check is the easy part. What the corridor west of the base actually trades for, which listings will survive a VA appraisal, and how to run a purchase from your current duty station is the real work. We work this corridor. Leave your info and I will pull a straight read on the area you are looking at, no charge and no pressure.
Tell me about the house.
You get the numbers, sourced and dated. What you do with them is up to you.
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