VA Loan Home Buying in Richmond & the Fort Lee Area

Veterans & military retirees

Using your VA loan after you get out

If you served on or after August 2, 1990, you generally qualify with 24 continuous months of active duty, or the full period you were called to active duty (at least 90 days). Shorter service can still qualify if you were discharged for a service-connected disability or another VA-approved reason. Your lender can usually pull your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) online in minutes.

• You can use it again. The VA loan is not one-and-done. Once a VA loan is paid off (for example, when you sell), your entitlement can be restored. Using it a second time raises the funding fee to 3.3% with less than 5% down, unless you are exempt.
• No VA loan limit with full entitlement. If you have full entitlement, VA does not cap the loan amount. Your lender sets the limit based on income, credit and the appraisal. If part of your entitlement is still tied up in another home, county loan limits apply.
• Virginia retirement tax break. Starting with tax year 2025, Virginia lets you subtract up to $40,000 of military retirement income from state taxable income, with no age requirement (Va. Code § 58.1-322.02).
• 100% P&T disabled? Your home can be property-tax free. Virginia exempts the primary home and up to one acre of a veteran rated 100% service-connected, permanent and total (Va. Code § 58.1-3219.5). You can file with your locality's Commissioner of the Revenue before you buy, and it applies once you own.

Takeaway: Get your COE and a pre-approval first, then ask your lender to show you the funding fee in dollars. If you have a disability rating, make sure it is on your COE so the fee is waived.

Active duty · PCS

PCSing to Fort Lee, DSCR or the Richmond area

Active-duty service members qualify after 90 continuous days of service. The hard part of a PCS purchase isn't the loan. It's the clock. Here's how we keep your closing tied to your report date:

1. As soon as you have orders: get pre-approved and send us your report date, BAH rate, commute limit and school needs. Use the DoD BAH calculator for your new duty station.
2. Tour from where you are: we do live video walkthroughs and answer your questions about the street, the commute and resale.
3. Ask your command about house hunting: the services can authorize permissive TDY for house hunting tied to a PCS. Rules and days vary by service, so confirm with your unit.
4. Close on your timeline: we line up inspection, VA appraisal and closing to land near your arrival, including mail-away or power-of-attorney signing when your lender and settlement company allow it.

• Occupancy rule: VA expects you to move in within a reasonable time, usually 60 days. Your spouse can satisfy occupancy if you're deployed or not there yet.
• Breaking a lease: the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets you end a residential lease for PCS orders or a deployment of 90+ days. You give written notice and a copy of your orders. For monthly rent, it ends 30 days after the next rent due date (50 U.S.C. § 3955).
• Plan for your next PCS now: many service members keep the home as a rental after they move. Pick a house and neighborhood that rent well, and we'll show you the rent numbers before you offer.

Takeaway: Start 60 to 90 days before your report date. Compare the full monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) to your BAH, not just the price.

TDY & schoolhouse

Here on TDY or at school at Fort Lee

Fort Lee is home to the Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), the Quartermaster, Ordnance and Transportation schools, and Army Sustainment University, so many soldiers come through on TDY. A VA loan has to be for your primary residence, so a short TDY alone usually isn't a reason to buy here.

• Rent for the TDY if you'll be back at your home station in weeks or months.
• Buying can make sense if your family lives here, you're expecting PCS orders to the area, or you're retiring here and want to scout neighborhoods while you're on the ground.
• Use the time well: drive the commutes at rush hour, visit schools, and meet us for a no-pressure tour so you're ready when orders come.

Takeaway: Call us for a straight answer on rent vs. buy for your situation. Sometimes the right answer is "not yet."

National Guard

VA loans for National Guard members

Guard members qualify with any one of these:

• 6 creditable years in the Guard, and you're still serving or were honorably discharged or retired.
• 90 days of non-training Title 10 active duty.
• 90 days of Title 32 full-time duty (including 30 consecutive days) under 32 U.S.C. 316, 502, 503, 504 or 505, shown on your DD-214.

Guard and Reserve members pay the same funding fee as active duty and veterans. Virginia also lets eligible Guard members (O-6 and below) subtract up to $5,500 of Guard pay from state taxable income. If you drill at Fort Pickett near Blackstone, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Petersburg put you within reach of both drill and Richmond-area jobs.

Takeaway: Have your statement of service or points statement (or DD-214 for activations) ready. Lenders who don't do many Guard loans get stuck here, so ask your lender how many they've closed.

Reserve

VA loans for Reserve members

Reservists qualify with 6 creditable years in the Selected Reserve (still serving, honorably discharged or retired), or 90 days of non-training active duty. Mobilizations count, so check your DD-214s from any activations.

Takeaway: Request your retirement points statement early. It's the document most often missing when Reserve buyers apply for a COE.

Surviving spouses

Surviving spouses can use the benefit too

• Eligibility: you may qualify if you receive or are eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), or if your spouse is missing in action or a prisoner of war.
• No funding fee if you receive DIC.
• Property tax relief in Virginia: the surviving spouse of a veteran rated 100% P&T can keep the real estate tax exemption on a primary residence as long as they don't remarry, even after moving. Virginia also has a separate exemption for surviving spouses of service members killed in action.

Takeaway: Bring your DIC award letter to your lender and your locality's Commissioner of the Revenue. We'll help you find the right office for the county you buy in.

Where military buyers live

Neighborhoods near Fort Lee, DSCR and the Richmond VA Medical Center

Myths vs. facts

What other agents get wrong about VA loans

Free checklist

Military home-buyer document checklist

FAQ

VA loan questions we hear every week