VA Loans-Tucson, AZ

Only veterans, active service members, and surviving spouses are eligible to receive VA home loans to help them purchase residential properties. Your military service plays the most important role in qualification, and one of the following statements must be true to receive a VA loan.

• You have done 181 days of active service during peacetime

• You have done 90 consecutive days of active service during the war

• You have served more than six years as a National Guard or Reserves

• You are an active spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty or due to a disability connected to the service.

If the above statements are not true, but you were discharged, then your eligibility depends on your discharge status.

• Your discharging was due to hardship, convenience for the government, or reduction in force

• The discharging was due to a medical condition or service-related disability

• You were discharged for early out and served a minimum of 21 months of a two-year enlistment

How much you can borrow for a VA loan is dependent on your VA entitlement. A full entitlement means that there is no maximum amount that you can borrow that will require an upfront investment, while a partial entitlement comes with VA loan limits that reduce your borrowing capacity in Tucson, AZ, before having to invest something upfront for the VA loan. The current VA loan limit in all AZ counties is $726,200.

You can receive a full entitlement on VA loans if one of these statements is true.

• You are a new VA loan applicant

• You have paid previous VA loans and sold the property

• You faced foreclosure but cleared the loan

For a lender to grant a VA home loan to borrowers in Tucson, AZ, they must prove that they have the income and employment history needed to cover payments. One of the measuring sticks that lenders will use is your debt-to-income ratio. DTI is a comparison of your monthly debt to your monthly income. Most firms that give out VA loans want to see a maximum DTI of 41%. Any higher and you may be considered too risky to receive a VA mortgage.

Additionally, proof of two years of employment can also affect whether or not you receive a VA mortgage.

The VA will confirm if the property you are financing is a reasonable value compared to the price of the Arizona VA home loan. That means an appraisal will be required, and that could affect the amount of the loan. In Tucson, the median sale price of homes is $333,000.

Additionally, there are a few requirements for this property to be eligible for using VA loans to buy. It must be a primary residence that the buyer moves into within 60 days of loan approval. The home cannot be a vacation, seasonal, or rental property. The location of the home in Tucson, AZ, will also impact the approval process.

Your credit history does double duty when applying for VA loans. First, a lender may look at your credit score to analyze if you have a good history of paying back debt. Though there is no minimum credit score requirement from the VA, you could be contending with a lender in Tucson, AZ, that recommends a score of at least 580.

That number will also impact the interest rates that you can receive with VA mortgages, which are still lower than the average rates most Tucson buyers can obtain.