Current VA cash-out guidelines, updated from one source.
The block below carries VA’s parameters for a cash-out, served from Lendmire’s guideline source and rewritten on this page whenever VA or the wholesale overlays change: the leverage on the reasonable value, the funding fee by use of entitlement and the exemptions, the seasoning test on the loan being refinanced, and the benefit and ratio tests. The fee table follows the cards.
Of the reasonable value, funding fee included, on a principal residence
100% of the reasonable value is the ceiling on the whole loan, fee included, which is why the fee tier chosen changes the cash available. The loan being replaced can be a VA loan or any other loan, and the cash is unrestricted once the old liens and the costs are retired.
First use; 3.3% after first use; exempt with service-connected disability compensation
The funding fee on a cash-out is 2.15% of the loan for a first use of entitlement and 3.3% for any later use, and it may be financed. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, surviving spouses receiving dependency compensation, and certain others pay no fee at all.
And six payments on the loan being refinanced, whichever comes later
The existing loan must be at least 210 days past its first payment due date and six payments in, whichever comes later, before a VA cash-out can replace it. The new loan must also pass a net tangible benefit test, and a loan that only lowers the rate must recoup its costs within 36 months.
A net tangible benefit test, a debt-to-income guideline, and residual income that decides
Three tests sit on this card: a decision score of 580 or better on the wholesale programs, a debt-to-income ratio measured against the 41% guideline, and a residual-income figure measured against VA’s regional table, which is the one that decides. The net tangible benefit test is the fourth, applied to the new loan itself.
| Loan | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-out refinance, first use of entitlement | 2.15% | May be financed into the loan; the total may not exceed the cap |
| Cash-out refinance, subsequent use | 3.3% | Any prior VA loan counts as a prior use, including an IRRRL |
| Exempt borrowers | 0% | receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability; eligible to receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead; surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) |
| Rate-reduction refinance loan (IRRRL), for comparison | 0.5% | An existing VA loan refinanced for a lower rate or a fixed rate; no cash out; no appraisal required by VA |
The line-of-credit alternative: Lendmire’s HELOC program lends to 90% combined loan-to-value on a primary residence while the existing first mortgage stays in place and carries no funding fee. A conventional cash-out reaches eighty percent of value, and one wholesale lane goes higher; FHA cash-out reaches eighty percent with mortgage insurance. Each is compared on the same numbers before a recommendation.
Current VA cash-out snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · the new loan is sized on the reasonable value with the funding fee financed inside the cap · county figures bear only on remaining entitlement and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · taking cash out raises the balance and may extend the payoff · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Read every figure on this page as a program parameter and nothing more: the leverage on the reasonable value, the funding fee by use of entitlement and the exemptions, the seasoning thresholds, the net-tangible-benefit test, the wholesale credit floor, and the ratio guideline come from Lendmire’s guideline source on the date shown and are subject to change and to underwriting. Calculator payments are estimates on a published benchmark rate. Lendmire LLC, NMLS #2371349, broker, not lender, not a government agency. Not legal or tax advice.
What a VA cash-out refinance is — and how the file is qualified.
Here is the program in the order it matters: the loan and the disbursement, the entitlement and the fee, the seasoning and benefit tests with the VA appraisal, and the choice between a VA cash-out and its alternatives for a Washington veteran.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program; the rules are VA’s, at VA.gov, and the Certificate of Eligibility is requested there.
One new VA loan, cash at closing
Picture the house being refinanced from scratch with VA’s guaranty behind the lender: a loan sized to the Notice of Value, the payoffs and costs taken from it, the fee financed within it, and the balance of the proceeds wired after rescission. The old payment ends and one new payment with no monthly insurance takes its place.
Entitlement, the COE, and the funding fee
The funding fee is how VA pays for its guaranty: a share of the loan on first use, a larger share on a later use, financed inside the cap in nearly every file, and waived for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, for surviving spouses receiving dependency compensation, and for the other groups VA exempts. The COE states the exemption and the prior use.
Seasoning, the net tangible benefit, and the appraisal
Three tests stand between a Washington veteran and the cash. Seasoning: the loan being replaced must be past the later of the stated days after its first payment and the stated number of payments made. Benefit: the new loan must deliver at least one of VA’s listed net tangible benefits. Value: a VA appraiser sets the reasonable value and checks VA’s minimum property requirements.
VA cash-out or the alternatives
The honest comparison for a Washington veteran is three columns on one page: the VA cash-out payment with the fee financed, the current payment plus a line of credit for the same cash, and the streamline payment with no cash at all. The column with the lowest cost that meets the veteran’s purpose is the recommendation, and the review produces it.
The fee sits inside the cap, not on top of it, so a subsequent-use fee leaves less cash than a first-use fee on the same value and an exempt veteran keeps the most. Ask for less and the loan shrinks; ask for more and the calculator reports the ceiling for the tier chosen.
Where Washington’s equity sits — and how VA cash-out fits.
Full-value leverage is a rule; what it releases in Washington is a local number that changes by county and by town. The figures below are statewide, and each market page below carries its own.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Citywide medians sit above some homes and below others; the Notice of Value and the balance on one house decide what a VA cash-out on it can do.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Where Washington’s veterans borrow equity — market by market.
Six Washington markets, six guides. VA’s program is the constant; the equity a typical home holds, the property-requirement questions the local stock raises, and the regional residual-income table are what vary.
Seattle
With about 158,945 owner households, about 44% of households, Seattle is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $938,600, median household income near $123,860, population near 754K.
Spokane
With about 57,325 owner households, about 59% of households, Spokane is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $363,500, median household income near $70,064, population near 230K.
Tacoma
Tacoma is one of the larger Washington owner markets, close to 51,893 households, about 56% of households, and in a metropolitan market that size the veterans among them refinance for cash on VA terms every month: full value, no monthly insurance, the fee financed. Census context: median value near $479,600, median household income near $85,884, population near 223K.
Vancouver
Vancouver is one of the larger Washington owner markets, close to 41,385 households, about 51% of households, and in a metropolitan market that size the veterans among them refinance for cash on VA terms every month: full value, no monthly insurance, the fee financed. Census context: median value near $462,400, median household income near $81,338, population near 195K.
Bellevue
With about 32,234 owner households, about 52% of households, Bellevue is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $1,340,300, median household income near $165,576, population near 152K.
Kent
Kent is one of the larger Washington owner markets, close to 26,961 households, about 57% of households, and in a metropolitan market that size the veterans among them refinance for cash on VA terms every month: full value, no monthly insurance, the fee financed. Census context: median value near $587,800, median household income near $92,302, population near 136K.
There are no Washington markets with their own VA cash-out rules. The full-value leverage, the fee tiers and exemptions, the seasoning rule, the benefit test, the credit floor, and the residual-income standard are identical everywhere in the state; county figures enter only where entitlement is partial, and a Lendmire loan officer confirms them rather than this page printing them.
Four ways Washington veterans put equity to work.
Four reasons bring Washington veterans to a VA cash-out more than any others, and each touches a different part of the review: residual income, the appraisal, the sequence of two loans, or the comparison with a line of credit.
Consolidate higher-cost debt into one VA-backed payment
A consolidation file is the VA cash-out at its most common: the old mortgage, a second lien, and the unsecured debt paid at the table, one payment afterward. Residual income is computed on what survives the closing, which is why many Washington files clear VA’s table easily, and the home now secures what was unsecured.
Capitalize a business or an investment
Working capital drawn from a Washington home arrives as one disbursement after rescission and is repaid on the mortgage regardless of how the venture performs. The review reads the veteran’s personal income and credit, not the business plan, and residual income after the new payment is the figure that decides.
Pay off a second lien or a line in repayment
A home equity line that has entered repayment, or a second mortgage with a rate that adjusts, can be paid off by the new VA-backed first mortgage. The combined balances plus the costs and the fee must fit within the reasonable value; where they do, two payments become one with no monthly insurance.
Replace a conventional or FHA loan with a VA loan
Converting a Washington home’s financing to VA is a cash-out even when little cash is taken, because the new loan replaces a non-VA loan. The old insurance premium disappears, the fee is financed inside the full-value cap, and the Certificate of Eligibility is the first document the lender asks for.
Estimate the cash, the fee, and the new payment on a Washington home before requesting a quote.
The arithmetic follows VA’s rules for a Washington home: cap times value gives the ceiling with the fee inside it, the tier’s fee rate yields the maximum base loan, the payoff comes off, the cash request is tested against the remainder, the fee is added back, the total is amortized over the term at the rate shown, the escrows are added, and the payment is set against income and other debts.
Washington VA cash-out estimate
A Washington example to start from. Enter your own figures and your fee tier to see your own ceiling and payment.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $565,000 home value near Washington’s median owner-occupied value, a $311,000 current balance, the full-value VA cap with the first-use funding fee financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Washington (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a VA cash-out refinance quote; a VA loan is priced by the lender at lock. The total loan, funding fee included, is capped at the program leverage on the reasonable value; the fee follows the tier chosen. The cash available is what the cap allows less the balances paid off and the fee, before closing costs, which are not included. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. The debt-to-income figure is a guideline; residual income decides a VA file. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same equity, three ways to borrow it.
VA cash-out, VA streamline, line of credit: one purpose, three instruments, each with its own reach, cost, and conditions. Below is how they line up for a Washington veteran and where each tends to fit, with the conventional and FHA cash-outs as the fallback where entitlement is partial.
VA cash-out, the IRRRL, or a HELOC.
The furthest reach of the three cash-out programs on this site: full-value leverage, no monthly insurance, a credit review built on residual income, and proceeds that are the veteran’s to use. The costs are those of a complete refinance plus the fee, and the loan being replaced must be seasoned.
Rate relief without equity. A veteran with a VA loan who wants a lower payment and nothing else takes the streamline; a veteran who wants cash, or who has a conventional or FHA loan to replace, needs the cash-out. The Washington review prices both when the current loan is VA. See Lendmire’s VA loan program for the IRRRL.
For a modest or staged need on a Washington home with a low-cost first mortgage, the line usually reaches the cash for less than any refinance. For a veteran whose first mortgage should go, who wants the whole reasonable value, or who is exempt from the fee, the VA cash-out usually wins the comparison, and the review shows both columns. See Lendmire’s home equity line of credit.
VA cash-out for reach, streamline for rate, the line for keeping the first mortgage. The written terms settle which serves a Washington veteran, and the review produces them on the same value, balance, and cash for all three, with the fee counted where it applies and left out where the veteran is exempt. Without entitlement, see the conventional and FHA cash-out programs.
What to prepare for a Washington scenario review.
What goes into a Washington VA cash-out file, item by item.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
Most VA cash-outs in Washington close as planned; the ones that close for less, or stall, usually meet one of the details below. Read them before the Certificate of Eligibility is requested.
Use these checks to keep the Washington file clean and fundable.
Fee, residual income, seasoning: confirm the first on the COE, compute the second on the new payment, and check the third against the current loan’s payment history for the Washington home.
- Confirm the fee tier: A prior VA loan, including a streamline, makes the next use a subsequent use.
- Compute the residual: Residual income after the new payment and every other obligation must meet VA’s regional table.
- Name the benefit: Read the loan comparison the lender provides at application and at closing.
The funding fee comes out of the cash unless the veteran is exempt
The fee is financed inside the full-value cap, so on a Washington home it reduces the cash rather than the leverage: a first use of entitlement pays the lower tier, any later use pays the higher one, and a veteran receiving compensation for a service-connected disability pays nothing. The COE settles the tier, and the calculator shows what each tier leaves.
Residual income decides a VA file
The underwriter computes the residual on the new payment, not the old one, so a Washington veteran should see the figure at the review rather than at underwriting. Where the ratio exceeds the guideline, VA wants residual income at least a fifth above the table or other justification; where it does not, the table alone must be met.
The new loan must pass a net tangible benefit test
The benefit test is met on the new loan, and the lender documents which test applies. Replacing a conventional loan that carried private mortgage insurance meets it; moving from an adjustable rate to a fixed one meets it; a lower payment meets it. Where none applies, VA will not back the Washington loan however much equity the home holds.
The VA appraisal sets the reasonable value and checks the property
A VA fee appraiser sets the reasonable value from comparable sales and inspects the Washington home against VA’s minimum property requirements: safe, structurally sound, and sanitary. The Notice of Value issued on the appraisal is the ceiling the cap applies to, and a defect the appraiser reports is repaired before closing or the loan is not backed.
The rescission period before the money moves
Plan the money from the rescission period backward: the date the cash is needed, the days the period takes, the closing date before that. On a Washington VA cash-out the window is not negotiable and the disbursement always follows it, with the payoffs to the old lenders and the wire to the veteran leaving together.
From a Washington scenario review to cash at closing.
A VA cash-out runs in a set order: a review that sizes the loan on the value, the balance, the cash, and the fee tier; the Certificate of Eligibility, the application, and the automated finding; the VA appraisal and underwriting on residual income; closing, the rescission period, and disbursement. Each step is laid out below for a Washington veteran.
Scenario review
The review is where the Washington veteran learns whether the file fits VA, what the fee takes from the cash, and whether another instrument would reach the same cash more cheaply. It ends with written terms on a conservative value, and nothing is ordered until the veteran agrees the plan is worth an appraisal.
COE, application, and automated finding
Once the COE is in hand and the application is filed, the disclosures go out, the credit report is pulled, and the finding tells the lender what to verify. The Washington veteran sees the condition list here: statements, the service record, the payoff figures, the insurance, and whatever the finding raises, with the residual income computed on the new payment.
VA appraisal and underwriting
VA assigns a fee appraiser, the lender orders the appraisal, and the Notice of Value reports the reasonable value and any repairs VA’s property requirements demand. A value that holds leaves the loan as reviewed; a lower one resizes it; a repair finding schedules the work. Underwriting then confirms income, residual income, seasoning, the benefit test, and the payoffs.
Closing, rescission, and funding
The last step is the shortest: signatures at the table, the rescission period, then the disbursement. The settlement agent retires the old mortgage and any second lien from the proceeds, records the new one, and sends the Washington veteran the remainder; the old payment stops and the new one, with no monthly insurance, begins.
A brokerage built around equity lending.
What a veteran gets from a broker on a cash-out is a choice made honestly: the VA cash-out, the VA streamline, the home equity line, and the conventional and FHA cash-outs for partial entitlement, each priced on the same figures, with the one that serves the purpose written up and the others explained.
Every route, one review
Because the cash-out, the streamline, and the home equity line are all arranged under one roof, the recommendation follows the arithmetic rather than the product a desk happens to sell. A Washington veteran sees the cash-out payment with the fee financed, the streamline payment with no cash, and the current payment plus a line, on one page.
Placed across wholesale programs
Several wholesale lenders write VA cash-outs, and their credit floors, overlays, and cost tiers differ at any given score. Lendmire places the Washington file with the program whose terms fit it, which is seldom where a single lender’s rate sheet would have landed it.
Terms in writing, before any fee
Written first, ordered second, paid third: that is the order on every Washington file. The veteran sees the loan, the fee, the cash after costs, the payment, and the residual income on a value with room beneath it before any fee is charged, so a plan that cannot close never costs an appraisal.
Trusted by veterans & families alike.
Washington VA cash-out refinance FAQs
Before you apply in Washington: how much, what the fee costs, how seasoned the current loan must be, and when the streamline or a line of credit is the better instrument.
What is a VA cash-out refinance, and who can use it?
Think of a refinance that pays you and is backed by VA: new note, new term, a balance that includes the cash and the financed fee, one payment with no insurance premium inside it. Principal residences only, entitlement required, and the loan being replaced can be any kind of mortgage.
How much cash can I take out with a VA refinance?
Up to the full reasonable value shown in the snapshot, with the funding fee counted inside that ceiling, less the current balance, any second lien being retired, and the closing costs. The fee tier therefore moves the answer: a first use of entitlement leaves more cash than a subsequent use, and an exempt veteran keeps the most. The calculator above runs the figures for a Washington value and balance by tier, and the VA appraisal has the final say on the value.
How much is the VA funding fee on a cash-out, and who is exempt?
The fee is a share of the loan set by VA, one rate for a first use of entitlement and a higher rate for any later use, both in the snapshot, and it may be financed inside the full-value cap. Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, veterans eligible for that compensation but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead, surviving spouses receiving dependency compensation, service members with a proposed or memorandum rating before closing, and Purple Heart recipients on active duty pay no fee. A Washington veteran’s COE shows which applies.
How long do I need to have had my current loan before a VA cash-out?
The loan being refinanced must be seasoned past the later of the stated number of days after its first payment due date and the stated number of monthly payments made, both in the snapshot. The clock runs on the current loan, not on the home, so a Washington veteran who bought or refinanced recently waits until it clears. Where the new loan does not exceed the old payoff, VA also requires the costs to be recouped within the stated months through the lower payment.
What credit score do I need for a VA cash-out refinance?
No VA minimum, a wholesale starting point in the snapshot, and residual income as the real test. The ratio guideline is secondary, and a ratio above it is approved when residual income runs well past VA’s table or other justification is documented.
Would a HELOC be better than a VA cash-out?
Decide on the current mortgage first. A line of credit leaves a good first mortgage alone, borrows only the new money, carries no funding fee, and reaches a high combined leverage, so for a modest or staged need it is usually the cheaper route, with a payment that can change and the line program’s own credit standard as the trade. When the first mortgage should go, the sum is large, or the full-value reach only VA offers is needed, the VA cash-out fits. Both are arranged here and priced side by side on your Washington figures.
Can I use a VA cash-out to replace a conventional or FHA loan?
Yes. The VA cash-out can refinance any loan on the veteran’s principal residence, VA or not, into a VA-backed loan, and many Washington veterans use it exactly that way: to end the monthly mortgage insurance a conventional or FHA loan carried, to move to a fixed rate, and to take equity at the same time. The loan being replaced must be seasoned, the new loan must pass the benefit test, and the funding fee applies unless the veteran is exempt.
Are there restrictions on what I can use the cash for?
Spend it as you choose; VA does not ask. The lender notes the purpose and documents a payoff only when the retired debt leaves the ratio, and the Washington home secures the loan whatever the proceeds become.
Does the home have to be my primary residence?
VA’s occupancy rule is strict for a cash-out: the veteran, or a spouse under the deployment exception, must occupy the Washington home as a principal residence. Investment property and vacation homes take the conventional route.
How long does a VA cash-out refinance take?
The COE, the appraisal, and the title work pace the file, a repair finding stretches it, and the rescission period adds a short wait after signing. The loan officer gives a timeline for the specific Washington file at the review rather than a promise.
Run the Washington VA cash-out numbers, then get the terms in writing.
Start with a review of the value, the balance, the cash wanted, the fee tier or exemption, the income, and the household. A licensed Lendmire loan officer sizes the loan under the full-value cap, computes residual income on the new payment, prices the streamline and the line of credit beside it, and delivers written terms before any appraisal is ordered.
This guide covers Washington — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program.
All Washington city guides (6): Bellevue · Kent · Seattle · Spokane · Tacoma · Vancouver
Related programs: Cash-Out Refinance · VA Loans · HELOC