Current VA guidelines, updated from one source.
Treat this block as the program’s fixed points rather than an offer: the leverage, the fee tiers, the ratio guideline, and the residual-income figures by family size, each read live from Lendmire’s guideline source. The credit floor shown is a wholesale overlay, since VA itself sets none.
100% financing with full entitlement
0% down is the program’s defining term: a buyer with full entitlement finances up to 100% of the lesser of price and value, the guaranty replaces the down payment, and the funding fee can be added on top of the loan rather than paid in cash.
No monthly premium, no upfront premium
There is no monthly mortgage insurance and no upfront premium on a VA loan at any leverage; the guaranty does the work that private mortgage insurance or FHA’s premiums do elsewhere, and the funding fee is the only program charge.
First use; 3.3% after first use; exempt for many disabled veterans
VA charges a funding fee instead of mortgage insurance: 2.15% on a first-use purchase, 3.3% on a subsequent use, less with a down payment of five percent or more, and nothing for the exempt groups. The ladder below shows every tier, including the cash-out and rate-reduction refinance fees.
Residual income decides the file
The ratio guideline is 41%; the deciding figure is residual income, VA’s measure of what the household keeps each month after the housing payment, debts, taxes, and maintenance. The South table below applies to Virginia, and the calculator estimates a rough residual from the income you enter.
| Loan type | Use | Down payment | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase or construction | First use | less than 5% down | 2.15% |
| Purchase or construction | First use | 5% to 9.99% down | 1.5% |
| Purchase or construction | First use | 10% or more down | 1.25% |
| Purchase or construction | After first use | less than 5% down | 3.3% |
| Purchase or construction | After first use | 5% to 9.99% down | 1.5% |
| Purchase or construction | After first use | 10% or more down | 1.25% |
| Cash-out refinance | First use | Any | 2.15% |
| Cash-out refinance | After first use | Any | 3.3% |
| Irrrl | Any | Any | 0.5% |
| Manufactured home (not permanently affixed) | Any | Any | 1% |
| Loan assumption | Any | Any | 0.5% |
| Vendee loan | Any | Any | 2.25% |
| Family size | Residual income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $441 |
| 2 | $738 |
| 3 | $889 |
| 4 | $1,003 |
| 5 | $1,039 |
| Each additional member, up to seven | + $80 |
Exempt from the funding fee: veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, those eligible for it but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead, surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, service members with a pre-discharge claim rating, and active-duty service members who have received the Purple Heart. VA sets no minimum credit score; the wholesale programs behind these pages start at a 580 decision score and serve loan amounts up to $4,000,000, including loans above the conforming limit with full entitlement.
Refinances: cash-out to 100% loan-to-value after seasoning of 210 days and six payments with a net tangible benefit; rate-reduction refinances of an existing VA loan at a 0.5% fee without a VA appraisal. Current VA snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · owner-occupied principal residences, one to four units · no VA loan limit with full entitlement · loans are assumable · no prepayment penalty · Lendmire is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This page describes program parameters, not an offer. The leverage, the funding fee, the ratio guideline, and the residual-income table are VA guidelines and lender overlays, subject to change without notice and to full underwriting; the certificate, the appraisal, the credit report, and the property decide every file. Lendmire is a broker, not a lender, and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. NMLS #2371349.
What a VA loan is — and how the file is qualified.
The difference between a VA loan and any other mortgage is who shares the risk. VA stands partly behind the lender, so the lender can lend the full value with no insurance premium and read the budget on residual income. Below, the four parts a Chesapeake buyer needs to understand.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA loan program, or the statewide guide at VA Loans in Virginia; to request a Certificate of Eligibility, see VA.gov.
The guaranty replaces the down payment
The guaranty is a promise from VA to the lender, not a loan from VA. On a Chesapeake file it covers a share of any loss, so the lender can lend the full appraised value without a down payment and without charging for mortgage insurance; the funding fee is what the borrower pays for that promise.
Eligibility, entitlement, and the COE
Eligibility comes from service: a minimum period of active duty, a qualifying period in the National Guard or Reserve, or status as an eligible surviving spouse, with a character of discharge VA accepts. VA confirms it on the Certificate of Eligibility, which a Chesapeake buyer can request online, through the lender, or by mail.
The funding fee, and who is exempt
Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability pay no funding fee, and neither do surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Purple Heart recipients on active duty, or those rated before discharge. On a Chesapeake file the exemption is confirmed on the COE and removes the program’s only cost.
Residual income over ratios
Residual income depends on where the home is and how many people live in it: the tables differ by region, and the figure rises with each family member. The snapshot shows the Virginia table, and the calculator estimates a rough residual from the income, the payment, and the debts you enter for a Chesapeake scenario.
Change any of it in the calculator below: the Chesapeake price, a down payment if you want one, the fee tier, the term, the rate, and the escrows. VA supplies the fee table, the ratio guideline, and the residual-income figures; the payment is simply what those produce.
Where Chesapeake’s veterans and service members buy — and how VA fits.
A VA loan is sized against a local market, and these are Chesapeake’s numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau: how many households own, what a typical home is worth, and what households earn. They set the scale of the funding fee and the payment before any file is written.
Read the figures as backdrop. These are ranges, not predictions. The lender appraises one home, documents one income, and runs the residual-income test for one household of a specific size.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Chesapeake neighborhoods, distinct VA files.
Where Chesapeake veterans actually shop, and what the file turns on in each place: the property type the VA appraiser sees, the approval it needs, and the price residual income has to carry.
Higher-value homes
For a high-value Chesapeake file the question is entitlement rather than a limit. Full entitlement carries the loan with nothing down; remaining entitlement brings the county figure into the math and a down payment on the uncovered portion. Roughly 69,615 Chesapeake households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 74% of all households, the pool a VA purchase joins.
Condominiums and townhomes
Close-in Chesapeake condominiums suit the benefit well: nothing down, no insurance line, and a project review handled on the lender’s side. The dues go into the residual-income math, and the appraisal covers the project along with the unit. About 26% of Chesapeake’s households rent — roughly 24,011 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
A newer Chesapeake home rarely produces repair findings; the file turns on entitlement and budget. Full entitlement carries the price with nothing down; remaining entitlement brings the conforming figure into the math and may call for a down payment. Chesapeake counts a population near 253K within the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The small multi-unit Chesapeake purchase is where VA’s leverage goes furthest: no down payment on two to four units, the buyer living in one, and the documented rent from the others helping the ratios and the residual income. On a home at Chesapeake’s median value, a VA purchase with full entitlement needs no down payment at all — the funding fee on the full $378,400 is the program’s cost, and it can be financed.
Neighborhoods near the installation
The Chesapeake neighborhoods that serve an installation see VA purchases on every street, often by service members who will move again. The program is built for that: nothing down, a loan that can be assumed, and entitlement restored when the home is sold and the loan repaid. Median household income in Chesapeake sits near $95,373 on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Chesapeake blocks nearest the core carry the oldest houses, and VA’s appraiser reads them for condition as well as price: paint, roof, railings, systems. Findings become required repairs, and sellers usually complete them before closing. The median owner-occupied home value in Chesapeake runs near $378,400 on the latest Census estimate.
The rules do not change with the street. Every Chesapeake file is checked the same way: price against the Notice of Value, property against VA’s minimum property requirements, condominium against VA’s approval list, and borrower against entitlement, the ratio guideline, and residual income. Second homes and rentals are not VA purchases.
Four ways Chesapeake veterans put the VA benefit to work.
VA is more than a first-purchase program: it refinances, it takes cash out to the full value of the home, it finances small multi-unit homes, and it reaches well above the conforming limit with full entitlement. These are the four uses that bring Chesapeake veterans to it most often.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
Up to four units, nothing down, no mortgage insurance: VA finances the small multi-unit home as long as the veteran lives in one unit. Rent from the other units can count toward qualifying under VA’s rules, which may ask for landlord experience or reserves.
Buy above the conforming limit
The VA jumbo is the program’s quiet strength in Chesapeake: no down payment and no mortgage insurance on a loan above the conforming limit, qualified on residual income like any other VA file, with a credit floor set by the wholesale overlay rather than by VA.
Buy a first home with nothing down
A Chesapeake buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash for a down payment uses VA to purchase with nothing down, finances the funding fee, and keeps the savings for moving costs, reserves, and the first repairs on the home.
Take cash out of a home with equity
Cash-out on VA is a full refinance of the first mortgage at the leverage in the snapshot, after the later of the seasoning period or the required payments, with the funding fee at the cash-out tier. A Chesapeake owner weighs it against a home equity line, which keeps the existing first mortgage in place.
Estimate the VA payment on a Chesapeake price before requesting a quote.
This is what a nothing-down Chesapeake purchase costs each month: the funding fee for the use and down payment you choose, the total loan amortized at the benchmark rate, the escrows added, and the ratio and a rough residual income measured against VA’s guideline and table. Edit any field; the rate shown is the weekly Freddie Mac average and not a quote.
Chesapeake VA payment estimate
Use the Chesapeake defaults as a starting point and change the price, the down payment, the fee tier, the term, and the escrows to fit.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $380,000 price near Chesapeake’s median owner-occupied home value, no down payment with full entitlement, a first-use funding fee financed into the loan, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (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 loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. The funding fee follows VA’s published table for the use and down payment entered; the residual-income figure is VA’s guideline for the region and family size, and the rough residual shown subtracts only the housing payment and the debts entered, while VA also deducts taxes, maintenance and utilities. Taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Same veteran, three very different closings.
Choosing among VA, FHA, and conventional in Chesapeake is really choosing an insurance structure and a down payment at the same time. Each is laid out below with the buyer it fits.
VA, FHA, or conventional.
The program’s strengths are the down payment, the insurance, and the residual-income test; its cost is the funding fee. A Chesapeake veteran with full entitlement usually pays less each month on VA than on FHA at the same price, and the conventional comparison turns on the down payment and the fee tier.
FHA’s leverage is high and its credit standard is forgiving, but its insurance never comes off a full-leverage thirty-year loan. A Chesapeake veteran comparing the two sees the premium line in the FHA payment and nothing in that line on VA. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Conventional is the comparison for a veteran with savings: with twenty percent down there is no mortgage insurance and no funding fee, and the payment can beat VA with a financed fee. Below that down payment, VA usually wins for a Chesapeake buyer. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Where each one fits: VA for the eligible buyer who wants no down payment and no mortgage insurance; FHA for the buyer without eligibility who needs the small investment and the forgiving score; conventional for the buyer with twenty percent down or a strong score who wants cancellable insurance.
What to prepare for a Chesapeake scenario review.
The paperwork is the standard mortgage set with the service record on top; here is what a Chesapeake scenario review typically draws on.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, entitlement, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
When a Chesapeake VA file surprises someone, the cause is usually one of these: entitlement partly in use, a higher fee tier than expected, required repairs from the appraisal, a condominium without VA approval, or residual income below the table.
Use these checks to keep the Chesapeake file clean and fundable.
A Chesapeake file that is ready to review has already answered three questions: how much entitlement, what funding fee, and whether the property is inside VA’s rules.
- Confirm the entitlement: entitlement is restored once the earlier loan is paid off and the home sold.
- Know the fee: the fee can be financed, paid at closing, or paid by the seller.
- Structure the contract: seller concessions are capped as a share of the value; ordinary closing costs are outside the cap.
Full or remaining entitlement
Entitlement is full on a first use, and it is restored when an earlier VA loan is paid off and the home sold; it is partial when an earlier VA loan is still outstanding or was lost to foreclosure. A Chesapeake buyer with full entitlement has no loan limit; with remaining entitlement the county conforming figure enters the math and a down payment may be required.
The funding fee tier and the exemptions
Financed, the fee raises the loan balance and the payment; paid at closing, it raises the cash to close; paid by the seller, it counts toward the concessions cap. Which is best on a Chesapeake file depends on the tier and on how long the home will be kept, and the loan officer shows all three ways side by side.
Seller concessions and the fees a veteran may not pay
Two rules shape the Chesapeake contract: the seller may pay closing costs and, within VA’s cap, concessions such as prepaids and the funding fee; and the veteran may not be charged certain fees that other buyers pay. Structured with both in mind, a VA purchase can close with no down payment and modest cash.
Assumption and release of liability
Assumability is one of the program’s quieter advantages for a Chesapeake owner who may sell into a higher-rate market, and one of its traps: without a release of liability the seller remains responsible, and without substitution of entitlement the seller’s benefit stays in use on a home they no longer own.
Residual income and the ratio guideline
Residual income is measured after the housing payment, other debts, taxes, and VA’s allowance for maintenance and utilities, against a table by region and family size. A Chesapeake household must meet the figure for its size, and a ratio above VA’s guideline needs residual income well above the table or a documented justification.
From a Chesapeake Certificate of Eligibility to keys in hand.
From the certificate to the closing table, a Chesapeake VA purchase takes four steps, and each one carries a VA rule inside it.
COE and pre-approval
A Chesapeake pre-approval is a sizing exercise: the certificate, the income, the family size, the funding fee tier, and the price. The loan officer confirms eligibility and entitlement against the program rules and puts the pre-approval in writing for the offer.
Contract and appraisal
The Chesapeake contract sets the price and the concessions; the appraisal sets the value and the condition. Both feed the loan amount, and the lender confirms the project approval and the wood-destroying insect inspection where the state requires one before underwriting begins.
Underwriting
Underwriting on a Chesapeake VA file reads the whole picture: the entitlement on the certificate, the housing payment history, the seasoning of any derogatory event, and the residual income after VA’s deductions for taxes and upkeep. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before the approval is final.
Closing
At closing the funding fee is added to the loan or paid, the escrows for taxes and insurance are set up, and there is no mortgage insurance to begin. A Chesapeake buyer signs the note and the security instrument, certifies occupancy, and VA’s guaranty attaches to the loan.
A brokerage that puts the benefit to work.
A single lender recommends its own program; a brokerage with several wholesale programs and all three routes can say which one actually costs a Chesapeake veteran less, and show the arithmetic.
Three programs, one set of numbers
A lender with one program sells that program; a brokerage with all three can say which fits. For a Chesapeake veteran with full entitlement the answer is almost always VA; with a large down payment and a high fee tier it can be conventional, and the arithmetic decides.
The fee and the entitlement explained before the offer
The fee is the program’s cost and the entitlement is its reach, and Lendmire explains both first rather than last: how much the fee is, whether it is waived or refundable, and what the certificate supports for a Chesapeake buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire is licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, each loan is a consumer-purpose transaction with the full set of disclosures, and every figure a Chesapeake buyer relies on, from the fee to the leverage to the final terms, comes in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Trusted by veterans & families alike.
Chesapeake VA loan FAQs
What a VA loan is, who is eligible, how the certificate works, what the funding fee costs, and how the loan limit works, answered for Chesapeake buyers.
What is a VA loan, and who is it for?
A VA loan is a mortgage from a private lender with a partial guaranty from the Department of Veterans Affairs: VA backs a share of the loan, and in exchange the program allows no down payment with full entitlement, no monthly mortgage insurance, a residual-income test, and a cap on the fees a veteran can be charged. It is for veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and eligible surviving spouses buying a principal residence in Chesapeake.
Who is eligible for a VA loan in Chesapeake?
Active-duty service members after a minimum period, veterans with the required length of service for their era, Guard and Reserve members with qualifying active duty or six years of service, and eligible surviving spouses. The certificate settles it.
How do I get a Certificate of Eligibility?
Most Chesapeake buyers let the lender pull it: with a DD-214 or a statement of service, the lender can often obtain the certificate from VA’s system during the first conversation. VA.gov issues it online as well, and VA Form 26-1880 by mail is the slowest route.
What is the VA funding fee, and do I have to pay it?
The funding fee is a share of the loan paid once, with the amount set by VA’s table in the snapshot; it is waived for several groups and refundable when a disability rating is granted retroactively. On a typical Chesapeake purchase it is financed, so it raises the balance rather than the cash to close.
Is there a VA loan limit in Chesapeake?
Not with full entitlement: VA backs a quarter of the loan whatever its size, so a Chesapeake buyer with full entitlement can finance above the conforming limit with no down payment, up to the ceiling the wholesale programs set. With remaining entitlement the county conforming figure enters the calculation and a lender may require a down payment; a Lendmire loan officer confirms the figure for the county.
Does a VA loan have mortgage insurance?
Not at any loan-to-value. FHA charges an upfront and an annual premium, conventional charges private mortgage insurance until equity grows, and VA charges neither; the funding fee is paid once.
What does a VA appraisal check?
Value and condition. A VA-assigned appraiser values the home and checks it against VA’s minimum property requirements, which call for a safe, structurally sound, and sanitary home; required repairs are usually completed before closing, and a Notice of Value is issued on the report by the lender’s appraisal reviewer or by VA. When the value comes in below the price, VA’s process lets the appraiser consider additional sales before the figure is final.
Is a VA loan assumable?
It is. A future buyer who qualifies can take over the loan with the lender’s approval, which can make a Chesapeake home more attractive to sell when rates have moved up. Ask for a release of liability and, where the buyer is a veteran, a substitution of entitlement.
Do I need a down payment for a VA loan?
A VA purchase with full entitlement needs no down payment at all, and there is no mortgage insurance in exchange. The calculator shows the Chesapeake payment both ways: nothing down at the base fee tier, or a down payment at the lower tier.
Do I have to live in the home to use a VA loan?
The home has to be your principal residence at closing, occupied within a reasonable time. Second homes and investment property are outside the program, but a multi-unit home where you occupy one unit is inside it, and deployment has its own allowances.
A Chesapeake VA loan sized to the price, the entitlement, and the budget.
Begin with a scenario review: the Certificate of Eligibility, the price, the income, and the household size. A licensed Lendmire loan officer runs VA beside FHA and conventional on the same numbers and puts the terms in writing.
This guide covers Chesapeake — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see VA Loans in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Virginia Beach · Norfolk · Newport News · Richmond · Arlington
Related programs: Conventional Loans · FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans