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
100% financing is available with full entitlement, so the buyer brings 0% toward the price; closing costs are separate and can be paid by the seller within VA’s limit. A larger down payment lowers the funding fee tier, as the ladder shows.
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
Two tests, one guideline: the total-debt ratio is measured against 41%, and residual income is measured against the South table below for the household’s size. VA tells lenders the residual-income test carries more weight, which is why a modest ratio does not approve a thin budget.
| 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.
Informational only; not a commitment to lend, an approval, or a quote. Every figure on this page is a program parameter read from Lendmire’s guideline source, built on VA’s published rules, and may change without notice; eligibility, the loan amount, the fee, and the residual-income test depend on the Certificate of Eligibility, the credit profile, the property, and underwriting. Lendmire is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. NMLS #2371349.
What a VA loan is — and how the file is qualified.
To follow a Savannah VA file, follow four things in order: the guaranty, the eligibility and entitlement that unlock it, the funding fee that funds it, and the residual-income standard that qualifies it. Each rule below comes with the reason behind it.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA loan program, or the statewide guide at VA Loans in Georgia; to request a Certificate of Eligibility, see VA.gov.
The guaranty replaces the down payment
Because VA backs part of every loan, the lender’s risk on a Savannah purchase is closer to a loan with a large down payment than to a high-leverage conventional loan. The program passes that difference to the borrower as no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and a cap on the fees a veteran can be charged.
Eligibility, entitlement, and the COE
Entitlement is the share of the loan VA will back. It is full for a first use and for a veteran who has sold the earlier home and paid the loan off; it is partial when an earlier VA loan is still outstanding or was lost to foreclosure. A Savannah buyer with partial entitlement can still buy, often with a down payment on the uncovered portion.
The funding fee, and who is exempt
What the funding fee buys is the absence of mortgage insurance. On a Savannah purchase the fee is paid once, usually financed, while an FHA or conventional borrower at the same leverage pays a premium every month for years; the comparison usually favors VA unless the fee tier is high and the loan is short-lived.
Residual income over ratios
Two tests run on every Savannah VA file: the total-debt ratio against VA’s guideline, and residual income against the regional table. The second decides the close calls. Income must be stable and expected to continue, and the lender documents it the same way it would on any mortgage.
Change any of it in the calculator below: the Savannah 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 Savannah’s veterans and service members buy — and how VA fits.
Three Census figures frame every Savannah VA file. Ownership says how much of the market the benefit can reach, the median value says what a nothing-down loan typically comes to, and household income says how much residual income is left after that payment.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Two veterans with identical entitlement can see different files here: one buying at the median clears the residual-income table with room, another stretching above it needs the ratio justified. The market sets the spread.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Savannah neighborhoods, distinct VA files.
No single VA file describes Savannah. The neighborhoods below differ in housing stock, price, and the appraisal questions they raise, and each one shapes how a VA purchase is put together.
Higher-value homes
An expensive Savannah purchase is a VA jumbo when entitlement is full: the guaranty scales with the loan, the lender waives the down payment, and the comparison against a conventional jumbo turns on the large down payment the conventional loan requires and VA does not. Median household income in Savannah sits near $57,137 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Savannah tend to appraise without findings, which moves the question to price. With full entitlement there is no loan limit, so a contract above the county conforming figure is still a nothing-down VA purchase, tested on residual income at that payment. Savannah counts a population near 148K within the Savannah, GA area.
Neighborhoods near the installation
A service member buying near a Savannah installation uses the benefit as designed: no down payment, an occupancy certification with allowances for deployment, and the option to keep the home as a rental on the next set of orders without refinancing. Roughly 26,392 Savannah households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 45% of all households, the pool a VA purchase joins.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Condition carries weight in Savannah’s established neighborhoods. The appraisal lists what VA wants fixed, the contract decides who fixes it, and the Notice of Value is issued once the value and the condition are settled. On a home at Savannah’s median value, a VA purchase with full entitlement needs no down payment at all — the funding fee on the full $248,900 is the program’s cost, and it can be financed.
Condominiums and townhomes
For many Savannah veterans the first VA purchase is a condominium, and the only question VA adds is whether the project is on its approved list. If it is, the file reads like a house file with the dues in the ratios; if not, the lender can submit the project. The median owner-occupied home value in Savannah runs near $248,900 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Owner occupancy of one unit is the hinge on a Savannah multi-unit file; after that, the guaranty treats the loan like any other, the rent VA allows is documented toward qualifying, and the appraiser inspects each unit against the property requirements. About 55% of Savannah’s households rent — roughly 31,800 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Neighborhood sets the price and the property type; VA sets the rest. The guaranty, the funding fee, the ratio guideline, and the residual-income table apply identically on every Savannah file, and full entitlement carries no loan limit anywhere in the county.
Four ways Savannah veterans put the VA benefit to work.
Savannah veterans use VA for a handful of reasons that repeat: the purchase with nothing down, the move above the conforming limit without a jumbo down payment, the cash-out refinance at the program’s leverage, and the rate-reduction refinance of an existing VA loan.
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 a first home with nothing down
A Savannah 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.
Buy above the conforming limit
A higher-priced Savannah home is still a VA purchase: the guaranty backs a quarter of the loan whatever its size, and the lender can waive the down payment on the whole amount with full entitlement. The county conforming figure only matters when entitlement is partly in use.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
Many Savannah first purchases are condominiums, and VA finances them in approved projects; a project not yet on the list can be submitted, which takes time and the association’s cooperation. The buyer’s side of the file does not change.
Estimate the VA payment on a Savannah price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Savannah price, any down payment, and the funding fee tier, choose a term, and the calculator returns the base loan, the fee financed, the total loan, principal and interest, taxes and insurance, and, with income and family size entered, the ratio and a rough residual income against VA’s table. The rate field holds the weekly Freddie Mac benchmark as a market reference, never a VA quote.
Savannah VA payment estimate
Use the Savannah 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 $250,000 price near Savannah’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 Georgia (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.
Eligibility, entitlement, the cash available, and the expected length of the loan decide which program wins. Here are the three, one next to the other.
VA, FHA, or conventional.
VA fits nearly every Savannah buyer who holds eligibility: the leverage is complete, there is no insurance line in the payment, and the fee is paid once. Partial entitlement, a property that fails VA’s standards, or a fee tier that outweighs a short hold are the cases where another program competes.
FHA’s leverage is high and its credit standard is forgiving, but its insurance never comes off a full-leverage thirty-year loan. A Savannah 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 financing asks for a down payment and a higher score, in exchange for insurance that cancels and no funding fee. A Savannah veteran with a large down payment and a subsequent-use fee tier should see both programs run on the same numbers. 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 Savannah scenario review.
Gather these before a Savannah review: ordinary mortgage documents plus the proof of service that opens the file.
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.
The percentages tell only part of the story. What a Savannah VA loan actually becomes depends on the certificate, the appraisal, and the credit report, and these are the details that move it.
Use these checks to keep the Savannah file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before a Savannah review: what the certificate says about entitlement, which funding fee tier applies, and whether the property has any VA question attached.
- Confirm the entitlement: an earlier VA loan still outstanding leaves remaining entitlement and may call for a down payment.
- Know the fee: disabled veterans receiving compensation and the other exempt groups pay no fee.
- Check the project: the lender checks the list before the appraisal is ordered.
Full or remaining entitlement
Two veterans, two COEs, two different loans: one with full entitlement buys above the conforming limit with nothing down, the other with an earlier loan still open brings a down payment on the uncovered portion. A Savannah loan officer reads the certificate before anything is sized.
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 Savannah 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.
Condominium project approval
Of every property question on a VA file, project approval is the one that can end a Savannah condominium purchase outright. Have the lender check VA’s list before paying for the appraisal, and ask how long an approval would take if the project is missing.
Two- to four-unit homes and rental income
A Savannah fourplex with nothing down is possible under the program; the lender documents the rents, applies VA’s rules for counting them, and checks the property against VA’s requirements unit by unit. A loan officer runs the residual-income test before the offer.
Seller concessions and the fees a veteran may not pay
Two rules shape the Savannah 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.
From a Savannah Certificate of Eligibility to keys in hand.
From the certificate to the closing table, a Savannah VA purchase takes four steps, and each one carries a VA rule inside it.
COE and pre-approval
A Savannah 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
With the contract signed, the lender requests a VA-assigned appraiser, who values the Savannah home and checks it against VA’s property requirements; the Notice of Value is issued on the report. Seller concessions are checked against VA’s cap, and any condominium project approval is confirmed.
Underwriting
An automated approval still runs the residual-income test; a manual file is read against the guideline and the table. Either way, the Savannah underwriter verifies the income, the assets, the credit history, and the property, and issues the approval with its conditions.
Closing
Closing is where the fee becomes real: financed into the total loan or paid at the table, with the seller’s concessions applied and the fees a veteran may not pay removed from the sheet. The Savannah buyer takes the keys and VA backs the lender.
A brokerage that puts the benefit to work.
Lendmire never lends. It reads a Savannah file against VA, FHA, and conventional, matches the program to the profile, and keeps the funding fee and the residual-income test in front of the buyer before anything is signed.
Three programs, one set of numbers
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every Savannah file: VA with the fee financed beside FHA with its premiums beside conventional with private insurance, and the written terms follow from whichever column serves the veteran.
The fee and the entitlement explained before the offer
The certificate fixes two things a buyer should know before signing a contract: the funding fee tier and the entitlement available. Lendmire states both for the Savannah purchase and explains the exemption and the refund rules where they apply.
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 Savannah 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.
Savannah 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 Savannah buyers.
What is a VA loan, and who is it for?
Think of it as a conventional mortgage with VA standing where the down payment would stand. The guaranty costs a one-time funding fee, and it buys no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and underwriting that reads the household budget. Owner-occupied homes only, up to four units.
Who is eligible for a VA loan in Savannah?
Most veterans with an honorable or general discharge, current service members past the minimum period, Guard and Reserve members with enough qualifying service, and eligible surviving spouses. Other-than-honorable discharges can disqualify, and VA reviews them case by case.
How do I get a Certificate of Eligibility?
Three ways: online through VA.gov, through the lender using VA’s system, or by mail with VA Form 26-1880. A veteran provides the DD-214, an active-duty member a statement of service, a Guard member NGB Forms 22 and 23, a Reserve member a points statement, and a surviving spouse VA Form 26-1817 or the paperwork for a claim not yet receiving DIC.
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 Savannah purchase it is financed, so it raises the balance rather than the cash to close.
Is there a VA loan limit in Savannah?
There is no VA loan limit for a veteran with full entitlement; the lender’s own maximum loan amount, shown in the snapshot, is the practical ceiling. A Savannah buyer with remaining entitlement should ask a loan officer how the county figure affects the file.
Can I buy a duplex or fourplex with a VA loan?
Yes, up to four units with no down payment, as long as you occupy one unit. Rental income from the other units can count toward qualifying within VA’s rules, which may call for landlord experience or additional reserves, and the appraisal checks every unit against VA’s requirements.
Can I use a VA loan to buy a condominium?
Yes, with one extra step: the project review against VA’s list. Approved projects close on the ordinary file; a Savannah project not yet approved can be submitted, which takes time and the association’s cooperation.
Can I take cash out with a VA refinance?
It is available at the leverage shown in the snapshot after seasoning, on a principal residence only, with a net tangible benefit required. The new loan is a VA loan with the cash-out funding fee tier, financed or paid at closing.
Is a VA loan assumable?
Yes. A VA loan can be assumed by a qualified buyer, veteran or not, with the lender’s approval. The seller should obtain a release of liability, and the seller’s entitlement stays tied to the loan unless the assuming buyer is a veteran who substitutes their own; when rates have moved up since the loan was made, assumability can be a selling point for a Savannah home.
Can the seller pay my closing costs on a VA loan?
Yes. The seller may pay ordinary closing costs without limit, and may pay concessions such as prepaid items, the funding fee, and payoff of the buyer’s debts up to VA’s cap as a share of the value. VA also bars certain fees from being charged to the veteran at all, so the contract and the fee sheet are reviewed together.
A Savannah 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 Savannah — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see VA Loans in Georgia, part of Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Nearby markets in Georgia: Augusta · Macon · Columbus · Atlanta · South Fulton
Related programs: Conventional Loans · FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans