Current VA guidelines, updated from one source.
One guideline source feeds every number in this block, and the block changes here when the source does. The terms shown are purchase terms; the refinance leverage, the seasoning rule, and the fee exemptions sit under the two tables.
100% financing with full entitlement
With full entitlement a purchase needs 0% down at up to 100% of the appraised value; VA backs a quarter of the loan, which is what lets the lender waive the down payment. With remaining entitlement a lender may ask for a down payment on the part VA does not back.
No monthly premium, no upfront premium
Mortgage insurance does not exist on a VA loan: no monthly premium, no upfront premium, no cancellation rules to track. The calculator below shows a payment with nothing in that line, which is where VA differs from every other high-leverage program.
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 West table below applies to California, 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 | $491 |
| 2 | $823 |
| 3 | $990 |
| 4 | $1,117 |
| 5 | $1,158 |
| 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.
For informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit, an offer, or a quote. Program parameters shown are VA guidelines and wholesale lender overlays, are subject to change without notice, and every figure depends on the borrower, the entitlement, the property, the selected program, and full underwriting. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by 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.
Every Concord VA file has the same skeleton: a certificate that proves eligibility, an entitlement figure that sets how much VA will back, a funding fee that pays for the backing or is waived, and an underwriting test that reads the household’s leftover income. The cards below explain each bone.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA loan program, or the statewide guide at VA Loans in California; 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 Concord file it covers a share of any loss, so the lender can lend the full purchase price, up to the 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
Three questions settle eligibility on a Concord file: the service history, the character of discharge, and whether entitlement is full or partly in use. The COE answers all three. Surviving spouses, National Guard and Reserve members, and veterans with an earlier VA loan each have their own path to the certificate.
The funding fee, and who is exempt
The funding fee is VA’s one-time charge for the guaranty, set as a share of the loan by whether the benefit has been used before and by the down payment. A Concord buyer can finance it into the loan or pay it at closing, and the seller can pay it as part of concessions; the ladder in the snapshot shows every tier, and veterans compensated for a service-connected disability are exempt.
Residual income over ratios
The ratio VA names is a guideline; the residual-income table is the standard. A Concord file above the ratio can be approved when residual income clears the table by a fifth or more, and a file below the ratio can still be declined when residual income falls short, which is the reverse of how FHA and conventional loans read a budget.
The calculator turns this arithmetic into a Concord scenario: price in, down payment in, fee tier chosen, and out come the funding fee, the total loan, principal and interest, and the escrows. Add income and family size to see the ratio and a rough residual against VA’s table.
Where Concord’s veterans and service members buy — and how VA fits.
The numbers below are Concord’s, not any one borrower’s: owner households, median home value, and household income from the U.S. Census Bureau. They tell you the scale of a typical VA purchase here; the certificate, the appraisal, and the household’s own income tell you the loan.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Income is the residual-income input, value is the loan and the fee, and family size is the row in VA’s table. The Census describes the first two for the market; the file supplies all three for the borrower.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Concord neighborhoods, distinct VA files.
Where Concord 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.
Established close-in neighborhoods
An older Concord house is a fine VA purchase; the property requirements are the hurdle, not the age. Buyers who expect a repair list write the contract with room for it, and a wood-destroying insect inspection is ordered where VA calls for one. On a home at Concord’s median value, a VA purchase with full entitlement needs no down payment at all — the funding fee on the full $797,600 is the program’s cost, and it can be financed.
Condominiums and townhomes
Close-in Concord condominiums suit the benefit well: nothing down, no insurance line, and a project review that runs through VA’s approved-project list. The dues go into the residual-income math, and the appraisal covers the project along with the unit. About 38% of Concord’s households rent — roughly 17,763 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Concord 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. Concord is home to about 124K people.
Service members and the occupancy rule
Where Concord neighborhoods serve an installation, VA purchases appear 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 Concord sits near $108,709 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
For a high-value Concord file, the question is entitlement rather than a limit. Full entitlement carries the loan with nothing down. With remaining entitlement, the county figure comes into play, and a lender may require a down payment on the uncovered portion. The median owner-occupied home value in Concord runs near $797,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Owner occupancy of one unit is the hinge on a Concord 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. Roughly 28,473 Concord households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 62% of all households, the pool a VA purchase joins.
Each Concord submarket has its own property story, and the VA appraisal is where that story is told. The property requirements, the occupancy rule, and the residual-income test are the constants.
Four ways Concord veterans put the VA benefit to work.
Because VA backs part of every loan, it fits the Concord veteran who has the income for the payment but would rather keep the savings than spend them on a down payment and insurance. Four examples follow.
Buy above the conforming limit
With full entitlement, the VA sets no loan limit, so a Concord buyer can finance a home above the conforming limit with no down payment. A conventional jumbo loan would ask for a large one. The wholesale programs behind these pages serve loan amounts up to the ceiling shown in the snapshot on this page.
Buy a first home with nothing down
The most common Concord VA file: a veteran with steady income and full entitlement buys at the appraised value with no down payment, finances the funding fee, and pays no mortgage insurance; the seller can cover closing costs, with VA’s cap applying to concessions beyond them.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
VA keeps its own list of approved condominium projects, and a Concord unit in one of them is financed like a house with the association’s dues added to the ratios and the residual-income math. The appraisal covers the project as well as the unit.
Refinance an existing VA loan
An existing VA loan in Concord can be refinanced on its own record: the IRRRL skips the appraisal and most of the documentation, carries the smallest funding fee in the program, and must leave the borrower better off under VA’s net tangible benefit rules.
Estimate the VA payment on a Concord price before requesting a quote.
The program’s own math on your Concord inputs: price less any down payment, plus the financed fee, amortized at the benchmark, with escrows added and nothing for mortgage insurance. The actual rate, payment, and costs come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Concord VA payment estimate
Price starts from a Concord value, with no down payment; fields update as you type.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $800,000 price near Concord’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 California (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 Concord 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.
Where VA charges a one-time fee, FHA charges a premium every month and an upfront premium at closing. FHA fits the buyer with no entitlement or a property VA will not approve; it rarely wins for a Concord buyer who holds a COE. 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 Concord buyer. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
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 Concord scenario review.
The paperwork is the standard mortgage set with the service record on top; here is what a Concord 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.
The percentages tell only part of the story. What a Concord 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 Concord file clean and fundable.
Before asking for a quote, know three answers: is entitlement full, does the fee apply and at what tier, and does the property fit VA’s standards at that price.
- 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.
- Mind the residual: residual income is measured against the regional table for the family size.
Full or remaining entitlement
The COE states the entitlement available, and that single line decides whether a Concord purchase closes with nothing down at any price the appraisal supports or needs a down payment on the part VA does not back. A veteran keeping an earlier VA-financed home as a rental is the usual remaining-entitlement case, and the file still works.
The funding fee tier and the exemptions
A subsequent use costs more than a first use, and five or ten percent down lowers either tier; the exemption removes the fee entirely. A Concord veteran with a pending disability claim should raise it early, because a rating granted before closing waives the fee and one granted after can bring a refund.
Residual income and the ratio guideline
Family size moves the figure, and so does the region. The snapshot shows the table for California’s VA region; the calculator estimates a rough residual before the lender’s deductions for taxes and upkeep, so a Concord scenario that barely clears the table here may not clear it in underwriting.
Assumption and release of liability
Assumability is one of the program’s quieter advantages for a Concord 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.
Seller concessions and the fees a veteran may not pay
Two rules shape the Concord 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 Concord Certificate of Eligibility to keys in hand.
Four steps: the certificate and pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The Concord version of each follows.
COE and pre-approval
A Concord 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 Concord 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
Underwriting on a Concord 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 Concord 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.
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage licensed for consumer lending in sixteen states, and on a VA file that buys three things: the program run against FHA and conventional on the same numbers, the entitlement and the fee tier confirmed before an offer is written, and the terms in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Three programs, one set of numbers
Before any recommendation, VA, FHA, and conventional are run on the same Concord price, income, and down payment. The buyer sees the payment, the insurance or fee line, and the cash to close for each, and the choice follows the figures.
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 Concord buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are VA’s parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Concord loan gets is a written set of terms from a licensed loan officer after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender, and has no affiliation with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trusted by veterans & families alike.
Concord 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 Concord buyers.
What is a VA loan, and who is it for?
VA runs a guaranty program for veterans’ home loans; it is not a lender. A Concord buyer applies through a lender or broker, the lender underwrites to VA’s rules, and VA stands behind part of the loan. Purchases, cash-out refinances, and rate-reduction refinances of existing VA loans are all inside it.
Who is eligible for a VA loan in Concord?
Service decides it: a minimum period of active duty, a qualifying period in the Guard or Reserve, or eligible surviving-spouse status, with a character of discharge VA accepts. A Concord buyer unsure of the answer can request the certificate from VA.gov or have the lender pull it.
How do I get a Certificate of Eligibility?
The lender is usually the fastest path, and VA.gov the next. The certificate shows available entitlement, prior use of the benefit, and any funding fee exemption, which is why a Concord loan officer wants it before sizing the loan.
What is the VA funding fee, and do I have to pay it?
The fee is the program’s only charge for the guaranty, and the snapshot shows the tiers. A Concord buyer who is receiving VA disability compensation, or who falls in one of the other exempt groups, pays nothing; everyone else pays the tier for their use and down payment, usually by financing it.
Is there a VA loan limit in Concord?
Not with full entitlement: VA backs a quarter of the whole loan, so a Concord buyer with full entitlement can finance above the conforming limit for the county, which this page never quotes, 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.
What credit score do I need for a VA loan?
VA has never set a score, so the answer is the lender’s floor in the snapshot. More useful than the number is what sits around it: a clean recent housing history, seasoning after any derogatory event, and residual income that clears the table.
Can I use a VA loan to buy a condominium?
In a VA-approved project. A Concord buyer under contract on a condominium should have the lender check the status early, because a project that is not approved must go through VA’s review before the loan can close.
What does a VA appraisal check?
Value against the contract price, and condition against VA’s minimum property requirements. The Notice of Value states both, repairs the appraiser requires are usually completed before closing, and a low value can be reconsidered under VA’s process.
Can I take cash out with a VA refinance?
Yes, up to the leverage in the snapshot, which includes the funding fee, on an owner-occupied principal residence after seasoning of the later of the period and the number of payments shown, with a net tangible benefit and, where the loan refinances an existing VA loan, a recoupment test on the costs. A HELOC that leaves the first mortgage alone is the comparison worth running.
Do I have to live in the home to use a VA loan?
Yes. VA loans are for principal residences: the veteran certifies an intent to occupy within a reasonable time after closing, and a loan officer can explain how that timing applies to you. A spouse can satisfy the requirement for a service member who is deployed or stationed elsewhere, and a veteran may later move out and keep the home as a rental.
Buy in Concord with nothing down and no mortgage insurance.
When you are ready, a Concord review sizes the loan, settles the program, and produces written terms. Nothing on this page commits anyone to lend.
This guide covers Concord — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see VA Loans in California, part of Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Nearby markets in California: Walnut Creek · Pittsburg · Antioch · San Ramon · Brentwood · Vallejo · Berkeley · Oakland
Related programs: Conventional Loans · FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans