Current VA guidelines, updated from one source.
What follows is VA’s own rulebook reduced to the handful of numbers that decide a file, pulled from Lendmire’s single guideline source and refreshed on this page whenever VA or the wholesale overlays move: leverage with full entitlement, the funding fee by use and down payment, the ratio guideline, and the residual-income table for this state’s VA region.
100% financing with full entitlement
The purchase leverage is 100% loan-to-value with full entitlement, which means 0% down on a home that appraises at the price; a price above the appraised value is paid in cash or renegotiated, and the guaranty covers the lender’s exposure.
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
2.15% of the loan on first use and 3.3% after, both lower with five or ten percent down; the fee can be rolled into the loan or paid at closing, and VA waives it for disabled veterans receiving compensation, surviving spouses receiving DIC, and active-duty Purple Heart recipients.
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 Midwest table below applies to Michigan, 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.
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.
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 an East Lansing buyer needs to understand.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA loan program, or the statewide guide at VA Loans in Michigan; to request a Certificate of Eligibility, see VA.gov.
The guaranty replaces the down payment
Think of the guaranty as VA standing where the down payment would stand. With full entitlement the backing covers a quarter of whatever the loan is, so an East Lansing buyer is not capped by a county figure; with reduced entitlement the backing is smaller, and a lender may ask for a down payment to make up the difference.
Eligibility, entitlement, and the COE
Three questions settle eligibility on an East Lansing 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. An East Lansing 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
VA qualifies a household on what is left, not only on what is owed: residual income is the monthly income remaining after the proposed housing payment, other debts, taxes, and an allowance for maintenance and utilities, measured against a table by family size and region. An East Lansing family must meet the table for its size.
Change any of it in the calculator below: the East Lansing 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 East Lansing’s veterans and service members buy — and how VA fits.
Three Census figures frame every East Lansing 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. 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 East Lansing neighborhoods, distinct VA files.
An East Lansing condominium, a half-century-old family home, and a new subdivision house are three different VA files: different project approvals, different property findings, different funding fees in dollars. The six submarkets below show the range.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The small multi-unit East Lansing 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. Roughly 5,339 East Lansing households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 39% of all households, the pool a VA purchase joins.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Condition carries weight in East Lansing’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 East Lansing’s median value, a VA purchase with full entitlement needs no down payment at all — the funding fee on the full $270,800 is the program’s cost, and it can be financed.
Service members and the occupancy rule
Where East Lansing sits near a base or a reserve center, VA files cluster in the neighborhoods service members choose, and the occupancy rule bends there in defined ways: a spouse can occupy for a member on orders, and a veteran may later rent the home out after living in it. East Lansing is home to about 46K people and sits within the Lansing-East Lansing, MI area.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in East Lansing 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. Median household income in East Lansing sits near $45,687 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
For a high-value East Lansing 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 East Lansing runs near $270,800 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
A VA-approved East Lansing project turns a condominium into a routine file. The buyer’s side does not change; the lender confirms the project before ordering the appraisal, which is the step that saves a contract from a dead end. About 61% of East Lansing’s households rent — roughly 8,511 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Each East Lansing 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 East Lansing veterans put the VA benefit to work.
A good use of VA is one the program’s shape fits: no down payment, no mortgage insurance, residual-income underwriting, and a guaranty that scales with the loan. Four common East Lansing uses follow.
Refinance an existing VA loan
An existing VA loan in East Lansing 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.
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. An East Lansing owner weighs it against a home equity line, which keeps the existing first mortgage in place.
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 East Lansing: 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.
Estimate the VA payment on an East Lansing price before requesting a quote.
Before you ask for a quote, size the payment yourself: the East Lansing price, the fee tier, the term, the benchmark rate, and the escrows go in, and the funding fee table and the residual-income figures come from the same guideline source as the block above. The result is an estimate, and the rate is a published market average, not an offer.
East Lansing VA payment estimate
Use the East Lansing defaults as a starting point and change the price, the down payment, the fee tier, the term, and the escrows to fit.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% 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 $270,000 price near East Lansing’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 Michigan (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 East Lansing 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.
VA fits nearly every East Lansing 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. An East Lansing 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. An East Lansing veteran with a large down payment, where the funding fee falls to its lowest tier and conventional insurance falls away, should see both programs run on the same numbers. 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 an East Lansing scenario review.
What a lender reads on an East Lansing VA loan, and what you can have ready before anyone asks.
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.
A handful of details decide whether an East Lansing VA file closes as planned, closes smaller, or stalls. These are the ones that come up most.
Use these checks to keep the East Lansing file clean and fundable.
An East Lansing 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: the COE states the entitlement available; full entitlement carries no loan limit.
- Know the fee: the fee can be financed, paid at closing, or paid by the seller.
- Know the history: a foreclosed VA loan leaves entitlement in use until the loss is repaid.
Full or remaining entitlement
The COE states the entitlement available, and that single line decides whether an East Lansing 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
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 an East Lansing 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.
Credit, seasoning, and the prior VA loan
Each waiting period is VA’s own, and the recent housing record carries the most weight. A foreclosure on an earlier VA loan adds a second question for an East Lansing veteran: the entitlement used on that loan stays used until the loss is repaid, leaving remaining entitlement for the new purchase.
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. An East Lansing 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.
The VA appraisal and the Notice of Value
VA assigns the appraiser, and the appraiser reports on two things: what the East Lansing home is worth and whether it meets VA’s minimum property requirements for a safe, structurally sound, and sanitary home. Peeling paint, a failing roof, or missing handrails become required repairs, and a wood-destroying insect inspection is ordered where VA calls for one.
From an East Lansing Certificate of Eligibility to keys in hand.
Four steps: the certificate and pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The East Lansing version of each follows.
COE and pre-approval
The first conversation settles the shape: whether entitlement is full, whether the fee applies, what residual income supports, and whether VA is the right program next to FHA and conventional for the East Lansing purchase. The lender can pull the COE directly.
Contract and appraisal
The East Lansing 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 VA requires one for the state before underwriting begins.
Underwriting
Underwriting on an East Lansing 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
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 East Lansing buyer takes the keys and VA backs the lender.
A brokerage that puts the benefit to work.
Lendmire never lends. It reads an East Lansing 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
Before any recommendation, VA, FHA, and conventional are run on the same East Lansing 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
An East Lansing veteran should never discover at the closing table that the fee was the subsequent-use tier or that entitlement was partly in use. The loan officer reads the certificate aloud, so to speak: the tier, the leverage, and the conventional alternative on the same numbers.
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 an East Lansing 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.
East Lansing VA loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions East Lansing veterans ask most about VA loans, in the order they usually ask them.
What is a VA loan, and who is it for?
A VA loan is the mortgage an eligible East Lansing buyer should compare first: backed by VA, offered through lenders, written with no down payment and no insurance line, and qualified on residual income rather than ratios alone.
Who is eligible for a VA loan in East Lansing?
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?
Request it on VA.gov, ask the lender to pull it, or mail VA Form 26-1880. The supporting document depends on status: DD-214 for veterans, a statement of service for active duty, NGB Forms 22 and 23 for the Guard, a points statement for the Reserve, VA Form 26-1817 for surviving spouses.
What is the VA funding fee, and do I have to pay it?
The funding fee is a one-time charge VA collects to fund the guaranty, set as a share of the loan by first or subsequent use and by the down payment, as the snapshot ladder shows. It can be financed, paid at closing, or paid by the seller as a concession. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, surviving spouses receiving DIC, Purple Heart recipients on active duty, and service members rated before discharge are exempt.
Is there a VA loan limit in East Lansing?
VA removed the loan limit for veterans with full entitlement; the wholesale programs behind these pages serve loan amounts up to the ceiling in the snapshot. Only an East Lansing buyer with entitlement still in use on another loan needs the county figure, and it is confirmed by a loan officer rather than quoted here.
What does a VA appraisal check?
The appraisal is a valuation and a condition report, and VA assigns the appraiser rather than the lender. The home must meet VA’s requirements to close, and the value sets the loan amount when it comes in below the price.
What credit score do I need for a VA loan?
VA leaves the credit standard to the lender, and the lender overlay in the snapshot is the floor behind these pages. The file is read as a whole: two years of clean housing payments carry more weight than an old event that has seasoned.
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; an East Lansing project not yet approved can be submitted, which takes time and the association’s cooperation.
What happens after my East Lansing offer is accepted?
Appraisal first, then underwriting, then conditions, then closing. The VA appraiser values the home and checks the property requirements; the underwriter reads the certificate, the credit, the income, and the residual income; the fee is financed or paid at closing unless the borrower is exempt, and the payment has no mortgage insurance.
What is residual income, and why does it matter?
VA’s measure of budget room. Where FHA and conventional loans read the budget as ratios, VA also reads the dollars left over, and a large East Lansing family needs more of them than a single borrower at the same income.
An East Lansing VA purchase, from the certificate to the closing table.
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 East Lansing — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see VA Loans in Michigan, part of Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Nearby markets in Michigan: Lansing · Flint · Battle Creek · Ann Arbor · Saginaw · Novi · Kentwood · Farmington Hills
Related programs: Conventional Loans · FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans