Beaufort VA Loans 

Ask for your VA Certificate of Eligibility, or COE. It shows the home loan benefit you may use. A COE is not a loan approval. Your lender still checks your credit, income and plans for the home. Read the VA eligibility rules.

Moving for duty at MCAS Beaufort or Parris Island? Tell us when you must report and when you plan to move in.

The lender must approve what you can afford. The home must support the loan amount, too. Full entitlement means VA does not set a county loan limit. It does not mean you have no budget limit.

VA does not set a minimum credit score. Lenders may set their own rules. Ask about the loan you would use. Check VA’s loan limit and entitlement rules.

Funding fee: For a purchase with less than 5% down: 2.15% on first use or 3.3% after first use. For either use: 1.5% with at least 5% but less than 10% down; 1.25% with 10% or more. Rates apply to the loan amount unless exempt. The fee may be financed or paid at closing. Other closing costs may still be due. VA funding-fee rules.

Funding-fee exemptions: Borrowers may be exempt when they receive VA disability compensation; are eligible for it but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead; receive qualifying survivor DIC; have a qualifying pre-discharge proposed or memorandum rating before closing; or meet VA's active-duty Purple Heart evidence requirement by closing. A disability percentage alone does not establish exemption. Verify status with VA.

Ask for a list of all costs. Include taxes, insurance and any cash due before you get the keys.

VA limits seller concessions to 4% of the home’s reasonable value. VA treats ordinary closing-cost credits separately. Ask your lender which items count toward the limit.

The lender needs a VA appraisal and must check the home’s condition. You should get your own home inspection, too. They serve different purposes. Ask about repairs and any extra rules for a condo.

Get home and flood insurance quotes for the address. Check taxes and flood risk in Beaufort County before you set your budget.

Start with what you want to do. Read about VA loans in South Carolina, building with a VA loan, or a VA IRRRL refinance. An IRRRL is a loan that replaces an existing VA loan.

Thinking of building instead of buying an existing home? See the questions to ask Jerry Gray about a VA build.