What is a VA loan?
A VA loan is a home loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA itself does not issue mortgages. Instead, the VA guarantees a portion of each loan, which allows approved lenders — banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies like Kansas Mortgage Lending through PRMI — to offer terms that would otherwise be impossible: zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and long-term fixed pricing that is often better than conventional financing.
The program was created in 1944 as part of the original GI Bill and has financed tens of millions of home purchases since. For Kansas service members and veterans, it is almost always the first program to evaluate before considering FHA, USDA, or conventional. This site is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA loan eligibility in Kansas
Service requirements
VA loan eligibility is based on length and character of service. The most common qualifying categories:
- Active-duty wartime service: 90 continuous days served during a recognized period of conflict (current wartime service counts toward eligibility from day 91).
- Active-duty peacetime service: 181 continuous days of active duty during peacetime.
- National Guard and Reserve: generally six years of service, or 90 days of active duty under federal orders (Title 10) during wartime.
- Surviving spouses: spouses of service members who died in the line of duty, from a service-connected disability, or who were POW/MIA may qualify — often with the funding fee waived. Receipt of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a frequent qualifying path.
- Discharge character: service must have ended under conditions other than dishonorable. Honorable, general, and other-than-dishonorable discharges typically qualify.
Certificate of Eligibility (COE) — we pull it for you
The Certificate of Eligibility is the VA’s document confirming you qualify for the program. For most borrowers we pull the COE directly through the VA’s lender portal in under a minute — you do not need to navigate the eBenefits portal yourself. If your record requires manual review (older service, name changes, Guard/Reserve crossover), we request it via VA Form 26-1880 and track it to resolution. You don’t need the COE in hand to start a pre-approval; we can condition the file on it and order in parallel.
Credit score
The VA sets no minimum credit score. Lender overlays apply because the lender is the one ultimately approving the file. Most VA lenders operate in the 580 minimum FICO for purchase loans, with materially better pricing above 680 and 720. Residual income — the cash left over after all monthly obligations — is a VA-specific underwriting factor that often helps Kansas veterans qualify who would be tight under conventional DTI math. We underwrite to the residual income tables for Kansas (Midwest region) at pre-approval so you know the true ceiling on what you can afford.
Entitlement and reinstating entitlement
VA entitlement is the dollar amount the VA will guarantee on your behalf. There are two functional states:
- Full entitlement: you have never used a VA loan, or you have paid off a prior VA loan and sold the property. With full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit — you can purchase at any price the lender will approve with zero down.
- Reduced (partial) entitlement: you already have a VA loan outstanding, or a prior VA loan was foreclosed/short-saled. In this case, conforming loan limits apply to the zero-down calculation. For 2026 that baseline is $806,500 in most Kansas counties, and any purchase above that generally requires a down payment equal to 25% of the difference.
Entitlement is reusable. Once a prior VA loan is paid in full and the property transferred, we submit a restoration request and your full entitlement returns — letting you use the benefit again for your next Kansas home.
VA loan benefits
The VA program is structurally different from every other mortgage for five specific reasons:
- 0% down payment. 100% financing with full entitlement. No gift letters, no seasoning, no minimum contribution.
- No monthly PMI. FHA and low-down conventional loans carry monthly mortgage insurance that can add $100–$300+ to the payment. VA has none. The one-time VA funding fee replaces that economics — and can be financed.
- VA appraisal with Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs). The VA appraiser confirms market value and that the home is safe, sanitary, and structurally sound. This protects the veteran from buying a home with material hidden defects.
- Assumable. A VA loan can be assumed by another qualified borrower (VA-eligible or otherwise, with lender approval). In a higher-rate environment, an assumable sub-market VA loan is a real asset when you go to sell.
- Foreclosure assistance and VA servicing oversight. If a VA borrower hits financial trouble, the VA actively intervenes with loan-servicing assistance. Delinquency outcomes on VA loans are historically among the lowest of any mortgage product in the country.
VA funding fee in 2026
The VA funding fee is a one-time charge paid to the Department of Veterans Affairs that keeps the program self-sustaining — it is how the VA covers its guaranty obligation without taxpayer funding. The fee is a percentage of the loan amount and depends on loan type, down payment, and whether this is first or subsequent use.
| Loan type / use | No down payment | 5%–9.99% down | 10%+ down |
|---|
| Purchase, first use | 2.15% | 1.50% | 1.25% |
| Purchase, subsequent use | 3.30% | 1.50% | 1.25% |
| VA IRRRL (streamline refi) | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| VA cash-out refinance | 2.15% (first) / 3.30% (subsequent) | — | — |
Exempt categories: veterans receiving VA disability compensation (any percentage), Purple Heart recipients serving on active duty, surviving spouses receiving DIC, and service members rated eligible to receive disability compensation pre-discharge are exempt from the funding fee. The fee is financeable — most Kansas VA borrowers roll it into the loan rather than pay it at closing, keeping cash-to-close near zero.
VA loan limits in Kansas
Since the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (effective January 2020), veterans with full entitlement have no VA loan limit. You can purchase a home at any price a lender will approve with zero down — subject to debt-to-income, residual income, and appraisal, not a VA-imposed cap. This is a meaningful benefit for officers and senior NCOs at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth buying in Manhattan, Junction City, Leavenworth, or on the Johnson County side.
For veterans with partial entitlement (an active VA loan elsewhere, or prior foreclosure), the zero-down benefit is capped at the conforming loan limit for the county. In 2026, that baseline is $806,500 in most Kansas counties. A purchase above that with partial entitlement generally requires a down payment equal to 25% of the difference between the loan amount and the entitlement figure. We run the entitlement math at pre-approval so there are no surprises.
Kansas military communities we serve
Fort Riley — Junction City, Manhattan, Ogden, Wamego
Fort Riley is the home of the 1st Infantry Division (“Big Red One”) and anchors a housing market stretching from Junction City through Manhattan and up into Riley and Geary counties. PCS timelines, BAH math, and Kansas State-area rental comps all factor into our pre-approvals for Fort Riley families. See our Manhattan, KS mortgage lender page for local market specifics.
Fort Leavenworth — Leavenworth, Lansing, Kansas City metro
Fort Leavenworth hosts the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and drives a steady flow of field-grade officer PCS moves in and out of the Kansas City metro each summer. Buyers frequently look at Leavenworth, Lansing, Basehor, and into Wyandotte and Johnson counties. Our Kansas City, KS mortgage lender page covers that market.
McConnell AFB — Wichita and Sedgwick County
McConnell Air Force Base is home to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the 931st, and is the largest KC-46 Pegasus installation in the Air Force. Airmen and their families buy across Wichita, Derby, Rose Hill, Andover, and Haysville. See our Wichita, KS mortgage lender page for Sedgwick County details and school-district notes.
VA loan process — what’s different
The core application flow mirrors any other mortgage, but three pieces are VA-specific and worth flagging early:
1. VA appraisal (7–10 business days)
VA appraisals are ordered through the VA’s portal and assigned to a VA-approved staff appraiser on rotation — not the lender’s choice. Kansas turn times typically run 7–10 business days, occasionally longer in rural counties. The VA appraisal establishes market value and confirms Minimum Property Requirements: working systems, no active roof leaks, no exposed wiring, no chipping lead-based paint on pre-1978 homes, functional well/septic where applicable, and clear termite status in covered areas.
2. Tidewater Initiative
If a VA appraiser is coming in below the contract price, the VA’s Tidewater Initiative gives the lender a 48-hour window to submit supporting comparable sales before the final value is issued. This is where an experienced VA processor matters — we assemble comps and send them through the system routinely, and we save low-appraisal deals that would have died under a rookie team.
3. Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs)
If the appraiser notes MPR deficiencies, they must be cured before closing. Typical cures: chipping exterior paint scraped and repainted, missing handrails installed, broken windows replaced, non-functional HVAC repaired. Sellers can complete repairs, credit repairs, or (in some cases) the buyer can escrow for completion. We tell our Kansas listing agents upfront when a file is VA so the home is staged for MPR success on day one.
VA cash-out refinance and IRRRL
Two refinance products exist under the VA program:
VA IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan)
A VA-to-VA streamline refinance with reduced documentation. No appraisal required in most cases, no income re-verification in most cases, and a flat 0.50% funding fee. The IRRRL must result in a lower interest rate (or a safer fixed-rate structure if refinancing out of an ARM) and must pass a net-tangible-benefit test. Typical IRRRL closing: 20–30 days in Kansas. See our refinance page for broader refinance economics. Refinancing may extend the term of your loan and increase total interest paid over the life of the loan.
VA cash-out refinance
A VA cash-out lets the borrower refinance up to 90% of the home’s appraised value and take the difference in cash. It is also the path to convert a non-VA loan (FHA, conventional, USDA) into a VA loan for borrowers who didn’t use the benefit originally. A full VA appraisal and full underwriting apply. The funding fee matches purchase pricing (2.15% first use, 3.30% subsequent).
A note on how we work with veterans
We specialize in VA lending in Kansas — it is a significant share of the files we close every month. We are not the only VA lender in the state, and we don’t pretend to be. What we do is pull COEs in-house, underwrite to VA residual income tables correctly on the first pass, handle Tidewater when an appraisal threatens to come in low, and close on the timeline we commit to at application. Thank you for your service — let’s get you a fair mortgage, properly structured.
Disclaimer: VA loans are available to eligible service members, veterans, and qualifying surviving spouses. This site is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Program availability is subject to underwriting guidelines; not all applicants will qualify.
