VA loans are the best mortgage product available in the United States. Zero down. No PMI. Competitive rates. Reusable benefit.
And somehow, in 2026, myths about VA loans are still costing veterans homes.
Not because the myths are true — but because listing agents believe them, loan officers repeat them, and veterans hear them often enough to second-guess their own benefit.
I'm Ben Eddy with Colt Lending, a mortgage broker serving veterans and military families across Fort Worth, Dallas, DFW, Austin, Leander, Georgetown, Houston, and all of Texas. I also serve borrowers in Oklahoma and Tennessee. I close VA loans regularly, and I'm tired of watching veterans lose deals over misinformation.
Let's put these myths down for good.
Myth #1: Sellers Have to Pay the Veteran's Closing Costs
This is the myth that kills more VA offers than any other. Listing agents hear "VA buyer" and immediately think they're going to get stuck with extra costs.
The truth: sellers are not required to pay a single dollar of the veteran's closing costs. Zero. Seller-paid closing costs are negotiated — just like they are on every other type of loan. A VA buyer can submit an offer with no seller concessions at all.
What the VA does restrict is certain fees that the veteran cannot pay. The VA calls these "non-allowable fees," and the most common one is the termite inspection in certain states. In Texas, the termite inspection fee is typically paid by the seller — but that's a Texas market convention, not a VA rule that forces the seller to cover the buyer's costs.
Seller concessions on VA loans are capped at 4% of the purchase price. That's actually more generous than conventional loans for buyers putting less than 10% down (where seller contributions are capped at 3%).
The bottom line: a VA offer doesn't cost the seller any more than a conventional offer unless the buyer specifically asks for concessions. And smart VA buyers backed by strong pre-qualification letters are submitting clean offers every day.
Myth #2: VA Loans Take Forever to Close
This might have been partially true ten years ago. In 2026, it's not.
A VA loan with a complete file, a responsive borrower, and a competent lender closes in 30-45 days — the same window as conventional and FHA. The underwriting process is similar. The documentation requirements are similar. The closing process is identical.
What can slow down a VA loan — just like any loan — is a borrower who takes weeks to submit documents, an appraiser who's backed up, or a lender with poor systems. That's not a VA problem. That's a people problem.
The VA appraisal can occasionally add a few days compared to a conventional appraisal because VA appraisals are assigned through the VA's portal rather than ordered directly by the lender. But in Texas markets like Fort Worth, DFW, and Austin, VA appraisals typically come back within 7-10 business days — right in line with conventional timelines.
I've closed VA loans in 21 days when the borrower was prepared and the file was clean. Timeline is about execution, not the loan type.
Myth #3: VA Appraisals Kill Deals
VA appraisals check two things: the market value of the property and whether it meets the VA's Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) for safety and habitability.
The safety check is what scares people. But the MPRs aren't looking for a perfect home — they're looking for a safe, livable home. Working HVAC, functioning plumbing, a roof that doesn't leak, safe electrical systems, no lead paint hazards, adequate access and egress.
Most homes in reasonable condition pass a VA appraisal without issues. I've closed VA loans on homes across Fort Worth, Leander, Georgetown, and Houston, and the vast majority of appraisals come back clean.
When conditions do come up, they're usually minor — a handrail repair, a broken window, peeling exterior paint on a pre-1978 home. These are inexpensive fixes that sellers can address quickly.
The more relevant concern is the appraised value, not the property conditions. If the home appraises below the purchase price, that's a negotiation issue — and it happens on conventional loans too. The VA's "escape clause" (technically called the Amendment to Contract) actually protects the veteran by allowing them to walk away without losing earnest money if the appraisal comes in low.
Myth #4: You Can Only Use Your VA Loan Once
Completely false. The VA loan benefit is reusable. You can use it multiple times throughout your life.
If you've used your VA loan and then sold the home and paid off the loan, your entitlement is restored. You can use it again on your next purchase with full entitlement — meaning no loan limit and no down payment.
You can even have two VA loans at the same time in certain situations. A common example: you receive PCS orders and need to relocate. You can keep your current VA-financed home (often as a rental) and use remaining entitlement to purchase a new primary residence with a second VA loan.
The rules around second concurrent VA loans involve partial entitlement math, which I covered in detail in my post on max VA loan amount in Texas. But the key point is this: your VA benefit doesn't expire, doesn't run out after one use, and can be restored when you sell and pay off the loan.
Myth #5: VA Loans Are Only for Enlisted Personnel
The VA loan benefit extends to a wide range of service categories — not just enlisted active duty.
You may be eligible if you're a veteran who served on active duty, a current active-duty service member, a member of the National Guard or Reserves with qualifying service, or a surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected disability.
National Guard and Reserve members typically need six years of service or 90 days of active-duty mobilization to qualify. The specific eligibility requirements vary based on when and how you served.
The only way to know your exact eligibility is to pull your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). I do this for every veteran I work with — it takes minutes and shows your entitlement status, your prior usage, and your exact eligibility path.
Myth #6: You Need Perfect Credit for a VA Loan
The VA does not set a minimum credit score. At all.
Individual lenders set their own credit score minimums as overlays. Most land between 580-620. But the VA itself? No minimum.
This is the same dynamic I talk about with FHA — the program has no floor, but individual lenders add their own restrictions. The advantage of working with a broker is that I can shop your VA loan across lenders with different overlay profiles. If one lender requires 640 for VA, I can find another that's comfortable at 580. Same VA program, different lender, different answer.
For veterans with credit challenges, VA is often more forgiving than conventional or FHA because of how the VA evaluates borrowers. The VA uses a residual income test — money left over after all major bills are paid — in addition to the standard debt-to-income ratio. If your residual income is strong, VA underwriting can approve files that conventional lenders would decline.
Myth #7: The VA Funding Fee Makes VA Loans Expensive
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee paid at closing (or rolled into the loan) that supports the VA loan program. For first-time VA buyers putting zero down, the fee is 2.15% of the loan amount. On a $350,000 loan, that's about $7,525.
That sounds significant — until you compare it to what you're not paying.
No PMI. On a conventional loan with 5% down, PMI on a $350,000 loan might cost $100-200/month. Over five years, that's $6,000-$12,000 in PMI payments alone. The VA funding fee replaces PMI entirely.
No down payment. A 5% down payment on $350,000 is $17,500 out of your pocket at closing. With VA, that $17,500 stays in your bank account.
And here's the biggest piece most articles miss: veterans with any VA disability rating are completely exempt from the funding fee. Even a 10% rating means you pay zero. On that $350,000 loan, that's $7,525 saved at closing. If you have a disability rating and you're not using your VA loan benefit, you're literally leaving money on the table.
Myth #8: You Can't Buy a Condo With a VA Loan
You can — but the condo project needs to be on the VA's approved list. This is a real requirement, but it's not the deal-killer people make it out to be.
Many condo complexes in the DFW, Austin, and Houston metros are already VA-approved. For those that aren't, there's a process to get approval — the HOA submits documentation to the VA, and approval can sometimes be obtained within 30-60 days.
The VA also has a Single Unit Approval (SUA) process that allows individual units to be approved even if the entire complex isn't. This expanded significantly in recent years and makes VA condo purchases much more accessible than they used to be.
If you're looking at a condo in Texas, the first step is checking the VA's approved list. If it's not on there, your mortgage professional should know how to navigate the approval process — or at least tell you whether it's worth pursuing for that specific property.
Myth #9: Realtors Should Steer Buyers Away From VA
I hear this from real estate agents more often than I'd like: "I just tell my clients to go conventional — VA is too much hassle."
That advice is well-intentioned but wrong. And it directly costs veterans money.
A veteran buying a $350,000 home in Fort Worth with a conventional loan puts down $17,500 (5%), pays PMI for years, and gets a rate that's often higher than what VA offers. The same veteran using VA puts down $0, pays no PMI ever, and gets a rate that's typically 0.25-0.50% lower.
Over 30 years, the VA buyer saves tens of thousands of dollars. That's not hassle — that's a massive financial advantage.
The realtors I partner with in Fort Worth, DFW, Austin, and Houston understand this. They present VA offers confidently because they know I run a tight process, my pre-qualification letters carry weight, and their clients close on time.
If your realtor is discouraging you from using VA, they either don't understand the program or they've had bad experiences with poorly run VA lenders. That's a lender problem, not a VA problem.
Myth #10: VA Loans Don't Work in Competitive Markets
In the 2021-2022 frenzy, some VA buyers struggled when competing against all-cash offers and waived contingencies. But that market is gone.
The 2026 Texas market is more balanced. Inventory has increased. Multiple-offer situations are less common. Sellers are negotiating again. In this environment, a VA offer backed by a solid pre-qualification from a broker who's vetted the borrower across multiple lenders is absolutely competitive.
What makes a VA offer competitive isn't the loan type — it's the strength of the buyer's file and the reputation of the lender. A listing agent who sees a pre-qualification letter from a mortgage professional with a track record of closing on time is going to take that offer seriously, regardless of whether it says "VA" or "conventional" at the top.
You earned this benefit. Don't let myths keep you from using it. I'm Ben Eddy with Colt Lending — I help veterans and military families across Fort Worth, DFW, Austin, Leander, Georgetown, Houston, and all of Texas get every advantage the VA loan provides. Schedule a call and I'll pull your COE, run your numbers, and show you what you qualify for.
