A VA loan lets eligible veterans, service members, and some surviving spouses buy a home with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance, provided they meet the service rules, hold a Certificate of Eligibility, and clear a private lender’s credit and income standards. Those are the core VA loan benefits and requirements, but in Florida a few state factors decide whether the loan works for your file: no state income tax, the homestead exemption, FEMA flood zones, and the Salute Our Soldiers program. Duane Buziak walks through each below, with the federal rules first and the Florida adjustments after.
By Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647, Florida-licensed mortgage broker serving clients statewide.
VA Loan Benefits: No Down Payment, No Monthly PMI, and What That Looks Like in Dollars
The three headline benefits are no down payment for eligible borrowers with full entitlement, no monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI), and no VA-set minimum credit score. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not make the loan. It guarantees a portion of it, which is why private lenders can offer these terms. Individual lenders still set their own credit standards, which Section 3 covers.
Consider an illustration. Suppose you buy a $400,000 Florida home. These figures use a 6.5% rate on a 30-year fixed loan for both options, and a 0.5% annual PMI cost on the conventional loan. They are not quotes, so verify current rates before you plan around them.
- VA, 0% down: $400,000 loan, principal and interest about $2,528 per month, no PMI, $0 down payment.
- Conventional, 5% down: $20,000 down, $380,000 loan, principal and interest about $2,402, plus PMI near $158 per month, for about $2,560 total.
The monthly gap is small. The larger difference is the $20,000 that stays in your account. The VA funding fee, covered in Section 4, would add to the VA payment if you finance it. Conventional PMI can also be removed once your balance reaches 80% of the home’s value, while the VA’s lack of monthly mortgage insurance is built into the program from the start. You can test your own numbers with the CFPB mortgage calculator.
Two other protections matter. VA rules limit which closing fees a veteran may be charged, though you will still have costs such as appraisal, title, and prepaid items. A VA loan also carries no prepayment penalty, so you can pay it off early or refinance without a fee.
Florida adds another advantage. The state constitution bars a personal income tax, so more of your gross pay is retained. When Duane Buziak presents a file to underwriters, that strengthens the debt-to-income picture compared with the same salary in a state that takes a cut.
Who Qualifies? VA Loan Eligibility and Service Requirements
Eligibility depends on how long and when you served, plus a discharge other than dishonorable. As of 2026, the general minimums on VA.gov’s eligibility page are:
- 90 days of active service during wartime
- 181 days of active service during peacetime
- 6 years of service in the Reserve or National Guard, with other Guard paths based on federal-orders active duty
- Discharge for a service-connected disability, even if you served less than the minimum
Some surviving spouses also qualify, including spouses of service members who died in service or from a service-connected disability, and spouses of service members missing in action or held as prisoners of war. Surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) are a common case, and remarriage rules apply, so confirm your situation with the VA.
The Certificate of Eligibility
The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is the VA document confirming you meet the service requirements and showing how much entitlement you have. You can request it through the VA’s online COE process, through a mortgage broker who has access to the VA’s system, or by mail with VA Form 26-1880 and proof of service such as a DD-214. Get it before you tour homes. A missing or incorrect COE is one of the most common reasons a contract timeline slips.
Entitlement
Entitlement is the amount the VA guarantees to the private lender on your behalf. With full entitlement, there is generally no VA loan limit and no down payment requirement. If you still have a VA loan outstanding, or lost entitlement to a past foreclosure or short sale, you may have only remaining entitlement, and county loan limits can then determine how much you can borrow with nothing down. Entitlement can be restored and reused in some cases, such as after the prior loan is paid off and the home sold. Check current rules on VA.gov, since limits are updated annually.
What Credit, Income, and Property Requirements Apply to a VA Loan?
The VA sets no minimum credit score, but the private lender funding your loan usually does. That added standard is called a lender overlay. Overlays differ widely, so the same borrower can be declined by one lender and approved by another. A mortgage broker with access to many lenders can look for one whose overlay fits your score. Ask Duane Buziak what the lowest currently available score is for your scenario, because those thresholds change and no figure should be assumed.
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares your monthly debts to your gross monthly income. The VA’s 41% figure is a benchmark, not a hard cap, and files above it can be approved with strong compensating factors. The VA also applies residual income, meaning the money left each month after your mortgage, debts, taxes, and estimated maintenance and utilities, measured against a required amount that depends on family size and region. Florida’s lack of a state income tax helps here: there is no state withholding to subtract, so the income figure underwriters work from is not reduced by one.
The property must also qualify:
- A VA appraisal sets the value and checks the VA’s Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs), which require the home to be safe, structurally sound, and sanitary.
- You must generally move in within 60 days of closing and use it as your primary residence.
- Pure investment properties are not eligible, though you can buy a two- to four-unit building if you live in one unit.
Duane Buziak starts with NoTouch Credit Pull, a soft credit pull mortgage review. Unlike a standard preapproval, which usually triggers a hard inquiry that can lower your score, a soft pull shows your credit profile without being reported as an application. That lets you compare options with a no credit hit mortgage application at the start. A full application later in the process requires standard credit verification.
What Does a VA Loan Cost? Funding Fee, Closing Costs, and Exemptions
Most borrowers pay a one-time VA funding fee, and it can be financed into the loan. Veterans who receive VA disability compensation, and certain others such as surviving spouses receiving DIC, are exempt. The exemption is not automatic, so make sure your COE and loan file reflect it. As of 2026, VA.gov’s funding fee page lists these purchase rates, which you should confirm before relying on them:
- First use, under 5% down: 2.15%
- First use, 5% to under 10% down: 1.5%
- First use, 10% or more down: 1.25%
- Subsequent use, under 5% down: 3.3%
- Subsequent use, 5% or more down: 1.5% or 1.25%, depending on the down payment tier
Here is how that plays out on the $400,000 example at 6.5%, still an illustration. A first-use borrower with no down payment owes 2.15%, or $8,600. Financed, the loan becomes $408,600 and principal and interest rises from about $2,528 to about $2,583, roughly $55 more per month. An exempt borrower keeps the $400,000 loan and the $2,528 payment, and avoids the $8,600 added to the balance, plus the interest on it over time.
A VA loan without a down payment is not a loan without costs. You will still pay for the appraisal, title and settlement services, recording, prepaid taxes and insurance, and possibly discount points. VA rules restrict certain fees a veteran may be charged and allow the seller to pay some costs, including concessions of up to 4% of the value for items such as paying off your debts or prepaying taxes. The purchase contract determines what is negotiable. With the right structure, a buyer can often close with little to nothing out of pocket at closing, but that depends on the seller, the lender credits, and the contract.
VA, FHA, and Conventional Loans: How Do They Compare for Florida Buyers?
For eligible veterans, VA usually has the lowest out-of-pocket cost, but the best fit depends on entitlement, the funding fee, and your credit. This side-by-side summary uses rules as of 2026, and the FHA details should be confirmed on HUD.gov:
- Down payment: VA can be 0% with full entitlement. FHA is 3.5% at a 580 score or higher, and higher below that. Conventional is commonly 3% to 5% at minimum.
- Monthly mortgage insurance: VA has none. FHA charges an annual premium that often lasts the life of the loan on low-down-payment files. Conventional PMI is removable at about 80% loan-to-value.
- Credit flexibility: VA has no VA-set minimum, only lender overlays. FHA is flexible but score-tiered. Conventional is the strictest, with pricing that tightens as scores fall.
- Upfront cost: VA has a funding fee unless exempt. FHA has an upfront mortgage insurance premium, currently 1.75% of the loan. Conventional has no upfront insurance fee.
- Occupancy: VA is primary residence only. FHA is also primary residence only. Conventional allows second homes and investment properties.
- Best suited to: VA for eligible veterans and spouses, FHA for non-veterans with limited cash or credit challenges, conventional for borrowers with strong credit and larger down payments.
Rates also vary between providers. Online-only providers, banks, and wholesale channels often price the same borrower differently, even when the loan type is identical. Duane Buziak compares pricing across hundreds of lenders at once rather than relying on a single institution’s rate sheet, then presents the best match for your file. Request several quotes on the same day, since rates move, and compare the full cost, not just the rate.
Florida-Specific Factors: Salute Our Soldiers, Homestead Exemption, and Flood Zones
Florida Housing Finance Corporation runs Salute Our Soldiers for eligible veterans and service members. Terms, eligibility, rate benefits, and funds availability change, so confirm them on floridahousing.org before you plan around it. Whether it can be paired with VA financing depends on stacking rules, which Duane Buziak checks program by program.
Suppose a program pairs a $10,000 assistance second with a rate 0.25% higher than your standard option. On the $400,000 example, that premium costs about $66 per month. The $10,000 offsets that premium for roughly 151 months, or about 12.6 years, so owning for a shorter time favors the assistance, while a longer stay favors the lower rate. That illustration ignores repayment of the second, which would shorten the breakeven, so run your real numbers before deciding.
Property taxes are the next factor. Under Florida Statute 196.031, the homestead exemption reduces the assessed value of your primary residence by up to $50,000. In your first year it will not appear in the initial escrow estimate, so the estimate runs higher than your eventual bill, and you must apply with the county property appraiser. Veterans with a total and permanent service-connected disability may qualify for additional relief under Florida Statute 196.081, which you should verify with your county property appraiser.
Flood risk affects both the payment and the approval. Look up the property at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. In a high-risk zone, flood insurance is generally required for a federally backed loan, which raises your monthly obligation and DTI, and the VA appraisal can flag flood requirements.
The order of operations for a Florida VA buyer:
- Request your COE.
- Complete a soft pull mortgage broker review, with no hard inquiry, to see your options.
- Check Salute Our Soldiers and any other program for eligibility and stacking.
- Look up each target home’s flood zone before making an offer.
- Order the VA appraisal once you have a contract.
Putting a VA Loan and a Florida Plan Together
With eligibility, a Certificate of Eligibility, and a plan that accounts for Florida’s flood zones, homestead exemption, and lack of income tax, a VA loan can mean no down payment and no monthly PMI. Your first step is to find out where you stand without risking your score.
Your dream home in Florida is closer than you think. Let’s turn your homeownership goals into reality with a personalized mortgage solution designed for your unique journey. Get your credit-safe consultation today and discover the loan options that fit your life, backed by trusted guidance every step of the way. Florida Mortgage Maestro by Duane Buziak can run a mortgage pre approval without hard pull to start.