Our National Guard play such an important role in our nation’s security, and they deserve to be treated as equal borrowers with all other Veterans. US National Guard and Reserve soldiers first gained access to the Veterans Administration (VA) mortgage benefit in 1992. However, legislation has passed in 2020 a newer VA loan eligibility law called the Johnny Isakson and David P. Rowe, M.D. Veterans’ Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020.

National Guard VA Loan Eligibility

What’s this mean? This means active-duty service members and National Guard members can access the same VA loan benefits that have helped generations of veterans and active-duty service members attain the American dream of home ownership. This allows members of the national guard to utilize their VA home loan much, much sooner than they otherwise would have been able to previously.

So, buying a house is a big deal, whether you’re a veteran or not, and for those in the National Guard who, in the last few years, have been called into action for everything from natural disasters and insurrections in the DC area to the Covid-19 virus. These people have been putting in long hours, not just being weekend warriors.

The no down payment VA loan program just became more widely available for American National Guard members, thanks to the new law passed in 2020. So if you know a member of the National Guard or a spouse of a deceased National Guardsman that might benefit from this information this would be a great article to share.

Buying a house is one of the most expensive purchases most people will ever make. On top of the purchase price and the down payment, there are closing costs, interest, and other fees associated with buying a home. However, buyers currently serving in the military or who are Veterans can take advantage of a government-backed non money down VA home loan.

VA Loan National Guard Requirements

So, before the new legislation. Only those who served in the guard could be considered for the VA home loan program if they had 90 consecutive days of active service or, had completed six years of service, whichever came first. Now the threshold is 90 days of full-time service, with at least one period of 30 consecutive days.

So this is the change, and that change is retroactively applied. So the national guard organization, the United States, estimates that up to 50,000 guardsmen have just gained immediate access the VA loan benefit. How great is that!

Title 32 VA Home Loan Eligibility

Now, if you don’t know this new law, it gives access quicker, but also gives access to National Guard members who only have what is referred to as Title 32 duty, so Garden Reserve members are usually called to Active Service under two different Sections of Federal Law.

Title 10 and title 32, title 32 duties are ordered by the governor of the federal government and take place within the service member’s home state. Title 10 is an order made by the president and can be used for services anywhere in the world. The title 32 duty must have been performed under one of the following areas to qualify. In this article we will only focus on the two however there are about 5 codes in all.

These new VA loan eligibility rules pretty much cover you if you’re a National Guard member whether you’re training for school or doing drills. It’s all covered, but there are almost no circumstances that aren’t covered by Title 32. Click here to learn more about military service records.

National Guard VA Loan Funding Fee

VA home loans are offered by the government through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They’re available to eligible veterans and their families. VA loans don’t require borrowers to put any money down, so they’re often referred to as “no money down” loans.

They do, however. Still have to pay an upfront financing fee to help offset the loan costs for U.S. taxpayers. Now the fee can be as much as 3.6% of the loan amount. Here is a quick chart kind of showcasing those VA funding fees that we were talking about.

Get Started with a National Guard VA loan

To qualify for a National guard VA loan, you must first get a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the VA. National VA Loans can help you do this give us a call at (855) 956-4040 to get started. The VA home loan program is truly one of the best if not the best mortgage product on the market. Get started today with a no down payment VA home loan.