How to Choose a VA Mortgage Lender in San Antonio

Start with fees, not rate

Two lenders can quote the same rate and cost you thousands of dollars apart. Ask for a Loan Estimate and look at section A, Origination Charges. We charge zero lender fees on VA loans, so section A is blank. If a lender shows an origination fee, a processing fee, an underwriting fee, and a document prep fee, that is real money you are paying on top of the VA funding fee.

• Ask: what is your total lender fee, in dollars, on section A?
• Ask: are you charging discount points, and what rate do I get without them?
• Ask: which of these fees is refundable if the loan does not close?

Ask about overlays before you ask about rate

The VA sets no minimum credit score. Every minimum you have been quoted is a lender overlay layered on top of VA rules. A lender that requires 620 will decline a file that our partners approve at 500. If your score is under 640, the overlay question matters far more than the rate question, because the best rate you cannot qualify for is worth nothing.

Confirm they actually work with JBSA families

A lender who has never handled a PCS file will ask for documents you do not have and miss ones that matter. Military-fluent underwriting means reading orders correctly, counting BAH as qualifying income, handling a spouse's income during a move, and knowing that a Certificate of Eligibility can be pulled in minutes rather than weeks.

• Do you count BAH as income, and at which duty station's rate?
• Have you closed loans for families reporting to Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, or Camp Bullis?
• Can you close before my report date if my orders are dated this month?

Broker or retail bank

A retail bank offers one set of pricing and one set of overlays. A broker shops your file across multiple wholesale lenders, which matters most when your file has anything unusual about it — a lower score, self-employment, a prior VA loan still in place, or a tight closing date. Neither is automatically cheaper, but the broker has more places to go when the first answer is no.

Pin down the timeline in writing

Ask for an average days-to-close on VA purchases, not a best case. Ours averages about 21 days from a complete file in Bexar County. Then ask what specifically causes their delays. A lender that cannot answer that question has not measured it.

Check the license before anything else

Every loan officer has an NMLS number you can verify for free at NMLS Consumer Access. It shows their license history and the states they can lend in. Jonathan Mullins is NMLS #94015. If a lender will not give you a number, stop there.