The 2026 Military Homebuying Guide
Quick Answer
What Is the Military Homebuying Guide?
It is a free 9-page PDF from Valor Home Mortgage that explains how to buy a home with a VA loan in 2026 — no email required. Each service path gets its own section, because a Reservist proving eligibility with a points statement and a surviving spouse filing VA Form 26-1817 are not solving the same problem. It reflects 2026 guidance, including the $832,750 baseline conforming limit, current funding fee percentages, and the entitlement rules in force this year.
Written For Your Service Path
Five Ways to Earn It, Five Ways to Use It
Generic VA content assumes everyone is active duty. This guide does not.
Active Duty
Using BAH as qualifying income, timing a purchase around PCS orders, and meeting the 60-day occupancy rule.
- How lenders count BAH, BAS and special pays
- Buying before you physically arrive at the new duty station
- Power of attorney and remote closings during field time
National Guard & Reserves
Title 32 versus Title 10 service, the 90-day and six-year eligibility paths, and the paperwork that proves it.
- Which points statements underwriters actually accept
- NGB 22 / NGB 23 and how to request them fast
- Drill pay, AGR pay and civilian income used together
Veterans
Restoring entitlement after a prior VA loan, second-tier entitlement, and how a disability rating changes your costs.
- Funding fee waiver with a service-connected rating
- Keeping one VA home and buying another
- DD-214 to Certificate of Eligibility in days, not weeks
Surviving Spouses
DIC-based eligibility, VA Form 26-1817, and the funding fee exemption most surviving spouses qualify for.
- Eligibility when the service member died in service or from a rated condition
- Exactly which VA forms to file, and in what order
- $0 down with no funding fee in most cases
Inside the Guide
Nine Pages, Zero Filler
- 2026 conforming baseline of $832,750 and what it means when you have full entitlement
- A complete document checklist you can hand to your loan officer on day one
- The 21-day closing timeline broken into week-by-week milestones
- Five mistakes that quietly cost military buyers thousands at the closing table
- Straight answers on credit scores, reusing your benefit and appraisal timelines
Free PDF. No Email Required.
Download it, print it, forward it to your unit or your real estate agent. We would rather you be the most prepared buyer at the closing table than trade your email for a download.
Download the 2026 Guide (PDF)Military Homebuying Guide FAQs
Quick Answer
The 2026 Military Homebuying Guide is a free, no-email-required PDF covering VA loan eligibility, funding fees, 2026 loan limits and closing timelines for active duty, National Guard, Reserve, veteran and surviving-spouse buyers.
Ready to Put the Guide to Work?
Zero lender fees, 500+ FICO considered, and a 21-day average closing. Talk to a veteran-owned broker who shops your file instead of selling one rate sheet.
Proudly Serving Military Families Since 2019