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A VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) loan is
designed to assist the heroes who served in our armed forces and
helped protect our country. Any retired soldier can obtain VA loans,
even if they only served during peacetime. There are several
eligibility requirements that you should know about when determining
of you are eligible for a VA loan.
Retired soldiers who
have served a certain span of time are eligible. The required period
of time that you must be enlisted varies depending on whether you
were active during peacetime or a time of war. During a war,
eligibility is given after 90 days of service, but eligibility
during peacetime requires 181 continuous days. Wartime and peacetime
are actually defined as certain calendar periods. For more
information, contact your local VA. It's important to note that if
you were dishonorably discharged, you are ineligible regardless of
the amount of time you served.
Some spouses are
eligible for VA loans, too. If you are the spouse of a POW or a
soldier missing in action, you may be eligible. Also, a spouse (who
did not remarry) of a soldier who died while serving, or due to a
service related disability, may be eligible. Contact a VA loan
official to discuss your eligibility.
If you fulfill
the requirements, contact a VA loan organization for a copy of Form
26-1800 (request for a Certificate of Eligibility) and fill it out.
You local VA may be able to assist you in finding loans, but they
won't respond to requests for eligibility forms. That must be
handled through the actual loan organization.
You are
also eligible if you are still currently on active duty, as long as
you have served the required number of days (depending on wartime or
peacetime). If you aren't in any of the above categories of
eligibility, you can become eligible after serving 6 years on
Selected Reserve. This six-year requirement doesn't have to be
consecutive. Again, a dishonorable discharge from the Reserves will
make you ineligible.
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