2022 Kentucky VA Loan Guide Updates – Page 16

Expands VA Home Loan Eligibility for Certain National Guard Members in Kentucky

VA announced they are expanding eligibility for Kentucky VA home loan benefits for certain members of the Kentucky Army and Air National Guard to include current and former National Guard members, regardless of service dates, who meet the requirements outlined below effective for COE applications received on or after 01/05/2021.

Because VA is retroactively expanding these eligibility requirements applicants who may have been previously denied VA home loan benefits and now meet the requirements below for eligibility are encouraged to reapply.

To be eligible the member must have performed not less than 90 cumulative dates of full-time National Guard duty, of which, at least 30 of those days must have been consecutive.

Full-time National Guard duty:

includes training or other duty in the member’s status as a member of the National Guard for which the member is entitled to pay from the United States or for which the member has waived pay from the United States.
does not include inactive duty, such as monthly drills. It also does not include basic or initial training.

Processing delays can be avoided when submitting a COE application (VA Form 26-1880) by listing in block 9c any active duty time served and by providing copies of one or more of the following documents as evidence of the active duty time served:

DD Form 214, Report of Separation: showing active duty dates, types of discharge, and the authority under which the applicant was called to serve.
DD Form 220, Report of Active Service: with an order for the same period.
For National Guard members still servicing on active duty: a current Statement of Service which identifies the National Guard member by name and social security number and provides:
- the date of entry for the current active duty period, and
- the duration of any time lost (or a statement noting there has been no lost time).
- Note: the Statement of Service should also specify the authority under which the National Guard member was called to serve. Generally, this is a document written on military letterhead and signed by the Commanding Officer.
NGB 23 Form, National Guard Bureau Retirement Credits Record or a copy of the retirement points statement: showing one or more periods in which the National Guard member served on active duty.
Any other documents to support the activation may be submitted.

Kentucky VA Home Loans for 2021

No down payment in most cases for purchase loans (up-front money toward your home purchase), and easier borrower credit requirements.

No monthly mortgage insurance premiums or private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Lower homebuyer closing costs, and limits to what borrowers can be charged.

The opportunity to roll your “VA funding fee” into your mortgage.

The ability to refinance a non-VA loan into the VA mortgage program.

The opportunity to: ask a home seller to contribute up to 4 percent of the mortgage amount to cover some of the closing costs; ask your lender to cover some of the closing costs; seek closing cost assistance through state homebuying programs created for veterans and first-time buyers.

The right to become a VA borrower for life. In most cases you can use VA mortgage programs forever, and sometimes you can have more than one VA loan.

Eligibility of financing for spouses of service-members who died in the line of duty or from a service-related disability.

You can review all types of Kentucky VA Home Loans here, including purchase mortgages, refinance mortgages (called Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans or IRRRLs), and cash-out refinance loans.

To qualify for a Kentucky VA Home Loan, usually a military veteran or service-member must have 90 consecutive days of active service during wartime, or 181 straight days of service during peacetime, or six years in the national guard or reserves of a particular military branch. You can find out if you’re eligible here.

Kentucky VA mortgage comes with an additional closing cost called a “VA funding fee” of between 1.4 to 3.6 percent on the amount borrowed (depending on your circumstance). This special fee that non-VA borrowers never have to pay helps partially fund the “government backed” part of the VA borrower program, and many VA borrowers can roll it into their mortgage.

VA Loan Quick Facts

0% Down

Minimum Down Payment

620 Credit

Minimum Credit Score

41% DTI

Max Debt-to-Income Ratio

What is a VA Loan?

VA Loans are designed to assist veterans purchase a home. Active duty military and veterans across the nation will enjoy the desirable loan terms and low interest rates that often come with a VA loan. Additional benefits like no down payment requirement help make home buying an affordable and cost-effective reality for those who have served and continue to serve our country.