Your VA home loan benefit. Find the option that fits.
For Veterans, service members and eligible surviving spouses. We connect you with an independent VA-approved lender.
The VA home loan benefit can be used more than once — for a refinance or a purchase. The lender confirms your eligibility.
How it works
Answer a few questions
About two minutes. Your service, your current loan, what you want to do. No Social Security number, no credit pull, no paperwork.
Get connected
We connect you with an independent lender who focuses on VA loans. They confirm your eligibility and Certificate of Eligibility with the VA.
Review your options — free
The lender walks you through your options, what each one costs and what it changes, in writing, before you decide anything. No obligation.
Built for people who earned the benefit and want straight answers about it
The VA home loan is one of the most useful benefits of service, and one of the most misunderstood. Ads promise a lot; the rules are specific. VeteranLoanGuidance.com exists to explain the three ways the benefit is used — a streamline refinance, a cash-out refinance, and a purchase — in plain language, and to connect you with independent lenders who work with VA loans every day. We're not a lender and we're not the VA. We help you find the right people to talk to.
About usWhatever you want to do with your home, there's a VA path for it
Pick the one that fits and we'll take you to the form.
Lower my rate or payment
If you already have a VA loan, the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) is the streamline option: typically no appraisal and no income re-verification required by the VA, and a reduced funding fee. The loan must be seasoned and the new terms must pass the VA's net tangible benefit test.
Start hereTake cash out of my equity
A VA cash-out refinance replaces your current loan with a new VA loan and lets you take some of your equity as cash. It is fully underwritten, with an appraisal and income verification. The lender sets how much equity you can access.
Start herePay off high-interest debt
A cash-out refinance can be used to pay off non-mortgage debt. Whether that makes sense depends on your rate, your balance and how long you'll keep the home — the lender runs the numbers with you.
Start hereSwitch my FHA or conventional loan to VA
An FHA, conventional or USDA loan can be refinanced into a VA loan through the cash-out program, even if you take no cash. Many people do it to drop monthly mortgage insurance. You'll need a Certificate of Eligibility.
Start hereBuy a home with my VA benefit
VA purchase loans may not require a down payment, have no private mortgage insurance and limit the closing costs you can be charged. The benefit can be reused, and remaining entitlement can be checked by the lender.
Start hereNot sure — show me my options
Start with what you want to change: the payment, the loan, or the house. The review is free and the lender will tell you which path, if any, fits.
Start hereIRRRL vs. cash-out — what's the difference?
| IRRRL (streamline) | Cash-out refinance | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | You already have a VA loan | Any current loan — VA, FHA, conventional or USDA |
| What it does | Lowers the rate or payment, or moves an adjustable rate to fixed | Replaces the loan and can return part of your equity as cash, or just convert to VA |
| Paperwork | Streamlined: the VA does not require an appraisal or income re-verification (the lender may) | Full underwriting: appraisal, income and asset verification |
| Funding fee | Reduced | Standard; higher on second and later uses |
| Timing rules | Seasoning: 210 days from the first payment due date and six consecutive monthly payments; net tangible benefit test | Same seasoning when refinancing a VA loan; conversions from other loan types follow the lender's rules |
Funding-fee exemptions apply to some borrowers — see the FAQ. All figures are set by the VA and the lender; nothing here is an offer.
Why start here
The rules first, the pitch second
You'll understand how the benefit works before any lender talks numbers with you.
One review, the right lender
We connect you based on what you want to do — not on whoever pays most.
Nothing to pay us
The review is free. Any lender fees are shown to you by the lender, in writing, before you sign anything.
A refinance should pay for itself
Every refinance has costs, even when they're rolled into the loan. The question is whether the new loan earns them back in the time you'll keep the home. Ask the lender for the recoupment period in writing, compare it to your plans, and don't let a sales deadline make the decision for you.
Check my optionsVeterans, active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members who meet service requirements, and some surviving spouses. The VA issues a Certificate of Eligibility; the lender can usually request it for you.
For a cash-out refinance, yes. For an IRRRL on an existing VA loan, the lender generally confirms your prior VA loan instead.
The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan — the VA's streamline refinance for people who already have a VA loan. It is meant to lower the rate or payment or move from an adjustable to a fixed rate, with less paperwork and a reduced funding fee.
The VA requires the loan to be seasoned: at least 210 days after the first payment due date, and six consecutive monthly payments made. Lenders may have additional rules.
A VA rule that a refinance must actually help you — for example, a lower rate, a lower payment, a shorter term or a move to a fixed rate. The lender documents it.
Yes, through the VA cash-out refinance program, even if you take no cash out. You'll need remaining entitlement and a Certificate of Eligibility.
The lender sets the maximum. The VA permits high loan-to-value cash-out refinances, but most lenders apply their own limits.
A one-time fee set by law (38 U.S.C. 3729; 38 CFR 36.4313) that can usually be rolled into the loan. For an IRRRL it is 0.5% of the loan amount. For a cash-out refinance or a purchase with less than 5% down it is 2.15% on first use and 3.3% on later uses; on a purchase it is lower with a larger down payment. Verify current figures at va.gov. Many borrowers are exempt — see the next question.
Generally, Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, Veterans rated eligible for compensation after a pre-discharge exam, surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and active-duty Purple Heart recipients. The lender confirms exemption with the VA.
Yes. Entitlement can be restored after a loan is paid off, and remaining entitlement may allow another loan while one is outstanding. The lender checks this.
VA purchase loans may not require a down payment in most cases, and VA loans have no private mortgage insurance. The funding fee applies instead, unless you're exempt.
No. We're a free education and matching site operated by Rainy Day Company LLC. We're not a lender and not affiliated with the VA, the DoD or any government agency. Free information is available directly from the VA at va.gov.
Nothing to use this site or for the initial review. Lenders disclose their own fees in writing before you commit.
Not here — we don't pull credit. A lender pulls credit only when you decide to apply with them.
Ready to see what your benefit can do?
Free review. Two minutes. No obligation.