If able to put 20 percent down, should I use VA or conventional?

[Chelsea Ricketson]

I'm currently active duty, and I am a first-time home buyer with excellent credit and no debt. I have a number of options regarding putting a percentage of the payment down, and I can easily afford to cover closing costs and whatever points may be included. With the variety of options I have, I am tentatively set on putting 20% down on a 350k condo and will cover all closing costs and miscellaneous fees/points, as well, namely to have a comfortable monthly payment. Additionally, I do not have the option of paying in all cash, so of the variety of options I do have, that is not one of them.

The biggest lure with the VA loan is the no down payment option. With that being a moot point in my situation, where I have already decided to put 20% down, is there an advantage to using a conventional loan over a VA loan? And if I come across a property I want to put an offer on, and VA isn't an option, should I forgo buying the property or consider using a conventional loan still? In that situation, is it possible to convince the seller to accept a VA loan? And if not, would using a conventional loan still be a "success" for me as the buyer?

Thanks for any and all input!