Veteran loan question??

[Robert Clark]

I used a VA loan on a previous house. I refinanced the loan about 3 years ago keeping the VA loan in place. I the home is now a rental property. I'm looking at refinancing again to free up the VA loan for another primary residence. Is there a limit to how many times I can use the VA loan? What type of fees are associated with reusing it? Thanks for any info!!

[Andrew Postell]

@Robert Clark you can absolutely, 100%, have 2 VA loans at the same time. There are some pretty interest rules to it but you can keep that VA loan on the home that you currently rent, and then get another VA loan on a different property at the same time if you fit these parameters...and bear with me, these are going to sound a little strange.

The first element is that your VA loans have to be in the separate "pools" or "buckets" concerning the loan limit. So if your current home originally had a loan amount of $130k, then your 2nd VA loan has to be over $144k.   If your first home had a loan amount of $200k, then the max you could have would be around $250k...but it would still have to be over $144k.  And the math I just gave you is just for conceptual purposes.  The actual formula to find out what your 2nd VA loan will be is too complicated to explain.  It's based on your entitlement.  My recommendation is to just speak with a loan officer who knows the ins and outs of VA loans. If you speak with one, and they don't even know you can't have 2 loans, then do find someone else.  They need to know this rule, and the math, to prevent a serious problem. 

Also, you are allowed to request a one time "restoration" of entitlement, which would allow you to buy a home with a VA loan at any level, but you would need to pay off your current VA loan to receive that. WHEW! I hope this wasn't too much information but this is the right information to have. Feel free to ask more questions if needed. Thanks!