VA Loans in Texas

Last reviewed September 22, 2026

If you are a veteran buying a home in Texas, the basic VA loan rules are the same as anywhere else in the country. What changes is everything around the loan: property taxes, state veteran benefits, the houses you are likely to buy, local closing practices, military installations, and sometimes state laws that affect a difficult credit file.

I am Carlos Scarpero, a mortgage loan originator with Edge Home Finance. I am based in Dayton, Ohio and licensed to originate VA loans in Texas. A large part of my business is VA loans, especially the files that are not perfectly clean: bad credit, manual underwriting, old collections, prior bankruptcies, foreclosures, unusual properties and veterans who have already been told no somewhere else.

On this page I am going to separate three things: what the VA actually requires, what is specific to buying a home in Texas, and what an individual lender may have added as an overlay. That third one matters. A lender saying no does not automatically mean the VA said no.

What is a VA loan, in plain English?

A VA loan is still a mortgage from a private lender. The Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees part of the loan, which allows lenders to offer benefits that are difficult to match with other mortgage programs.

No down payment with sufficient entitlement. With full entitlement and qualifying income, a purchase can generally be financed at 100 percent of value. No monthly mortgage insurance. FHA charges it monthly and many low-down-payment conventional loans have PMI. VA has no monthly mortgage insurance charge. A one-time funding fee for borrowers who are not exempt. First-use purchase with less than 5 percent down is 2.15 percent, normally financed into the loan. Veterans receiving qualifying VA disability compensation and certain other borrowers are exempt. Residual income underwriting. VA looks beyond a simple debt-to-income ratio and asks what your household actually has left after the mortgage, debts, taxes, utilities and other obligations. The benefit can be reused. Depending on your entitlement situation, you may even be able to have more than one VA loan at the same time.

You do not need to guess whether you are eligible. I can normally pull your Certificate of Eligibility electronically.

Do not compare a VA loan to another mortgage by rate alone. Compare the down payment, mortgage insurance, funding fee status, closing costs and actual monthly payment. For the full national walkthrough, start with my complete VA loan guide.

What does a VA loan actually get you in Texas?

The Texas market runs hotter and wider than Kentucky's. Austin's median list price sat near $599,000 in 2026, per Realtor.com, while Dallas-Fort Worth ran near $400,000. Houston, San Antonio and El Paso are the affordability anchors of the big metros, which matters because the VA benefit stretches further where prices are lower.

Put that into mortgage terms. Five percent down on a $400,000 DFW house is $20,000 before closing costs. A qualifying veteran with full entitlement can make that same purchase with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. In Austin at $599,000, the same benefit applies, though the qualification math gets tighter and the appraisal conversation gets more serious.

The bigger Texas-specific issues are property taxes and foundation risk. Texas has no state income tax, so local government runs on property tax: effective rates around 1.6 percent statewide, with Austin-area bills often landing above 2 percent. And expansive clay soil across much of Texas means foundation movement is a standard inspection and appraisal topic, not a rare surprise.

Is there a VA loan limit in Texas?

No. With full entitlement, VA does not cap your loan amount. Your practical limits are what you can qualify for, what the property appraises for, and what an individual lender will approve.

Where a limit appears is partial entitlement: another VA loan still outstanding, entitlement tied up in another property, or a prior VA loan where entitlement was never fully restored. Then the county conforming limit is used to calculate your remaining guaranty.

The Texas part: most counties sit at the 2026 baseline one-unit limit of $832,750. A handful of high-cost counties are designated above baseline, so verify the specific county before calculating bonus entitlement. If you see $806,500 quoted as the 2026 limit, that is last year's number. FHFA raised the baseline to $832,750 for 2026.

If you are keeping your current VA-financed home and buying another, run the bonus entitlement math before you write the offer, and read how two VA loans at once actually works.

Do disabled veterans get a property tax break in Texas?

Yes, and this is one of the strongest veteran property tax benefits in the country. Texas gives disabled veterans a percentage-based exemption tied to the VA disability rating, and at 100 percent the exemption wipes out the property tax bill on the residence homestead entirely.

• Amount: 10-29 percent rating: $5,000 off appraised value. 30-49 percent: $7,500. 50-69 percent: $10,000. 70-100 percent: $12,000. A veteran rated 100 percent disabled (including individual unemployability) is exempt from taxation of the total appraised value of the residence homestead.
• Surviving spouses: the exemption generally continues for an unmarried surviving spouse of a qualifying disabled veteran, including a spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a service-connected disability. There are also provisions for spouses of service members killed in action.
• Filing: apply with the county appraisal district. The general homestead deadline is April 30, but late applications for the disabled-veteran exemption are accepted in many cases. Verify the current-year rules with the county before assuming.
• Watch item: the exemption applies to the residence homestead. Investment properties and second homes do not get it.

The exemption and the mortgage calculation are two different things. If the exemption is legally effective and documented, the reduced tax expense may lower the payment used for qualifying. If you buy today but cannot receive it until next tax year, initial escrow may be based on the current bill. That timing gap matters on a tight qualification, especially in Texas where the tax bill is large.

Real math: at a 1.8 percent effective rate, a 100 percent exemption on a $400,000 DFW home saves roughly $7,200 a year. That is life-changing money on a monthly payment, and it is the single biggest Texas-specific reason a disabled veteran should sort out the exemption before closing, not after.

Full walkthrough: Texas disabled veteran property tax page and the national disabled veteran property tax guide.

What if you are buying near a military installation in Texas?

Texas hosts one of the largest concentrations of military installations in the country:

• Fort Hood (Fort Cavazos) near Killeen, one of the largest Army posts in the world. The Killeen-Temple market runs far under the conforming baseline, so entitlement math is rarely the constraint; timing and property condition are.
• Joint Base San Antonio (Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB), feeding the San Antonio purchase and rental markets with a constant rotation of PCS buyers.
• Fort Bliss in El Paso, with a large VA-loan buyer pool and affordable price points.
• Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth and the DFW metroplex's deep veteran population.
• Dyess AFB near Abilene and Goodfellow AFB near San Angelo, smaller markets where a PCS buyer can be a large share of local demand.

The Texas installation markets deserve their own conversation because a PCS buyer has different timing problems than somebody moving across town. These are steady military-demand markets with VA-loan-heavy buyer pools.

What that means for your loan, practically: PCS orders establish occupancy intent, so you do not have to wait until you physically arrive to start. BAH is qualifying income when documented and continuing, and it is not taxed, which helps your debt ratio. Keeping the house you are leaving is a partial entitlement question plus a rental income question, both answerable in advance. And start earlier than you think: an out-of-state file with a VA appraisal on an older Texas house is not a two-week project.

Why does residual income matter?

Because VA underwriting is not built around one magic debt-to-income number. A lot of veterans hear that VA has a 41 percent maximum DTI. That is not an accurate description of how VA underwriting works. The VA treats the debt ratio as a guide and gives significant weight to residual income: the money left over for your household after the mortgage, debts, taxes, utilities and other obligations.

Texas is in VA's South region (determined by the property's location, not the borrower's). For loan amounts of $80,000 and above, the South minimums are:

Add $80 per additional member up to a family of seven. For loans under $80,000, the South minimums are $382, $641, $772, $868 and $902 for family sizes one through five, adding $75 per member up to seven.

This is also why VA disability income, BAH and other tax-free income must be entered correctly. Tax-free income can be grossed up by 25 percent for the debt-ratio calculation, and the actual dollars still count in residual income. Run your numbers with my VA residual income calculator, then send me the real scenario.

What will a VA appraiser commonly catch on a Texas house?

The VA appraiser is not performing a home inspection. The appraiser is looking at value and determining whether the property meets VA Minimum Property Requirements. Those requirements changed this year: VA revised Chapter 12 of the Lender’s Handbook with a change date of February 27, 2026, and the revised chapter took effect for appraisals ordered after May 1, 2026. Four changes matter on a normal deal: the detached improvements subtopic was removed from Topic 1, the non-vented heater subtopic was removed from Topic 23, the radon gas language was removed from Topic 34 in its entirety, and Topic 32 was revised so defective paint on a 1978-or-later home is normally treated as cosmetic. Defective paint is still a requirement on pre-1978 homes under Topic 32b.

Texas foundation risk

Expansive clay soil across much of Texas means foundation movement is routine. Hairline stair-step cracks in brick veneer, doors that stick seasonally, and prior pier work with transferable warranties are all normal Texas appraisal conversation. What the appraiser flags is active, unrepaired structural movement: significant differential settlement, unaddressed drainage causing ongoing movement, or post-tension cable exposure. Get the structural engineer's letter before the appraisal, not after.

What tends to matter in Texas

An old kitchen is not a VA problem because it is ugly, and worn carpet is not automatically a VA problem. The concern is whether something creates a health, safety, structural or sanitation problem under the applicable MPR. That difference matters on Texas houses where the foundation, roof and drainage are the real conversation.

What if the appraisal comes in low?

A low VA appraisal does not automatically kill the transaction. Options include better comparable sales during Tidewater, a Reconsideration of Value, renegotiating the price, or the buyer covering some difference. The right option depends on the numbers and the contract. Here is how Tidewater and Reconsideration of Value work.

How do Texas property taxes and closing practices affect your cash to close?

The mortgage is federal. The closing is local.

Property taxes are billed in arrears. Tax bills go out in October, are due by January 31 of the following year, and become delinquent February 1. Assessment date is January 1.

Why that matters at closing: the seller typically credits the buyer for the current year's taxes covering the seller's days of ownership. That proration credit reduces your cash to close. It also means your first-year escrow needs eyes on it, since the bill covering your purchase year will not arrive until the following October and Texas bills are large.

No transfer tax. Texas has no state real-estate transfer tax, which saves a line item Kentucky buyers pay. Closings are customarily handled by title companies in Texas, and recording fees are modest and set by the county. Texas is a windstorm and hail market along the Gulf Coast, so insurance is a real line item: TWIA windstorm coverage applies in the 14 coastal counties, and flood insurance matters near the Gulf, in Houston's bayou country and along the Rio Grande.

VA allows the seller to pay normal buyer closing costs subject to the applicable rules. Seller concessions are treated separately and generally have a 4 percent limit based on the home's reasonable value.

Can you buy a condo, duplex, manufactured home or fixer-upper in Texas?

Usually, yes, but each property type has its own rules.

Condos

A condominium project generally needs to meet VA's project-approval requirements. Do not wait until three weeks into the transaction to find out the condo is not approved. Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have the state's meaningful condo concentrations, so run the approval check before the offer, not after.

Two to four units

VA can finance an owner-occupied two-, three- or four-unit property. You must occupy one unit as your primary residence, but documented rental income from the other units may help with qualification subject to VA and lender requirements.

Manufactured homes

VA allows qualifying manufactured housing, but lender overlays are common here. The fact that VA permits something does not guarantee every VA lender will finance it. Texas has meaningful manufactured-home presence outside the big metros, so the house itself needs review before assuming the loan will work.

Fixer-uppers

A property needing repairs does not automatically mean you cannot use VA. Depending on the scope, the solution may be seller repairs before closing, an allowable repair escrow, VA renovation financing, or a different loan program if the property simply does not fit. Figure that out before paying for an appraisal and losing several weeks. For the renovation path, see my VA renovation loan guide. Here is how VA renovation loans work in Texas.

What if credit, bankruptcy or foreclosure is the real problem?

This is the part of VA lending I spend a lot of time on. The first thing to understand: the VA itself does not establish a universal minimum credit score for VA-guaranteed loans. Individual lenders do. "You need a 620 for VA" and "this lender requires a 620 for its VA program" are two completely different statements. One is presented as a VA rule. The other is a lender overlay.

Bad credit

The score matters because lenders use it and pricing follows it, but the VA credit analysis goes deeper than a three-digit number: payment history, housing history, what caused the problem, whether it is resolved, residual income, and which lender you are using. See bad credit VA loans in Texas.

Collections

Do not automatically start paying old collections because someone told you that is what VA requires. Some may not need to be paid off at all, and medical collections, non-medical collections, judgments and federal debts are not treated identically. Before moving money around, let the actual underwriting rule tell us what needs to happen.

Manual underwriting

Sometimes the automated system does not approve a file even though the veteran fits VA guidelines. That is where manual underwriting comes in: a human underwriter evaluates housing history, credit pattern, residual income, compensating factors and the reasons behind the credit issues. More documentation, not automatically a denial. See VA manual underwriting in Texas.

Bankruptcy

A prior bankruptcy does not mean your VA benefit is gone. Timing and documentation depend on the type, when it was discharged or dismissed, what caused it, and what your credit looks like afterward. As a general framework: Chapter 7 is generally two years from discharge; Chapter 13 is generally one year into the payout period with trustee or court approval and a satisfactory payment history. See VA loans after bankruptcy in Texas.

Foreclosure

VA seasoning rules are federal, but the event that legally completes a foreclosure depends on state law. Texas is non-judicial: after statutory notice, the trustee's sale is held on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse, and the foreclosure is complete when the trustee's deed is delivered. For VA's two-year foreclosure seasoning, the completion date is established from the actual foreclosure and title documentation under applicable VA guidance. Note the surviving-spouse nuance: a late-filed claim by a surviving spouse within five years can affect clear title, so the title search matters. See VA loans after foreclosure in Texas.

Texas credit rules that can change the answer

• Texas is not a community-property state for VA purposes in the way borrowers fear. Actually, Texas IS a community-property state, and in community-property states VA guidelines generally require counting the non-borrowing spouse's debts in the debt-to-income ratio. This is the opposite of Kentucky and it surprises Texas buyers.
• Texas debt statute of limitations is short. Written contracts: 4 years. Old collections age out of legal enforceability faster than in most states, which changes the negotiation posture.
• Non-judicial foreclosure. The two-year VA seasoning completion date is established from the foreclosure and title documentation under VA guidance, and a late-filed surviving-spouse claim within five years can cloud title.
• Texas constitutional homestead protections limit certain lien types against the homestead, which can matter in workout scenarios.

What if the Texas house you want needs work?

Then I want to know about the repairs before you are halfway through the transaction. There are generally three buckets: seller repair before closing for small VA-required items, an allowable repair escrow for certain incomplete items (not the same as financing a full renovation), and a VA renovation loan that combines purchase and qualifying repairs into one mortgage when the property, work and lender program fit. The important phrase is as-completed value: the appraiser values the home in its completed condition, and the finished value has to support the transaction.

Texas renovation examples I see repeatedly: foundation stabilization with pier work, roof replacement after hail season, drainage and grading corrections on flat clay lots, and HVAC replacement on older systems. Do not assume every lender that advertises VA loans offers VA renovation loans. This is a specialized product and lender overlays vary substantially.

Story time: this one closed

The loan closed. I was still chasing the inspection record.

The problem. A renovation loan where the repairs were done but the final inspection paperwork had not caught up. The work was complete, the money was disbursed, and the file still was not administratively closed.

What I did. I chased the inspection record until the file was actually complete, because a renovation file is not done when the borrower gets the keys.

How it ended. Funded. The inspection record landed after closing and the file closed clean.

On a renovation loan, the paperwork after closing matters as much as the work before it.

See If You Qualify
Or call or text me at 937-572-3713.

How long does a VA loan take to close in Texas?

A clean VA purchase does not inherently need months to close. A realistic target is often around 30 to 45 days, but the property and the file determine the timeline more than the letters "VA." The delays I actually see on Texas files: foundation engineer letters on expansive clay soil, hail-season roof repairs, well and septic inspections on rural properties, condo approval nobody checked before the offer, title scheduling around Texas's customary title-company closings, manual underwriting documentation, and renovation bids.

A seller should care about whether the buyer is actually qualified and whether the property fits the financing. That is why a real preapproval matters. Pulling a credit score and printing a letter is not the same thing as reviewing the file. If you want help thinking through where you fit, try the VA Loan Pathfinder.

Texas VA loan questions I get all the time

What credit score do I need for a VA loan in Texas?

VA does not set a universal minimum credit score. Individual lenders set their own overlays, so being turned down by one lender does not automatically mean you are ineligible. The lower the score and the more recent the credit issues, the more the rest of the file matters.

How much down payment do I need for a VA loan in Texas?

A qualified borrower with sufficient VA entitlement can generally purchase with no down payment. Partial entitlement, an appraisal below the purchase price, or a borrower choosing to put money down can change that calculation.

Do disabled veterans pay property taxes in Texas?

It depends on the rating. A veteran rated 100 percent disabled (including individual unemployability) is exempt from property tax on the residence homestead entirely. Lower ratings get tiered exemptions: $5,000 to $12,000 off appraised value. See the full property tax section for the tiers and filing rules.

Can I use a VA loan near Fort Hood or Joint Base San Antonio?

Yes, with VA eligibility, occupancy and lender qualification met. PCS buyers should start early enough to calculate entitlement and handle appraisal timing before the move date becomes an emergency.

Can I keep my current house and use my VA benefit again?

Possibly. If entitlement is not fully restored because another VA loan is still outstanding, I calculate your remaining entitlement against the county loan limit, which is $832,750 in most Texas counties for 2026 (a handful of high-cost counties are higher). Run the bonus entitlement calculation before assuming anything.

Can I buy a manufactured home with VA in Texas?

Potentially, yes. Manufactured housing has additional property and lender requirements, and many lenders impose overlays beyond the VA rules. The house itself needs to be reviewed before assuming the loan will work.

Can I buy a duplex with a VA loan in Texas?

Yes, for qualifying two- to four-unit properties when you occupy one unit as your primary residence. Rental income from the other units may be usable subject to underwriting requirements.

Can I buy an older home with a VA loan?

Absolutely. An old house does not fail a VA appraisal because it is old; condition is the issue. In Texas the foundation, roof and drainage are what I flag most, not age itself.

Do sellers have to pay VA buyer closing costs?

No. The seller and buyer negotiate closing-cost credits in the purchase contract. VA rules give sellers significant flexibility to help, including the 4 percent seller-concession allowance, but the seller is not automatically required to pay them.

Is the VA appraisal a home inspection?

No. An appraisal establishes value and checks the property against VA requirements. It is not a substitute for an independent home inspection. In Texas I especially want buyers to get the inspection, because foundation movement, hail damage and drainage are issues the appraisal will not fully answer.

Can I qualify for VA with a high debt-to-income ratio?

Sometimes. VA does not treat 41 percent as a hard stop. Residual income, tax-free income, credit history and other factors can materially change the analysis. That is why I would rather run your actual scenario than give you a generic DTI cutoff.

How do you start a Texas VA loan with me?

Start with my 30-second qualification quiz. It is not a credit pull. It gives me enough information to figure out what we actually need to look at next.

What I want to know

• Where in Texas are you buying?
• Have you used your VA entitlement before?
• Is another VA loan still outstanding?
• Do you receive VA disability compensation?
• What price range are you considering?
• Is the house move-in ready or does it need work?
• Are you active duty or PCSing?
• Has another lender already told you no?
• If so, exactly what reason did they give you?

The more unusual the scenario, the more useful those details become.

If you are still learning how the benefit works, start with my complete VA Loan Guide.

Carlos Scarpero
Mortgage Loan Originator
NMLS #1674385
Edge Home Finance, LLC, NMLS #891464
Licensed to originate VA loans in Texas
937-572-3713
Equal Housing Opportunity

Carlos Scarpero, Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #1674385 | Edge Home Finance, LLC, NMLS #891464 | Licensed to originate VA loans in Texas | 937-572-3713 | Equal Housing Opportunity. Nothing here is tax or legal advice, and no content on this page is a commitment to lend.