Frequently Asked Questions

On a purchase loan, it depends on your down payment and whether it's your first use. For first use, it's 2.15% with less than 5% down, 1.5% with 5% or more, and 1.25% with 10% or more. After first use, it's 3.3% with less than 5% down, and the same 1.5% and 1.25% tiers above that. These are VA's rates effective April 7, 2023.

Your BAH at Mountain Home AFB or another Idaho duty station counts as income for VA loan qualification, which is one of the biggest advantages of the benefit. The home you'll qualify for depends on your full income picture, debts, and credit. As a rough starting point, lenders look at total housing costs as a share of gross income. Run your specific numbers with a VA-experienced Treasure Valley lender before you start house hunting.

Yes. VA loans allow sellers to contribute toward your closing costs and concessions — one of the strongest negotiation tools in the benefit. That contribution can cover the VA funding fee, prepaid taxes and insurance, discount points, and other closing items. In a balanced Treasure Valley market like 2026, asking for seller concessions is reasonable on many offers. Your MHC agent can help structure the ask without weakening the offer.

You'll need your DD-214 (or current orders if you're still active duty), Certificate of Eligibility, the last two years of W-2s and tax returns, recent pay stubs, two months of bank statements, and a valid government ID. If you're using BAH as income, your current Leave and Earnings Statement is required. Active duty service members at Mountain Home AFB can request the COE through their lender or directly through the VA — most VA-experienced Idaho lenders handle this in days.

You don't pay it if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, if you're eligible for that compensation but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead, if you receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation as a surviving spouse, if you have a pre-discharge proposed or memorandum rating dated before closing, or if you're on active duty and provide evidence of a Purple Heart by closing.

You can request your COE from VA online, or your lender can request it for you. Request it before you tour homes. It shows whether you have full or remaining entitlement, which decides whether a loan limit applies.

Yes. Many military buyers tour by live video, have a spouse or partner handle in-person steps, and arrange remote signing or an accepted power of attorney through the title company and lender. Start with your report date and work backward so each step has a date.

Yes — VA loans work on new construction in the Treasure Valley, and there are real advantages to using your benefit in this segment right now. Many builders in Meridian, Kuna, and South Boise are offering significant incentives in 2026, including closing cost contributions that can stack with the VA's seller concession allowance. The builder must be VA-approved (most major Treasure Valley builders are), and the home must pass the standard VA appraisal at completion.

It depends on timing. If orders arrive before you're under contract, you can usually adjust — the VA loan benefit travels with you. If you're already under contract and receive orders to leave Idaho, the situation gets more complex, because VA loans require you to occupy the home as your primary residence, typically soon after closing. In most cases the move is still workable; in some, the right call is to use your inspection or financing contingency. Loop in your MHC agent and lender immediately.

Yes. A non-veteran spouse can be a co-borrower in what the VA calls a joint VA loan. Your spouse's income and credit factor into qualification, which can help you qualify for a larger loan amount. The non-veteran spouse's income is treated the same way it would be on a conventional loan. If both spouses are veterans, you can combine entitlements — useful for higher-priced homes in core Boise neighborhoods or for buyers without full first-use entitlement remaining.

Yes. When a VA loan is paid off and the home is sold, your entitlement can be restored. You may also have remaining entitlement while a VA loan is still open. The funding fee is higher after first use unless you're exempt.

Yes. Basic Allowance for Housing counts as qualifying income on a VA loan, which is one of the biggest reasons the benefit makes sense for active duty buyers. Lenders generally require that you'll continue receiving the allowance, verified through your orders or current Leave and Earnings Statement. BAH rates are set by zip code and rank — the current rates for Mountain Home AFB and other Idaho duty stations are published on the DoD's official BAH calculator at defensetravel.dod.mil.

Yes. Idaho offers an annual property tax reduction for veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability rating (or 100 percent compensation due to individual unemployability), applied to a primary residence and up to one acre of land, under Idaho Code §63-705A. There's no income limit on this specific benefit. Applications are submitted to your county assessor's office by April 15 each year. Idaho also does not tax VA disability payments at the state level.

Yes, but with restrictions that make it less common than VA loans on site-built homes. The manufactured home must be on a permanent foundation, classified as real property rather than personal property, and meet specific VA Minimum Property Requirements for manufactured housing. Many lenders won't write VA loans on manufactured homes at all, even though the VA program technically allows it. If you're considering a manufactured home in the Treasure Valley, line up a lender who actively closes these loans before you make an offer.

Both offer zero down payment, which makes them attractive for buyers looking at rural areas like Kuna's outskirts, parts of Canyon County, or the Treasure Valley's edges. The VA loan has no income limit and no geographic restriction. The USDA loan has both — your household income must fall below program thresholds for your county, and the property must sit in a USDA-designated rural area. For eligible veterans, the VA loan is almost always the better tool when it's available, because BAH and full entitlement create more flexibility than USDA income limits allow.

Not if you have full entitlement. VA sets no loan limit in that case, and your lender decides how much you qualify for. If you have remaining entitlement (for example, a VA loan still open on another home), VA uses the county's one-unit conforming loan limit to calculate what's left. In Ada County the 2026 limit is $832,750.

Value, and whether the home meets VA's minimum property requirements: safe, structurally sound, and sanitary. It isn't a home inspection, so schedule an independent inspection inside your inspection period as well.

Buyer agent compensation is negotiated and outlined in the Buyer Representation Agreement. In many transactions the seller agrees to cover the buyer agent's commission. Ask your MHC agent for details specific to your situation.