Buying a Texas home with a VA loan: what actually changes

The core VA loan advantages

For eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and many surviving spouses, the VA-guaranteed loan allows a purchase with no down payment on a primary residence, and it carries no monthly private mortgage insurance — which is where conventional low-down-payment loans quietly add cost. That combination is the whole point: it lowers both the cash to close and the monthly payment.

There is a one-time VA funding fee, which can be financed into the loan. Importantly, that funding fee is waived for veterans who are receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability. If that is you, confirm it with your lender so you are not charged a fee you do not owe.

The VA appraisal has teeth

A VA appraisal does two jobs: it establishes value and it checks the home against the VA's Minimum Property Requirements — is it safe, sound, and sanitary. That means certain conditions (exposed wiring, active roof leaks, failing systems, some peeling paint on older homes) can become required repairs before the loan will close.

On an as-is sale or a fixer, that can be a sticking point, because the seller may not want to make repairs. It is workable — but it needs to be planned for in the offer, not discovered during underwriting. We write around it deliberately.

Texas property-tax exemptions for disabled veterans

Texas is one of the better states to be a disabled veteran homeowner, because the property-tax benefit is real money every year. A veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disability rating — or who is rated individually unemployable — can receive a total exemption from property tax on their residence homestead. That is the entire homestead, not a capped dollar amount.

For partial ratings, the exemption is a set dollar amount off the appraised value under Tax Code Section 11.22: $5,000 for a 10–29 percent rating, $7,500 for 30–49 percent, $10,000 for 50–69 percent, and $12,000 for 70 percent and above. A veteran who is 65 or older with at least a 10 percent rating also qualifies for the $12,000 amount.

Surviving spouses can retain the exemption under certain conditions. These are applied through your county appraisal district, so the paperwork matters — we make sure it is on your radar at closing rather than a year later.

Don't overlook the Texas VLB loan

Separate from the federal VA loan, the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB), part of the General Land Office, offers its own Veterans Housing Assistance Program — a competitive, low-interest home loan with little or no down payment for eligible Texas veterans and service members, on a primary residence in Texas. Veterans with a disability rating of 30 percent or greater can receive a discounted interest rate.

The VLB also runs land and home-improvement loan programs — genuinely useful if you are buying acreage or improving what you own. Because VLB rates move weekly and can sometimes beat a standard VA loan, it is worth pricing both. We are happy to point you to a lender who runs the comparison honestly.

Putting it together

The winning move is stacking these: a VA (or VLB) loan for the financing, the funding-fee waiver if you qualify, and the disabled-veteran homestead exemption for the annual tax savings. Done right, an eligible buyer can get into a Texas home with little cash up front and a materially lower cost to carry it. Tell us your eligibility and we will build the offer around it.