Advice first. Paperwork second.
You earned a benefit most lenders don't fully understand.
Let's use all of it. I'm Macy Britt, a mortgage advisor for people making the largest financial decision of their lives. I don't quote rates. I build a written plan for the next ten years of your money, then execute the financing that plan requires.
I take on just a few clients a month, on purpose — so every plan gets built properly and every client gets my full attention.
VA is my specialty — I also build plans for conventional, FHA, and USDA buyers across Grant County.
Take the VA 30-year fixed with no points, put nothing down, and keep the $41,000 in reserves rather than buying the rate down.
| A · No points | B · 1 point | |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | $0 | $0 |
| Cash to close | $6,800 | $14,100 |
| Monthly (PITI) | $2,614 | $2,481 |
| Mortgage insurance | None | None |
| Total cost, year 5 | $163,640 | $165,960 |
| Total cost, year 10 | $320,480 | $314,820 |
| Reserves after close | $41,000 | $33,700 |
The honest read: Option B only wins if you keep this loan past year seven. Median time to refinance or sell is under six years, so A is the better bet — and it leaves you $7,300 more in reserves.
Every client gets this page before they apply, and again at closing with final numbers. Illustrative figures for a sample scenario — not a quote or a commitment to lend.
Most loan officers sell you a loan. I build you a plan.
There are hundreds of thousands of licensed loan officers in the United States, and to a borrower they are functionally indistinguishable. They all promise great rates and fast closings, which is why borrowers end up shopping on rate — it's the only variable anyone shows them.
A plan shows the rest. One page, delivered before you apply and updated at closing, so you can see what a decision actually costs you over the years you'll hold it.
What's on the page
- 01The decision in one sentence.What you should do and why, plainly, at the top.
- 02Three scenarios side by side.Compared on total cost at year five, year ten and payoff — not on monthly payment.
- 03The break-even math on points.The specific year buying them pays off, next to how long people actually keep a mortgage.
- 04Your refinance triggers.Named thresholds, so you know when to call instead of waiting for a marketing email.
- 05How it fits the rest of your money.Reserves after closing, tax posture, and the retirement contribution that shouldn't be paused.
- 06What I'm not advising on.Stated explicitly. Naming the limits of the advice is the point.
A few clients a month. Every one of them gets all of me.
I run a concierge practice on purpose. Instead of a pipeline of fifty files and a call center, I take on just a few clients a month — so when you call, you get me. Not an assistant, not a processor reading from notes. Me.
What that means in practice:
- •One point of contact.From the first conversation to closing day, you deal with Macy Britt. The person who builds your plan is the person who executes it.
- •The plan before the paperwork.You see the written plan — scenarios, break-evens, refinance triggers — before you apply, not after.
- •Proactive, not reactive.You hear from me before you have to wonder. Status, changes, and next steps — in writing, without chasing.
- •Honest over easy.If the right answer is "wait," "don't buy the points," or "this house doesn't work," that is the answer you will get.
Fewer clients isn't a limitation. It's the whole design.
Six things the benefit does, and the tradeoff in each.
The VA loan is the most misunderstood product on the market, which means the advice gap is enormous. Here's the honest version — what it gives you, and what it costs.
No down payment
With full entitlement you can finance 100% of the purchase price. No other mainstream loan does this without mortgage insurance.
The tradeoff: you start with no equity, so selling inside three years can cost you money after transaction costs.No mortgage insurance
VA loans carry no monthly PMI at any loan-to-value. On a $450,000 loan that's commonly $150–$300 a month you don't pay.
The tradeoff: there's a one-time funding fee instead — usually the better deal, but it's not free.No VA loan limit
With full entitlement there's no cap on what the VA will guarantee, so the purchase price is set by what you qualify for, not by a county limit.
The tradeoff: "full entitlement" is the operative phrase. If you have a VA loan open, see second-tier below.The funding fee can be waived
Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability are exempt from the funding fee entirely, at any rating.
Worth checking: exemptions are missed constantly. If a rating is pending, the fee can be refunded once it's granted.Competitive pricing
VA rates are frequently at or below comparable conventional pricing, because the VA guarantee reduces the lender's risk.
The tradeoff: rate is one of five variables. It matters less than the structure you choose around it.It's reusable for life
This isn't a one-time benefit. Entitlement is restored when a VA loan is paid off, and can be used again with no limit on the number of times.
Worth knowing: you may not have to pay it off first — see second-tier entitlement.How the VA loan compares on the terms that move money.
| VA Loan | Conventional | FHA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum down payment | 0% | 3–5% | 3.5% |
| Monthly mortgage insurance | None | Until 80% LTV | Life of loan, in most cases |
| Upfront fee | 2.15% funding fee, first use — waived if exempt | None | 1.75% upfront MIP |
| Loan limit | None with full entitlement | $832,750 baseline | Varies by county |
| Prepayment penalty | Prohibited | Rare | Prohibited |
| Who can use it | Eligible veterans, service members, some spouses | Anyone who qualifies | Anyone who qualifies |
2026 conforming baseline of $832,750 per the Federal Housing Finance Agency; high-cost ceiling $1,249,125. VA funding fee schedule per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, unchanged since April 7, 2023.
The funding fee, stated plainly.
The VA funding fee replaces mortgage insurance. It's a one-time charge that can be paid at closing or financed into the loan, and it's the single line most borrowers are surprised by. Here's the whole schedule.
If you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, your fee is $0. Any rating qualifies. Surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation are exempt as well. This exemption is missed more often than any other item in VA lending — if a rating is pending at closing, the fee can be refunded once it's granted.
- First use, no down payment
- 2.15%
- Subsequent use, no down payment
- 3.30%
- Any use, 5% down or more
- 1.50%
- Any use, 10% down or more
- 1.25%
- Interest rate reduction refinance
- 0.50%
- Exempt — service-connected disability
- 0.00%
Percentages apply to the loan amount, not the purchase price. Financing the fee raises the balance and the payment — whether that's the right call is one of the things a plan settles before you apply.
Three steps. The plan comes before the paperwork.
We build the plan
A conversation about how long you expect to stay, what payment is comfortable, what cash you want to keep, and what you're optimizing for. You get the written plan before you fill out an application. A conversation — with me, not an intake form routed to a team.
We confirm and structure
We pull your Certificate of Eligibility, verify entitlement and any funding-fee exemption, and structure the financing the plan calls for. Then you're underwritten and pre-approved.
We execute and hand it back
I close on time, and you get the plan again with final numbers and your named refinance triggers — so you know exactly when to call instead of waiting for a marketing email.
Orders came. You don't automatically have to sell.
If you're moving and your current home has a rate you'd never get again, selling it to free up your VA entitlement is often the wrong answer. There are two ways to keep it, and they suit different situations.
The first is a DSCR refinance: move the current home onto an investment loan that qualifies on the property's rental income rather than your personal income. That pays off the VA loan, restores your full entitlement, and turns the house into an income-producing asset you keep.
A DSCR refinance replaces your existing VA rate with a new investment-loan rate, so it's rarely worth it if you're sitting on something under 4%. In that case second-tier entitlement — keeping the VA loan exactly as it is — is usually the better move. That's the section below.
DSCR refinance, at a glance
- ·Qualifies on rental incomeThe property's rent carries the loan — no W-2s or tax returns required.
- ·20–25% equity requiredTypical for a non-owner-occupied refinance.
- ·Coverage ratio of 1.0 or betterMarket rent needs to at least cover the new payment.
- ·620 minimum credit scorePlus three to six months of reserves.
- ·Restores your VA entitlementPaying off the VA loan frees the benefit for your next purchase.
- ·Investment property onlyNon-owner-occupied. You can't live in it.
DSCR loans are non-QM investor products. Terms vary by lender and are not VA-guaranteed. Availability depends on the property, the market rent and your credit profile.
Or keep the VA loan you have, and take out a second one.
Your entitlement has two layers: a basic $36,000, plus bonus entitlement that scales with the county loan limit where the new home sits. When your first VA loan is still open, the entitlement it used stays reserved — but whatever remains can guarantee a second VA loan.
DSCR moves your first home onto a non-VA investment loan and frees your full entitlement. Second-tier keeps both homes on VA loans, both with no mortgage insurance and VA pricing. The condition: the new home has to be your primary residence, occupied within 60 days of closing.
Because the new loan stays a VA loan, there's no cap on its size. You simply cover the portion your remaining entitlement can't guarantee.
The math, in order
- Maximum entitlement
- 25% × county loan limit
- Entitlement already used
- 25% × original VA loan
- Remaining entitlement
- Maximum − used
- Largest zero-down loan
- 4 × remaining
- Down payment above that
- 25% × (price − 4 × remaining)
- If that result is negative
- $0 down
Two things people get wrong. Used entitlement is calculated on the original loan amount and never decreases as you pay the loan down. And the down payment applies only to the amount above what your remaining entitlement supports — not to the whole purchase price.
2026 standard county limit $832,750; high-cost counties up to $1,249,125. Your actual figure is on your Certificate of Eligibility, and it's the first thing we pull.
Whether you qualify comes down to service history.
Most people who think they're ineligible are working from outdated information — National Guard eligibility in particular changed, and surviving-spouse eligibility is widely unknown. If there's any ambiguity, we pull the Certificate of Eligibility and find out rather than guess.
Service requirements, generally
- ·90 consecutive days of active dutyDuring wartime.
- ·181 days of active dutyDuring peacetime.
- ·Six years of serviceIn the National Guard or Reserves, or 90 days under Title 32.
- ·Surviving spousesOf a service member who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected disability.
- ·Currently servingActive-duty members qualify once the minimum service period is met.
Discharge type affects eligibility. These are general guidelines, not a determination — the Certificate of Eligibility is the authority, and VA makes the final call.
Answered honestly, including where the answer is "it depends."
Is the VA loan actually free?
Do sellers avoid VA offers because they're slow?
Can I have two VA loans at the same time?
I'm PCS'ing. Should I sell or keep the house?
Should I buy points to lower my rate?
How many times can I use the benefit?
What if my credit isn't great?
Start with a conversation. The plan comes first.
Book 30 minutes and we'll talk through your situation — how long you expect to stay, what you want to keep in reserve, what you're optimizing for. The plan comes back to you before any decision is required. When you're ready, the application takes minutes.
- ·Your written plan comes before any commitment.
- ·I check your funding-fee exemption and entitlement first, not last.
- ·No rate-panic emails. Ever.