Written by Brian Lacey | Riverstone Mortgage
The Hampton Roads
VA Loan Guide
Whether you have PCS orders, you are already stationed here, or you are a veteran ready to buy, here is what Brian Lacey sees VA loan buyers miss every single time, and what to do about it before it costs you.
What military buyers relocating to Hampton Roads need to know before they look at a single house, from a broker who has been closing VA loans for 36 years.
What this guide covers
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Your VA rate is not set by the VA
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Know your price range first
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Inspector and termite risks
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The agent agreement to watch for
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A VA guarantee doesn't mean automatic approval
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The BAH trap and how to avoid it
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Title company vs. lawyer's office
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6 Questions to ask any lender
Two Things Most VA Buyers Assume And Shouldn't
Your rate is not set by the VA
Here is the most important thing Brian Lacey, mortgage broker in Hampton Roads, tells every military buyer who calls him and the thing almost none of them know going in:
The VA sets your eligibility for a VA loan. It does not set your rate.
Your rate is set by the lender you choose. Every lender offers a different rate on the same VA loan and you are under no obligation to take the first one you are offered.
The most important sentence in this guide
This matters enormously in Hampton Roads, where the lender on base, your bank, and a mortgage broker all have access to your VA benefit, but they are offering it at different rates.
A quarter-point difference on a $380,000 VA loan is roughly $55 a month. Over 30 years that is almost $20,000.
Brian Lacey is a licensed mortgage broker. That means he has wholesale access to dozens of lending institutions and compares them to find the best available rate for your situation. The lender on base has one rate. Your bank has one rate. Brian has the market.
Bring Brian the rate you were quoted from the lender on base, your bank, or anyone else.
He will compare it against the wholesale market. If he can beat it, he tells you by how much and closes it.
If he can't, he tells you that too. Either way, you'll know you made the right call.
Brian's offer to every military buyer
A VA guarantee does not mean automatic approval
The second assumption Brian hears from military buyers almost as often as the rate myth: the VA loan is guaranteed by the government, so any lender will approve it.
That is not how it works. The VA guarantees the loan to the lender if you default, it does not guarantee that every lender will approve every buyer.
Lenders are allowed to add their own requirements on top of the VA's baseline guidelines. These are called overlays, and they vary from lender to lender.
One lender may require a minimum credit score higher than what the VA sets. Another may have stricter debt-to-income limits. Another may decline a situation that a different lender on the wholesale market would approve without hesitation.
If a lender has told you that you do not qualify for a VA loan, call Brian before you assume that is the final answer.
Many times the issue is something very specific to that lender's overlay requirements, something Brian can often resolve quickly by finding the right wholesale lender whose guidelines fit your situation.
The VA guarantee does not expire because one lender said no.
What that means for you
This is one of the clearest advantages of working with a broker rather than a single retail lender.
A retail lender can only offer their own product on their own terms. Brian has access to dozens of wholesale lenders, each with their own overlay structure.
When one lender's requirements do not fit a buyer's situation, Brian finds the one that does.
The First Question You Should Ask
What price range should I be looking at?
This is the first question every military buyer relocating to Hampton Roads should ask and almost none of them do.
They start scrolling Zillow, fall in love with a house, and then call a lender. By that point they have already formed a number in their head, and if the math does not work, the conversation is uncomfortable for everyone.
Brian runs the numbers first. Before you look at a single house, he calculates your monthly payment at different price points based on three things:
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Your income - base pay, BAH at the Hampton Roads rate, and any other qualifying income
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Your current debt obligations - car payments, student loans, credit cards
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The current rate across the wholesale market for a VA loan at your purchase price
The output is a specific number: the price range where your payment is comfortable, where you have room if rates move, and where you are not stretching.
That number is what you take into the house search, not a Zillow estimate.
Call Brian before you contact a real estate agent.
The 15-minute conversation that establishes your price range is the most valuable 15 minutes in the entire homebuying process.
Know your number before you look at a single house
What happens If Your Orders Are Not In Writing Yet?
The Orders Question
One of the most common situations Brian encounters: the sailor knows they are coming to Hampton Roads, the orders are coming, but they are not in writing yet and the family wants to start the process.
Stage
What Brian Can Do
Orders Verbal, Not Yet Written
Brian can review income and credit and give a verbal sense of what you qualify for. No formal pre-approval letter yet.
Written Orders In Hand
Brian issues a formal pre-approval letter, the letter that goes with an offer. Hampton Roads agents recognize his letters as reliable.
Closing Within 60 Days Of Closing
Standard VA path. The VA requires occupancy within 60 days of closing with proof of relocation to the area.
Timeline Beyond 60 Days
A 90-day extension is available in certain circumstances. Brian evaluates and advises accordingly.
The Spouse Occupancy Path
If the service member won't arrive within 60 days but their spouse will move in before they get there, the VA allows the spouse's occupancy to satisfy the requirement.
Two conditions apply:
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The household must carry two housing payments without pushing the debt-to-income ratio too high. Brian runs this calculation specifically — it is a real number, not a rule of thumb.
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If the service member is currently in military housing and not paying for housing out of pocket, that eliminates one side of the two-payment equation. Brian evaluates this case by case.
Get the debt-to-income calculation done before the offer goes in. Brian runs this number at the first call.
Do not assume the spouse path is automatic.
The BAH Situation That Almost Derailed A Closing
If you live in military housing, read this carefully
If you are currently living in military housing, you are not receiving BAH, housing is provided in lieu of the allowance.
That means your income documentation does not show BAH, and Brian needs documentation you will actually receive it in Hampton Roads before he can count it as qualifying income.
A sailor was PCSing to Hampton Roads from Japan, where his family had been living in base housing. They were not receiving BAH, housing was provided as part of the overseas assignment.
The sailor called Brian before ever looking at a single house in Hampton Roads. That call changed everything.
Brian went through the income picture and immediately identified the issue. He told the sailor exactly what was needed: a letter from the new Hampton Roads command confirming BAH would be received upon reporting and the stating the rate.
The sailor got the letter, sent the written orders to Brian, and never looked at a house until there was a full pre-approval.
Brian referred a retired Navy real estate agent with years of PCS experience, a title company, an inspector, and a termite inspector, all with 20-plus years of Hampton Roads experience.
The sailor and his family moved into their new home the day they arrived in Hampton Roads. That outcome was only possible because the sailor called Brian first.
Real Story
The Sailor PCSing From Japan
What you need if you are in military housing
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A letter from your new Hampton Roads command confirming you will receive BAH upon reporting and stating the rate
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Your written PCS orders to Hampton Roads
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Your most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
If you are not currently receiving BAH, Brian needs documentation you will receive it in Hampton Roads before he can count it as qualifying income. He will tell you exactly what the letter needs to say.
The Rule Of Thumb
The Vendor Decisions That Most Buyers Get Wrong
Your inspector, termite inspector, and title company matter more than you think
The lender is only one part of the transaction. The inspector, termite inspector, and title company each have their own role and the wrong choice in any of them can cost a buyer far more than the fee they paid.
The Home Inspector
Inspection companies protect themselves with contracts buyers sign before the inspection begins, contracts that typically limit liability to the cost of the inspection fee, nothing more.
Brian recently closed a loan where the inspection had been completed and cleared. The buyers moved in.
What the inspector had missed: the toilet drain pipe in the downstairs bathroom was broken under the house. For an unknown period of time, all waste had been draining directly under the foundation rather than into the sewer line.
The cost to remediate: approximately $10,000.
The buyers went back to the inspection company. The contract they had signed limited liability to the inspection fee. They recovered the inspection fee. The $10,000 was theirs.
The inspector should have seen this. An experienced inspector would have. The buyers had no way to know.
Real Story
The Broken Pipe Under The House
The Termite Inspector
VA loans require a termite inspection.
In Virginia, a termite inspector does not need to be licensed to conduct the inspection. A license is only required if they are treating.
The person who writes your termite inspection report may have no formal licensing requirement at all.
Brian's referrals have 20-plus years of Hampton Roads experience.
Use them.
Never Choose An Inspector Or Termite Inspector Based On Price Alone
Title Company VS. The Lawyer's Office
In Virginia, many home purchases close through a lawyer's office rather than a title company.
This surprises nearly every military buyer from another state and the difference matters.
Title Company
Lawyer's Office
Title companyLawyer's office
Deep expertise in title, closing, and VA loan requirements
Staff present to witness signatures, not to answer questions
Can answer questions about the transaction and closing documents
Limited ability to advise on transaction details
Experienced with VA loan closings and military buyer needs
General legal process with no VA specialization
Generally lower cost for the same closing service
Often charges more for less service depth
Brian's Referral Network And
The Agent Agreement To Watch For
Read this before you sign anything with
a real estate agent
Military buyers relocating to Hampton Roads often contact a real estate agent before they have talked to a lender.
That is understandable, finding the right house feels like the first step.
But there is an agreement many agents will ask you to sign, sometimes at the very first meeting, that most military buyers do not know to look for.
Some real estate agents will ask you to sign a buyer representation agreement before they show you a single house or even at the very first conversation.
This agreement can require you to use that agent exclusively and pay their commission for any purchase you make within the agreement period, even if you find a house yourself or work with someone else later.
Read any agreement carefully before you sign. Understand the term, the exclusivity clause, and what it means if the relationship is not working.
Do not feel pressured to sign on the spot.
Buyer representation agreements can lock you in for 6 to 12 months.
Brian refers a retired Navy real estate agent (if this is the right match) with years of experience helping sailors and military families PCS to Hampton Roads.
That referral matters not just because of the experience, but because a buyer who comes to an agent through a trusted referral is in a fundamentally different position than one who signed an agreement before they knew what they were agreeing to.
Talk to Brian first. He will refer you to the right agent, explain what any agreement you are asked to sign actually means, and make sure you are not locked into a relationship that does not serve you before the house search even begins.
The Full Referral Network
Brian refers the best of the best to ensure you have the best experience possible. He doesn't get paid from his referrals.
Every person in Brian's network has earned the referral through years of Hampton Roads experience:
Retired Navy Real Estate Agent
Years of experience helping sailors PCS to Hampton Roads. Understands compressed timelines, remote closings, and military buyer decisions. Brian has numerous real estate agents to refer if you prefer an agent with other expertise.
Termite inspector - 20+ years Hampton Roads
Track record of thorough inspections, not just a signed report. VA loans require it, use someone who knows this market.
Home inspector - 20+ years Hampton Roads
Knows what to look for in Hampton Roads homes, including the conditions that show up under older properties in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Title company - 20+ years VA loan closings
Deep experience with VA loan closings in Hampton Roads. Real answers at the closing table, not just signatures.
A VA loan closes through a team, not just a lender.
That coordination is what produced the sailor's outcome: a quick close, a smooth move-in, and a family in their new home the day they arrived.
Why the referral network matters
Questions to ask any VA lender before you commit
The answers to these questions will tell you more about whether a lender is the right fit than anything on their website.
Are you comparing my VA rate across multiple lenders or quoting me your rate?
A broker compares the wholesale market. A retail lender, a bank, a credit union, the lender on base quotes their rate. Those are structurally different answers. If the lender cannot explain where their rate comes from relative to the broader market, you are not getting a comparison. You are getting an offer.
If I was told I don't qualify, does that mean no lender will approve me?
Not necessarily. Lenders add their own requirements on top of the VA's baseline guidelines, called overlays and those vary from lender to lender. If one lender said no, the reason may be specific to their overlay requirements, not to the VA loan itself. Call Brian before you assume the answer is final. Many times it is something straightforward that a different wholesale lender will approve.
How many VA loans have you closed in Hampton Roads in the last 12 months?
Hampton Roads is a high-volume VA loan market with its own patterns, base proximity, PCS timelines, the BAH rate structure, the vendor ecosystem. Experience in this specific market is not the same as general VA loan experience. Brian has closed VA loans in Hampton Roads for 36 years.
Am I eligible for a VA funding fee exemption?
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 10% or more are typically exempt from the VA funding fee, a one-time cost that can run from 1.25% to 3.3% of the loan amount. On a $380,000 loan that is between $4,750 and $12,540. Brian confirms exemption status at pre-approval. Some lenders miss it. The buyer pays the difference.
I've used my VA loan before. Can I use it again?
In most cases yes. If the prior VA loan has been paid off, full entitlement is typically restored. If the prior loan is still open, remaining entitlement may still be sufficient depending on the loan amount and the county limit. Brian calculates this specifically, he does not send buyers to a VA worksheet.
What is my monthly payment going to be at different price points?
This is the first question every military buyer should ask. Brian runs this calculation before the buyer looks at a single house, a specific payment at a specific price point based on the current wholesale market rate, your income, and your BAH. Not a Zillow estimate.
The 15-minute call is free, commits you to nothing, and will tell you more than any online guide. Brian will run your numbers, confirm your eligibility, and tell you exactly what price range makes sense.
Talk to Brian before you look at a single house
Brian Lacey • NMLS #13008 • Riverstone Mortgage • Hampton Roads, VA • No application required
Meet Brian
Real Experts. Real Hampton Roads
Mortgage professionals with deep roots in the Hampton Roads market
with 36 years of experience.
BL
Brian Lacey
Branch Manager • NMLS #13008
36 years in mortgage lending. Brian has seen every market cycle, knows underwriting inside out, and has helped thousands of Hampton Roads families get approved when other lenders couldn't get it done. When Brian says he can close your loan, he means it.
36 Years Experience
Quick, Simple, Easy
VA Loan Specialist
Riverstone Mortgage — Hampton Roads, Virginia
• Joshua Visser • Mortgage Loan Originator • NMLS #2379859
Riverstone Mortgage • Hampton Roads, VA • Equal Housing Lender • All loans subject to credit approval and qualification. This is not a commitment to lend. Appraisal and inspection offer subject to use of Riverstone Mortgage and a Riverstone-referred real estate agent for the same transaction. Not available in all situations. Ask a Riverstone loan officer for complete details.