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The VA construction loan is real: land, build, and permanent financing in one closing with no down payment. It is also one of the hardest VA products to actually get. Here is how the one-time close works, why builders and lenders avoid it, and when the conventional-then-refinance route wins.
The funding fee is the one real cost of a VA loan, ranging from 0.5% to 3.3% of the loan amount. Roughly a third of VA borrowers are exempt and many of the rest finance it without running the math. On a $600,000 California purchase, that math is worth $4,000-$6,000.
Most "VA loan disqualifier" lists mix permanent problems with paperwork problems. Only two things genuinely block the benefit: your discharge status and unresolved federal debt. Almost everything else is a timing issue you can fix.
Most borrowers searching for mortgage rate predictions 2026-2030 want one clean number for each year. The market does not work that way. The useful answer is the 2026 base case, the 2027 direction, and the reality that 2028-2030 forecasts are mostly scenario work.
Home equity rates are lower than their 2025 highs, but the bigger question is how much more room is left in 2026. HELOCs and fixed home equity loans are likely to ease only gradually unless Fed policy and lender spreads move more aggressively.
Self-employed borrowers write off everything they can on taxes, then get penalized for it when applying for a mortgage. Bank statement loans fix that problem by qualifying you on deposits, not taxable income.
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Updated 6/17/2026
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