A military spouse does not hold the VA loan benefit by marriage alone. The entitlement belongs to the servicemember or veteran, and a spouse’s rights depend on whose service created the benefit and whose names go on the loan. A spouse can co-borrow, sign by power of attorney in some cases, and qualify in their own right as a surviving spouse. Those are different paths with different rules, and mixing them up is how deals stall during a PCS move. Duane Buziak, a VA loan broker licensed across Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia, with a 500 FICO floor and access to 500+ wholesale lenders, explains how these military spouse home buying rights work and how to structure the purchase around them.
By Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647
Who Holds the VA Benefit: Spouse Rights vs. Servicemember Rights
Four terms matter before anything else. Entitlement is the amount of guaranty the VA will back for a veteran’s loan. A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is the VA document confirming that entitlement. A co-borrower is anyone who signs the note with you and shares liability. A non-veteran spouse is a spouse who has no qualifying service of their own.
The entitlement is the servicemember’s or veteran’s. A spouse is not a co-owner of it, and being married to a veteran does not make you eligible on your own. The exceptions are narrow and covered in the next section. What marriage does allow is a joint application, where the non-veteran spouse’s income, assets, and credit become part of the file.
That last point is where file strength matters. When both spouses are on the loan, underwriters evaluate both credit profiles, and the weaker one can drag the file. Direct lenders with a single product shelf apply their own score floors: Veterans United requires a 620 FICO for VA loans as of 2026, and Movement’s VA floor is 580. Duane Buziak is an independent broker, not a direct lender, so one application can be compared across 500+ wholesale lenders, and the VA program itself permits approvals down to a 500 FICO. That is not a guarantee. It means a couple with one thin credit file has more investors to try before anyone concludes the loan cannot work.
Broker independence also removes a common worry about scale. Duane Buziak is ranked #114 nationally on the Scotsman Guide Top Originators list and was named VA Broker of the Year for 2024 and 2025. Shopping many investors on one file is leverage, not a limitation.
To start, the veteran requests a COE through VA.gov, or the broker can pull it for you. The COE shows how much entitlement is available, which matters if a previous VA loan is still active.
Surviving Spouses and the Cases Where a Spouse Is Eligible in Their Own Right
Some spouses do hold the benefit directly. Under VA eligibility rules, as of 2026, an unmarried surviving spouse may qualify if the servicemember died in service or from a service-connected disability. A spouse of a servicemember listed as missing in action, or held as a prisoner of war, for at least 90 days may also qualify. The VA is the authority on edge cases, so confirm your situation on the eligibility page before you plan around it.
Remarriage
Remarriage usually ends a surviving spouse’s eligibility, with one exception. A surviving spouse who remarries on or after age 57, and on or after December 16, 2003, may keep eligibility. If you remarried earlier than that, do not assume the door is closed without checking, because the VA looks at the specific dates and circumstances.
The funding fee exemption
Surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) are exempt from the VA funding fee, according to the VA funding fee page. On a $400,000 loan at the standard first-use rate, that is thousands of dollars the exemption removes from the loan balance.
Getting the COE
Surviving spouses typically apply with VA Form 26-1817 rather than the standard veteran request. You can submit it through the VA.gov home loan process, by mail, or with help from a broker who handles these files regularly. Expect the VA to ask for documentation tying the servicemember’s death to service or a service-connected condition, so gather the death certificate and any DIC award letter early.
Loss of a servicemember often arrives alongside a move, a housing deadline, and a change in household income. Duane Buziak builds these files with income from survivor benefits, Social Security, and employment documented the way underwriters expect, and with the credit flexibility to work through any damage from the transition period.
Buying Together: Spouse on the Loan, Credit, Income, and Community Property
The most common assumption is that a non-veteran spouse on the loan forces a down payment. For a spouse, it generally does not. The VA treats a veteran and spouse on a joint loan differently from a veteran and an unrelated non-veteran, and the guaranty can still support no-down-payment financing. A down payment typically enters the picture when the co-borrower is a non-veteran who is not the spouse, such as a partner or friend, because the guaranty covers only the veteran’s share. The VA Lenders Handbook sets the guaranty rules, and your broker should confirm the structure before you sign anything.
Adding a spouse can help or hurt. Their income can raise your buying power, but their debts and credit history go into the ratios too. A strong earner with weak credit is not automatically a net positive.
Community property
In community property states, the VA requires underwriters to consider a non-borrowing spouse’s debts even if that spouse is not on the loan. Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia are not community property states, though Tennessee allows an optional community property trust. This matters for military families because a PCS move to Texas, California, Arizona, Washington, or another community property state can change how the file is underwritten.
Pre-approval without damaging either file
NoTouch Credit Pull is Duane Buziak’s soft-pull pre-qualification: it reviews your credit without a hard inquiry, so it does not lower your scores the way a standard pre-approval can. A soft credit pull mortgage review means two spouses can have both files assessed before either takes a hit. It is also a mortgage pre approval without hard pull, which helps when you are still deciding whether to apply jointly or on the veteran’s income alone.
Suppose one spouse sits at 580 and the other at 700. A direct lender with a 620 floor may require a different structure or decline the joint file. A 500-floor broker can run the numbers both ways, joint and veteran-only, and match each to the wholesale investors that evaluate that credit profile most favorably.
Worked Example: Military Couple Buying a $400,000 Home
This is an illustration, not a quote. Suppose a veteran with full entitlement and a non-veteran spouse buy a $400,000 home with no down payment. Because the spouse is the co-borrower, the guaranty supports the full amount either way, so the veteran-only loan and the joint loan use the same loan structure. The difference is underwriting: the joint loan adds the spouse’s income, debts, and credit.
The funding fee for a first-time VA loan with 0% down is 2.15%, per the VA funding fee table as of 2026. The math:
- Funding fee: $400,000 × 2.15% = $8,600
- Loan amount if the fee is financed: $400,000 + $8,600 = $408,600
- Loan amount for a veteran exempt from the fee (for example, one receiving VA disability compensation): $400,000
At an illustrative 6.25% fixed rate over 30 years, principal and interest on $408,600 comes to about $2,516 a month. On $400,000 it is about $2,463. The exemption saves roughly $53 a month, plus $8,600 less debt from day one. Taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues are extra, and real rates depend on your file and the day you lock.
Now change the facts. If the co-borrower were an unmarried non-veteran partner owning half, the guaranty would cover only the veteran’s half of the loan, and lenders commonly require a down payment on the uncovered portion, often around 25% of the non-veteran’s share. On a $400,000 loan split evenly, that could mean roughly $50,000 down. The spouse structure avoids that, which is why the relationship between the borrowers matters. Confirm the exact requirement in the Lenders Handbook before relying on it.
Closing costs are a separate question. Ask about no-out-of-pocket closing options, which can include seller concessions and lender credits structured into the offer, so little to nothing is due at the table.
Federal Protections Behind Military Spouse Home Buying Rights
SCRA. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps interest at 6% on debts incurred before military service, including pre-service mortgages, and restricts foreclosure without a court order during service and for a period afterward. The protections belong to the servicemember, not the spouse directly. A spouse benefits only through a joint obligation. The 6% cap also does not apply to a mortgage taken out during service, so a VA loan you obtain while on active duty does not get it.
PCS orders. A servicemember with PCS orders, or a deployment of 90 days or more, can generally terminate a residential lease under the SCRA, and the termination typically extends to a spouse who co-signed. That affects timing: you can plan a purchase around orders without being locked into rent at the old duty station. Give written notice with a copy of the orders, as the DOJ page describes.
Residency. The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act lets a spouse keep their prior state of residence for tax and voting purposes when they move solely to accompany the servicemember. It does not limit where the VA loan can be used. A VA loan works in any state, provided the home will be your primary residence, and the VA allows a spouse to satisfy the occupancy requirement while the servicemember is deployed.
Power of attorney. A spouse may sign closing documents under a valid special power of attorney (POA), but acceptance varies by title company, investor, and state. Many require a POA naming the specific property and transaction, and some want it reviewed before closing. Do not assume a general POA will work. Raise it with your broker before you write an offer.
Reusing the benefit. The VA loan is not a once-per-career benefit. After a PCS, entitlement can be restored by selling the home and paying off the loan, and a one-time restoration may be available in some cases. See the VA’s entitlement and loan limit guidance for the details. Keeping the first home as a rental while buying a second is also possible with remaining entitlement.
Comparison: VaLoansPro vs. Direct Lenders for Military Families
Figures below are as of 2026 and can change. Verify current terms with each company before deciding.
| Company | FICO Min (VA) | Lender Type | Loan Shelf | Fees | Pre-approval Credit Pull |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VaLoansPro.com (Duane Buziak) | 500 | Independent broker | 500+ wholesale lenders | Broker-negotiated, shop-able; zero-kickback policy | Soft pull via NoTouch Credit Pull |
| Veterans United | 620 | Direct lender | Single VA-specialty shelf | Origination fee on the higher side | Hard pull typical at application |
| Rocket Mortgage | Varies (no public VA-specific floor) | Direct lender | Single shelf | Varies by product | Hard pull typically needed before final numbers |
| Movement Mortgage | 580 | Direct lender | Single shelf | Varies by product | Hard pull at application |
Veterans United deserves credit for focusing almost entirely on VA loans, which gives its staff deep program experience. Its scale is real. The trade-off is structural: a direct lender can offer only its own pricing and its own credit standards, while a broker can compare many.
VaLoansPro serves any VA-eligible veteran or spouse regardless of branch or family ties, unlike membership-based institutions that restrict who can join. In practice, a couple submits one application, and Duane Buziak compares investors on rate and terms, then recommends the best fit. The zero-kickback policy keeps that advice free of steering incentives, and the Dare to Compare challenge lets you put a competing offer next to ours. NoTouch Credit Pull is the digital counterpart to the big online application flows: you get a pre-approval without a hard pull while both credit files stay untouched.
Frequently Asked Questions About Military Spouse Home Buying
Can a military spouse get a VA loan?
A spouse can get a VA loan only if they qualify in their own right, most often as an unmarried surviving spouse of a servicemember who died in service or from a service-connected disability. Otherwise, the spouse can be a co-borrower on the servicemember’s loan. See the VA eligibility page.
Can a non-veteran spouse be on a VA loan?
Yes, a non-veteran spouse can be a co-borrower, and the guaranty can still support no-down-payment financing. Full-entitlement borrowers have no VA county loan limit, which matters most for those with partial entitlement. As announced by FHFA for 2026, the baseline conforming limit is $832,750, and high-cost Northern Virginia localities sit at the $1,249,125 ceiling.
Can a spouse buy a house while the servicemember is deployed?
Yes, if the loan is structured properly, usually using a special power of attorney for the deployed servicemember. The VA allows a spouse to satisfy the occupancy requirement during active duty. Confirm POA acceptance with your broker and title company first.
Can a spouse sign closing documents with a power of attorney?
Often yes, but acceptance varies by investor, title company, and state. Most want a special POA naming the property and transaction, and some review it ahead of time.
Does a surviving spouse pay the VA funding fee?
No, surviving spouses receiving DIC are exempt, per the VA funding fee page. Other exemptions apply to veterans receiving VA disability compensation.
Can a spouse use VA entitlement after divorce?
No, entitlement stays with the veteran, and a former spouse has no claim on it. A former spouse may remain on an existing loan until it is refinanced or assumed, so address that in the divorce decree. The CFPB’s servicemember resources are a useful starting point.
What credit score is needed for a VA loan through a broker?
The VA itself sets no minimum score, and through Duane Buziak the floor is 500 FICO, though approval is never guaranteed and compensating factors like income and residual income matter. Many direct lenders set 580 to 620.
Can I get pre-approved without a hard credit check?
Yes, NoTouch Credit Pull delivers a no hard inquiry mortgage pre approval, which means no credit hit mortgage application for either spouse at the start. A hard pull comes later, when you choose to move forward with a loan.
Know Whose Service and Whose Name Is on the Loan, Then Start With a Soft Pull
Your rights as a military spouse come down to two questions: whose service created the benefit, and whose names are on the loan. Answer those first, and the right structure, whether joint, veteran-only, or surviving-spouse, usually becomes clear. Then get a no hard inquiry mortgage pre approval through NoTouch Credit Pull with Duane Buziak, before either credit file takes a hit. Learn more about our services.
This article is for general information only and is not financial or legal advice. Rates, fees, and program rules are subject to change, and approval is never guaranteed. Consult a licensed mortgage, tax, or legal professional about your situation. Equal Housing Opportunity.
About the author: Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647, is a VA loan broker with Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC (NMLS #376205), serving veterans in Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia. He is a Scotsman Guide Top Originator (#114 nationally), VA Broker of the Year for 2024 and 2025, and has earned more than 1,400 five-star reviews.