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VA Loans For Spouses: A Reader Question

By
Mortgage and Lending with www.OneTimeClose.com

A reader asks, "I was married to a Navy man for 18 years. He has a VA loan and I want to know if I am eligible for a VA loan also because I was awarded spousal support and he hasn't paid me a dime."

The short answer to this reader question is no. Ex-spouses are not eligible to use the former military spouse's VA loan benefit for new purchase home loans. This is because the VA loan program is designed for veterans, not civilians. A spouse is able to be included on a VA home loan application by virtue of his or her connection with the veteran.

The reader's question suggests the possibility that a VA loan might be possible because of an alleged lack of court-ordered support, but VA loan regulations would not permit this in any case.

VA loan rules are quite specific on this issue, so the borrower's only option for a VA home loan would be to enter into an arrangement with the spouse to purchase a home either with a joint VA loan (the veteran's half of the mortgage would be guaranteed by the VA, the non-veteran's portion would not) or if the couple are still legally married, to purchase the home together with the VA home loan benefit.

The application would have to reflect the credit, income, and employment qualification data for both applicants and there are occupancy requirements the veteran would have to meet--the veteran would have to use the property as his primary residence and certify in writing that occupancy will occur.

Chances are good that, given the nature of the reader question, this is a highly unlikely scenario, but the options are worth mentioning if only just for the record.

In terms of the other portion of the reader's question (about an alleged lack of support), the VA loan program is not designed to arbitrate or assist in such matters, the reader would have to approach the court system about the issue instead. In any case, the VA loan benefit would not be available to the civilian ex-spouse.

Do you have questions about VA home loans? Ask us in the comments section.

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Comments (1)

Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for the information. I will bookmark this post and read it again.

Sep 20, 2012 09:46 PM