Part of the VA loans in Arizona guide, where every rule on this page is cited and dated.
This is the benefit I see claimed least often, and the one where not knowing costs the most.
If your spouse died in service, or died from a condition connected to their service, you may be eligible for the VA home loan in your own right. Not as a co-borrower. As the eligible party.
What the benefit covers
The categories generally contemplated are a surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty, and a surviving spouse of a veteran whose death resulted from a service-connected disability. There are also provisions touching service members missing in action or held as prisoners of war.
Whether remarriage affects eligibility depends on the circumstances and the rules in force, which is exactly why this is a question for the VA rather than for an internet page, including this one.
Why it matters so much
No down payment. The same zero-down financing any eligible borrower gets.
No monthly mortgage insurance. Over a thirty year loan this is a very large number compared with the FHA alternative a surviving spouse would otherwise be steered toward.
The funding fee exemption. This is the piece to pay attention to.
An eligible surviving spouse is generally exempt from the VA funding fee. On a typical purchase that is thousands of dollars that simply are not charged, and I have seen it missed by lenders who processed the file as an ordinary VA loan without checking.
No VA credit score minimum, which can matter a great deal after a period when finances were the last thing anyone was thinking about.
How to establish it
You need a Certificate of Eligibility in your own name.
What is generally needed:
- Your spouse's DD-214 or discharge documents
- The death certificate
- Your marriage certificate
- Where death resulted from a service-connected condition, documentation of that connection, which is frequently the VA's own disability determination
- If you receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, documentation of that, since it speaks directly to the service connection
A lender can usually assist with the application. If the service connection has not been established, that is a VA claims matter and worth pursuing with a Veterans Service Officer, who does this as part of their role. That process takes time, so start it before you need it rather than during an escrow.
Income that may count
Two things worth raising with your lender, because they are routinely overlooked:
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is generally non-taxable, and non-taxable income can be grossed up on many programs, which improves your qualifying ratio. Ask specifically whether they are doing that.
Survivor Benefit Plan annuity payments are documentable continuing income.
And VA's residual income test, which scales with household size, frequently treats a surviving spouse household more favorably than a pure debt-to-income calculation would.
If you were told you are not eligible
Get the determination from the VA rather than from a lender's assumption. The rules here are specific and plenty of originators have never processed one of these files.
A Veterans Service Officer can help with the eligibility and claims side, and that service is free. That is worth a phone call before you accept anybody's no.
What I will do
Send me what you have, even if it is incomplete. I will tell you what is missing, help pull the Certificate of Eligibility, and make sure the funding fee exemption is applied if it belongs to you.
That last point is not a small thing, and nobody should have to notice it themselves.
Why bring a VA file to us
- We quote the rule and the overlay separately. VA sets the floor. Your lender sets what they will actually do. Those are different numbers and only one of them decides your file.
- Broker model. When a lender's overlay is the obstacle rather than VA's rule, the fix is moving the file, not fixing you.
- We do not treat the VA loan as the fallback. No down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance and an assumable note is the strongest financing available to most buyers who have earned it.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
Send me your Certificate of Eligibility, or let me pull it, and I will tell you what your entitlement actually supports.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. The VA home loan program is administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; loans are made by private lenders, not by the VA, and this site is not endorsed by or affiliated with the VA or any government agency. Eligibility, entitlement, funding fee amounts and exemptions are determined by the VA based on your service record and disability status. Program requirements are set out in the VA Lenders Handbook and change over time, and individual lenders routinely impose requirements stricter than the VA's published minimums. Any figures shown are illustrative, are not a quote, and are not a projection of investment returns. Rental income, property appreciation and refinancing availability are not guaranteed. Rates, terms and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. This is not legal, tax or investment advice.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
