Your first VA home loan in Hampton Roads, without the mistakes that cost first-timers the house.
You earned the benefit. Most of the people who will advise you on it, including a lot of agents, have never written a VA offer that won. I have. I am John King, a Navy veteran and REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty, and 189 of my 441 Hampton Roads closings were VA loans, a large share of them a buyer’s first. This page is the version of the conversation I have with every first-time VA buyer, before we look at a single house: what the loan really costs, what BAH really buys here in 2026, and the order of operations that keeps your offer from losing to a conventional one.
A first-time VA home buyer in Hampton Roads needs no down payment and pays no monthly mortgage insurance; the one VA-specific cost is the funding fee, 2.15 percent of the loan on a first use with less than 5 percent down, which can be rolled into the loan and is waived for veterans receiving VA disability compensation. There is no VA loan limit with full entitlement. With 2026 median prices of about $330,000 in Norfolk, $415,000 in Virginia Beach and $418,000 in Chesapeake, and 2026 BAH of $2,430 for an E-5 with dependents, a zero-down purchase fits inside housing allowance for most pay grades. The order that works: Certificate of Eligibility, full underwritten approval rather than a pre-qualification, a budget set on monthly payment rather than list price, then showings. VA offers are normal in this market, roughly four in ten of John King’s closings are VA, and they win when they are written by someone who writes them often. Written and kept current by John King, U.S. Navy veteran and REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty, Virginia license 0225211050, 441 closings across Hampton Roads since 2014, 189 of them VA-financed, 5.0 stars on 117 Google reviews. Call or text (757) 270-3994.
Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · Funding fee: VA purchase loan fee schedule in effect for 2026 · BAH: DTMO 2026 rate tables, effective January 1, 2026 · Medians: REIN MLS / Redfin, 2026 · Closing record: REIN MLS, June 2014 – September 2026
Five things first-time VA buyers are told that are wrong
Every one of these has cost a buyer I later worked with either money or a house. The correction is in each card.
“Sellers won’t take a VA offer.”
In Hampton Roads a VA offer is the normal offer. About 44 percent of my own closings were VA-financed, and the listing agents here see them every week. What loses is a VA offer written badly: a pre-qualification letter instead of a full approval, an appraisal contingency with no plan, a closing date the lender cannot hit. Fix those and the financing type stops mattering.
“You still need a down payment.”
With full entitlement, no. Zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and since 2020 no VA loan limit; the lender’s underwriting is the ceiling, not a county cap. You will still need earnest money, inspection fees and some closing costs, and there are ways to have the seller cover most of the last item (see what you pay).
“The VA appraisal kills deals.”
The VA appraiser checks value and Minimum Property Requirements: safe, sound, sanitary. On a maintained home in Kempsville or Greenbrier it is a non-event. On a house with peeling paint, a dead water heater or missing handrails, we know before we offer and either negotiate the fix or walk. Surprises come from not looking, not from the VA. My VA appraisal guide lists what gets flagged here.
“Pre-qualified is good enough to start looking.”
A pre-qualification is a conversation. A full underwritten approval is a lender who has already seen your LES, your credit and your Certificate of Eligibility and is ready to close. In a multiple-offer weekend the second one wins and the first one is a story you tell later. Get the full approval first; it also tells you the real number, not a guess.
“Shop by list price.”
Shop by monthly payment. Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and the funding fee if you roll it in, against your BAH and your real budget. A $380,000 home in Norfolk and a $380,000 home in Virginia Beach carry different tax bills; a flood-zone home carries a different insurance bill. The payment is the number you live with. The price is just how we get there.
“Check your credit by applying everywhere.”
The VA sets no minimum credit score; most lenders want roughly 620, some will go lower. What hurts is a string of hard pulls from rate-shopping the wrong way. One lender, one pull, a full approval, then compare if you want to. My 2026 VA credit score guide covers the thresholds lenders here actually use.
What your 2026 BAH buys in Hampton Roads
BAH is the budget most first-time military buyers start from. These are the 2026 with-dependents rates for the Hampton Roads Military Housing Area, next to the three city medians. Run your exact grade through the BAH calculator, which turns the allowance into a maximum price and payment at today’s rate.
| Pay grade | BAH with dependents | BAH without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-4 | $2,208 | $1,524 |
| E-5 | $2,430 | $1,767 |
| E-6 | $2,610 | $1,938 |
| E-7 | $2,820 | $2,085 |
| O-3 | $3,015 | $2,562 |
| O-4 | $3,054 | $2,796 |
| City | Median price | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | $330,000 | Norfolk neighborhoods & market |
| Virginia Beach | $415,000 | Virginia Beach neighborhoods & market |
| Chesapeake | $418,000 | Chesapeake neighborhoods & market |
The honest read: at an E-5 or E-6 rate, a zero-down VA purchase near the Norfolk median fits inside BAH at 2026 rates; near the Virginia Beach or Chesapeake median it is close and depends on rate, taxes and whether you roll the funding fee in. That is exactly why the budget is set on payment first. The calculator gives you the number; the lender confirms it.
The first 90 days, in the order that wins
This is the sequence I run with every first-time VA buyer. Skipping a step is how first-timers end up writing offers against buyers who did not skip it.
Certificate of Eligibility
Your lender can pull it in minutes through the VA portal. It confirms your entitlement and whether you are exempt from the funding fee. Nothing else starts until this exists.
Day 1Full underwritten approval
LES, two years of history, credit, the COE. One lender, one credit pull. You walk away with a real maximum and a letter listing agents respect.
Days 1–7Budget on the payment
We set a monthly ceiling against BAH and your actual life, then back into a price range by city, because taxes and insurance differ. The calculator does the first pass.
Day 7Showings, sequenced
Three to five homes a trip, in a deliberate order, not fifteen in a day. You see more clearly and you remember what you saw. Remote buyers do this on live video.
Weeks 2–6The offer, written to win
Price, earnest money, inspection and appraisal terms, closing date the lender has already cleared, and a seller-paid closing cost ask sized to the market, not to hope.
When the house is rightInspection, appraisal, close
Home inspection and wood-destroying insect report first, VA appraisal next, repairs negotiated once, clear to close. Typical contract-to-keys here is 30 to 45 days.
Weeks 7–12The longer version, with the checklist I hand buyers, is the A.N.C.H.O.R. Plan. Military buyers on orders should also read the first 90 days guide.
What a first-time VA buyer actually pays
Zero down is real. Zero cost is not. Here is the full list, and which items the seller can pay.
The VA funding fee
| Down payment | First use | Later use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% to under 10% | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
On a $380,000 first-use, zero-down loan that is $8,170. It can be rolled into the loan, paid at closing, or paid by the seller. It is waived entirely for veterans receiving VA disability compensation, Purple Heart recipients and eligible surviving spouses; your COE says which. Full detail in the funding fee guide.
Everything else
- Earnest money deposit: typically 1 percent or so of price in this market, credited back to you at closing.
- Home inspection: a few hundred dollars, paid at the inspection. Do not skip it to look stronger; negotiate terms instead.
- Wood-destroying insect report: required on VA loans in Virginia. Who pays is negotiated in the contract.
- Appraisal: paid up front to the lender, VA-set fee.
- Closing costs: lender, title, settlement, recording and prepaid taxes and insurance. The seller can pay all of your standard closing costs plus up to 4 percent of the price in concessions, so a well-written offer often gets a first-time buyer to the table with little beyond earnest money and the inspection. The closing costs guide breaks out the Hampton Roads numbers.
- No PMI, ever: the one line that is not on a VA closing statement, and the biggest monthly advantage over FHA or low-down conventional.
Where first-time VA buyers actually buy
These are the neighborhoods in my own closing record where the median sits at or under about $450,000, with a guide page for each. Every guide has the current median, days on market, schools, the base commute and a mortgage calculator.
Bayside
Shore Drive side, ten minutes to Little Creek, the most VA-friendly prices in the city.
Ocean View
Bayfront Norfolk, closest neighborhood to Naval Station Norfolk without a tunnel.
Town Center / Pembroke
Walkable, central, condos and townhomes that work on an E-5 budget.
Kempsville
The city’s highest-volume family submarket; 1970s–90s homes that pass VA appraisal cleanly.
Chic’s Beach
Bay beach lifestyle on a first-home budget, five minutes to JEB Little Creek.
Ocean Lakes
South of Oceana, one of the fastest-moving neighborhoods for VA buyers.
Greenbrier
Chesapeake schools and shopping, a straight shot to Norfolk and the shipyard.
Hickory
Newer construction and larger lots at the top of a first-time VA budget.
Every neighborhood I work, with medians and commute notes: all Hampton Roads neighborhood guides. Buying on orders? The base pages for Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana and JEB Little Creek rank neighborhoods by commute.
Why a VA buyer should want a Navy veteran writing the offer
Every figure below comes from my own REIN MLS record, published in full in the 13-year sales study.
I served five years as a Machinist Mate and used the benefit myself. I have been licensed since 2013, and nearly half of everything I have closed has been a VA loan, which means the listing agents on the other side of your offer have seen my name on a VA contract that closed on time. The case studies include a military family who bought their first Virginia Beach home remotely from Chicago, with the client’s own review linked.
First VA loan questions, answered in a few minutes each
The myths, the down payment, why a VA offer is normal here, and the credit mistake that costs first-timers their approval.
More home buying videos in the library → · All 100+ videos · Subscribe on YouTube
Questions first-time VA buyers ask
Do I really need zero down for a VA loan in Hampton Roads?
Zero down is allowed with full entitlement and no VA loan limit applies. You still bring earnest money, the inspection fee and whatever closing costs the seller does not cover. Putting 5 or 10 percent down lowers the funding fee to 1.5 or 1.25 percent, which is worth running the numbers on if you have savings, but it is not required.
What is the VA funding fee on a first-time purchase in 2026?
2.15 percent of the loan amount with less than 5 percent down, 1.5 percent with 5 to under 10 percent down, and 1.25 percent with 10 percent or more. It can be financed into the loan. Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, Purple Heart recipients and eligible surviving spouses are exempt; the exemption shows on your Certificate of Eligibility.
What credit score do I need for a VA loan?
The VA sets no minimum. Most lenders in this market look for about 620, and some programs go lower with compensating factors. One lender, one credit pull and a full approval protects your score better than shopping applications across five lenders.
Can I afford to buy on an E-5 BAH?
For 2026, E-5 BAH with dependents in Hampton Roads is $2,430. Near the Norfolk median of about $330,000, a zero-down VA payment typically fits inside that figure at current rates. Near the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake medians it is closer and depends on rate, taxes and insurance. The BAH calculator on the military PCS page gives your exact price ceiling.
Will a seller take my VA offer over a conventional one?
In Hampton Roads, yes, routinely. About 44 percent of John King’s closings were VA-financed and listing agents here handle VA contracts every week. Offers lose on weak approval letters, vague timelines and unrealistic concession asks, not on the loan type.
What does the VA appraisal look for?
Market value and the VA Minimum Property Requirements: the home must be safe, structurally sound and sanitary, with working systems, no exposed wiring, no peeling paint on older homes and safe access. A maintained home passes. Known issues get negotiated before the offer, not discovered at appraisal.
How much are closing costs for a buyer in Hampton Roads, and can the seller pay them?
Buyer closing costs here generally run in the low single-digit percent of price, covering lender, title, settlement, recording and prepaid taxes and insurance. On a VA loan the seller may pay all of the buyer’s standard closing costs plus up to 4 percent of the price in concessions, which can also cover the funding fee. How much to ask for depends on the house and the competition; it is a strategy decision, not a default.
How long does it take from contract to keys?
Thirty to forty-five days is typical for a VA purchase in Hampton Roads once you have a full approval in hand: inspection and wood-destroying insect report in the first ten days, VA appraisal ordered immediately, repairs negotiated once, then clear to close.
Start your first-home plan
Send your pay grade or budget, where you work and when you would like to be in. You will hear from me the same day with the order of operations and the lender introduction, no obligation.
Or skip the form
Call or text, any day.
(757) 270-3994What to include: pay grade and dependents or your monthly budget, where you work, your timeline, and whether you already have a Certificate of Eligibility. Everything else we cover on the call.
You earned the loan. Use it like someone who has done this before.
One conversation covers the COE, the lender, the budget by payment and the neighborhoods that fit, in the order that wins the house.
John King · Navy veteran, Machinist Mate · REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty · License #0225211050 · Serving Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton & Newport News
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