What a VA Real Estate Agent in Arizona Actually Does (and 3 VA Loan Myths)

People search "VA real estate agent Arizona" and get a pile of pages that say the agent "fights for you" and then list the same four loan benefits. You can read those benefits on VA.gov. What you actually need is what changes in the file because someone who does this every week is in it.

I am Stephen. I run The VA Real Estate Team with eXp Realty, and a lot of our buyers are veterans and active-duty families in the West Valley and North Phoenix. This is the job, in plain order, and then the three myths I still hear on the first call.

Before you are under contract

I ask who has the Certificate of Eligibility and which lender will pull it. If the COE is missing, we are guessing about entitlement, the funding fee, and whether any down payment is required. The lender reads it. That happens before we write.

Then I look at the house the way an appraiser will, before you spend inspection money. Chapter 12 of the VA Lenders Handbook is the standard: heat, water, power, a roof that keeps water out, and a sanitary sewer or septic. Dated cabinets are not a leaking roof.

Three flags go to the lender early. Termites: if the appraiser sees evidence, or the address is in an area the VA rates very heavy or moderate-to-heavy, the Notice of Value can require a report, and the VA's training materials treat that report as good for 90 days. A well or septic: private systems have extra certificates, and several expire in 90 days. And a house that will not be finished when you need keys: new construction has its own timeline, and the funding-fee and credit rules are the same ones in the new-construction article on this site. If the appraiser cannot sign off, it is not a bargain. It is a file that dies in week three.

While you are under contract

I do not interpret your contract, and I am not your lawyer. I keep the VA pieces in writing. The lender orders the appraiser. If value misses, VA.gov gives you a reconsideration with real comps, a new price, or cash. I gather the comps. You decide whether to bring cash. The inspection is separate, and I want you on the phone for it if you are out of state. Repair requests are a negotiation.

Before we agree to seller credits, we sort them. Closing-cost credits are not capped. Concessions are capped at 4 percent of the reasonable value. A seller-paid funding fee, a debt payoff, prepaid insurance, and a seller-funded buydown are concessions. If the closing disclosure does not match, we stop. If you are also selling a house with a VA loan, or a buyer wants to assume it, that is a different file. Read the assumable-loan article on this site before you mix the two.

Myth 1: You need 20 percent down

You do not. With full entitlement, VA.gov says there is no VA loan limit, and you can buy with no down payment if you qualify and the appraisal supports the price. Basic entitlement of $36,000 on the COE means full entitlement. It is not a $36,000 loan.

You may still owe a funding fee. For loans closing on or after April 7, 2023, VA.gov lists 2.15 percent on a first use with less than 5 percent down, and 3.3 percent on a later use with less than 5 percent down. Five percent down is 1.5 percent. Ten percent down is 1.25 percent. Disability compensation and the other exemptions on that page (updated October 5, 2026) mean no fee. You can finance the fee. You cannot finance the other closing costs unless someone pays them at the table. A lender can still ask for cash because of credit, debt, or a partial-entitlement gap. That is not a VA rule that everyone brings 20 percent. The conventional comparison is VA loan vs. conventional loan.

Myth 2: You only get to use it once

You can use it more than once. If the COE shows full entitlement, you do not have a VA loan limit. If you still have entitlement tied up in another house, the lender uses remaining entitlement, and the county figure in that math is the FHFA one-unit limit. For 2026, FHFA's county file lists Maricopa County at $832,750 for one unit. The VA's own example tells lenders to use the one-unit limit even when the property has more units. That number is not a cap for a buyer with full entitlement.

Restoration after you sell and pay the old loan off is a VA process. It is not always automatic. The longer explanation, including two loans at once on a PCS, is entitlement explained. Have the lender read your COE before you promise anyone you are "full entitlement" because you paid the first house off last year.

Myth 3: The seller has to pay more to accept a VA offer

The VA does not charge the seller a special VA tax for accepting your offer. VA.gov says buyer and seller negotiate closing costs. Those credits are not inside the 4 percent concession cap. Concessions are. A seller who has never seen the difference will sometimes say "VA buyers cost me more." Sometimes that means they are thinking of repairs the appraiser required. Sometimes it means a previous agent told them the funding fee was their bill. The funding fee is the borrower's fee unless the seller agrees to pay it, and if the seller pays it, it counts as a concession.

Your job, and mine, is to show the listing side a clean loan, a lender who answers, and a contract that matches the rules. Some sellers will still prefer another offer. That happens. It is not because the VA sent them an invoice.

What this is not

I do not set your rate, approve your loan, or tell you what your taxes will be. Disability compensation and the Arizona property-tax exemption are real programs. A tax professional and the county apply them. I will not estimate the exemption on a napkin.

I also will not tell you a neighborhood is right for a certain kind of person. Distances and tax-rate examples are in the 85383 and 85085 article. The North Phoenix order of operations is buying in North Phoenix as a veteran. Eligible buyers can ask about the buyer closing-cost credit.

FAQ

What do you need from me on the first call?

Your timeline, whether you have a COE, and whether you already talked to a lender. If you are PCSing, the report date. That is enough to know if we should be writing offers or slowing down.

Can you promise a seller will take a VA offer?

No. I can put a file together that a listing agent can explain to their seller. The seller decides.

Is the funding fee the same every time?

No. It depends on first use versus a later use, the down payment, and whether you are exempt. The chart on VA.gov is the one I use, not a number from memory.

If you want that first call

Call or text 602-554-8731, or use the contact page. Bring the questions your last lender waved off. If the honest answer is that a VA loan is the wrong tool for this particular house, I will say so.

Sources (as of November 2, 2026)