Stage 7 — Make the Offer + Close

You've picked an area, hired an agent, and toured your short list. Now you turn an offer into a closed home — on a VA loan, on a military timeline, usually while you're still finishing out at the old duty station. This is where the VA-specific details either work for you or trip you, so know them going in.

Nothing here is a substitute for your lender and agent. Treat it as the map of what's coming, and pull every actual number and rule from the authoritative source — we never fabricate rates, fees, or guarantees.

The VA loan, in plain terms

The VA-guaranteed home loan is the single biggest financial benefit most service members will ever use. The headline features:

• No down payment required in most cases (up to your county limit / entitlement), and no private mortgage insurance — two things that make a VA loan dramatically cheaper to enter than a conventional one.
• A VA funding fee instead of PMI — a one-time fee, set as a percentage of the loan, that varies by your down payment and whether it's your first use. Some veterans (e.g., those with a service-connected disability rating) are exempt from it. It can be rolled into the loan. Pull the current fee schedule and your exemption status from VA.gov — don't guess the percentage.
• Your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) proves your entitlement. Your lender can usually pull it in minutes; have it before you write an offer so your offer is credible.

Get pre-approved (not just pre-qualified) with a VA-experienced lender before you offer. And shop the loan — your lender is an independent choice from your agent. A quarter-point difference in rate or a mishandled funding fee is real money over a loan you may only hold for one tour.

The VA appraisal is not a home inspection

Two different things, and conflating them costs people:

• The VA appraisal establishes the home's value and checks it against the VA's Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) — safety, soundness, sanitation. It protects the VA's guaranty and, by extension, you. You generally cannot waive it on a VA loan.
• A home inspection is yours — a deeper, optional (but do-it) check of condition you pay for and control. The appraisal might pass a house the inspection would flag. Get both.

If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, you have options (renegotiate, pay the difference, or walk via your appraisal contingency) — another reason not to waive that contingency on a remote buy (Stage 6).

The Virginia termite (WDI) detail

In Virginia, a VA purchase will involve a wood-destroying-insect (WDI) inspection — termites and the like — and on a VA loan the rules restrict who can pay for it (historically the buyer could not be charged for it; the seller or another party covers it). Your agent should handle this as routine, but know it exists so it's not a surprise line item or a last-minute scramble. Confirm the current handling with your lender; the point is that it's a standard part of a VA close here, not an optional extra.

Closing costs and who pays them

VA loans limit and prohibit certain buyer-paid fees (it's part of why they're a good deal), and a seller can contribute toward your closing costs within limits. Your Loan Estimate and, near closing, your Closing Disclosure lay out every number — read them, and ask your lender to explain any line you don't recognize. Budget for the costs you do pay (and remember Stage 3's cash-flow gap: closing happens before your PCS reimbursements land). Run the full picture through the Budget Forecaster so the close doesn't blindside your bank account.

Keep the whole thing tied to your Report Date

The contract has a closing date and a dozen smaller deadlines (inspection period, appraisal, loan contingency, final walkthrough). Every one of them should be set with your Report Date and travel window in mind:

• Build the timeline backward from when you actually need keys, not forward from "whenever."
• A VA close has more moving parts than a cash deal — give it runway. Use the Timeline calculator to anchor the milestones to your real date.
• Keep an orders-change contingency alive: if the move shifts or cancels, you want your earnest money protected, not forfeited.

What to do this stage

1. Get VA pre-approval and your COE from a VA-experienced lender; shop the loan separately from your agent.
2. Write the offer with inspection and appraisal contingencies and an orders-change protection.
3. Keep the appraisal and inspection separate — get both, waive neither.
4. Read the Loan Estimate / Closing Disclosure line by line; budget the costs you pay against the Stage 3 cash-flow gap.
5. Anchor every contract deadline to your Report Date with the Timeline tool.

That closes out the housing arc. From here the roadmap rejoins everyone — renter or owner — at Stage 8: Schedule the move, where it forks one last time: let the government move you, or do a PPM and pocket the difference.