Military City USA • Free Live Webinar • Oct 15 • 7 PM CT
A VA home loan is a mortgage benefit for eligible service members, veterans and some surviving spouses, and where eligibility allows it can require no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. In this free live webinar, Patrick Kevin Fagan, The Mortgage Patriot, walks first-time buyers through how VA financing works in Texas: zero-down potential, the VA appraisal, the funding fee, seller concessions, and getting pre-approved. If you are at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), across San Antonio, or anywhere in Texas, you leave knowing exactly what happens next, start to finish.
Why attend this free session
Thursday, October 15, 2026 • 7:00 PM CT • Free • Live Q&A • 169-page Roadmap for live attendees
What You'll Understand
This page gives you the honest what: the pieces of a VA purchase every first-time buyer should understand before the stress of a live transaction. The detailed how, the real examples, the exact steps and the negotiation strategy, Patrick teaches live in the webinar. Save your seat and get both.
Zero-down potential. Where your eligibility and entitlement allow, a VA loan can require no down payment, and no monthly mortgage insurance.
The VA appraisal. What it actually checks, why it is not a home inspection, and why it is a manageable step, not something to dread.
The funding fee. What it is, when a waiver may apply, and how it can be handled at closing or financed into the loan.
Seller concessions. How a seller can contribute toward your costs within VA's rules, and how that changes your cash to close.
Credit, debt and pre-approval. What lenders actually weigh on a VA file, including residual income, and why pre-approval comes before house hunting.
Then the full roadmap: contract, inspection, appraisal, underwriting, closing and getting your keys, all in order.
Straight Answer
For many eligible borrowers, yes: VA home loans can require no down payment, because the VA backs a portion of the loan instead of a down payment. That is the benefit in plain terms. It is tied to your eligibility and your entitlement, so it is a benefit you earn through qualifying service, not an automatic guarantee in every case. Patrick explains exactly how eligibility, entitlement and lender guidelines come together, live in the webinar.
A VA loan starts with qualifying service and the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) that documents your entitlement. That COE is the foundation of the entire process, and checking it early is the first smart move a VA buyer can make.
Many eligible buyers use a VA loan with no down payment at all. It is not a promise for every single case: your entitlement, the loan amount and lender guidelines all matter, which is exactly why the details belong in the live presentation.
VA loans generally do not carry monthly mortgage insurance. Instead, a one-time VA funding fee can apply for most borrowers, with possible waivers for some disabled veterans and surviving spouses. That is the next section.
Patriot Pro Tip
Check your COE before you shop, not after you find the house.
The live webinar shows how entitlement, loan limits and lender guidelines fit together so you know your real position before you make an offer.
Straight Answer
No. The VA appraisal is the lender's check on the home's value and basic safety, not a home inspection. They are two different jobs. An appraiser establishes what the home is worth and flags obvious safety concerns; a licensed home inspector digs into the condition of the roof, systems, plumbing and more. First-time buyers should still get a private inspection on top of the appraisal. Both are routine, and the webinar walks through how each fits the timeline.
Reality Bites
No. The appraisal checks value and basic safety. Condition, systems and defects are the inspector's job, and that inspection is separate, optional in no way, and well worth the money.
Reality Bites
It is a routine, manageable step in thousands of VA purchases every year. Knowing what the appraiser is actually looking for keeps surprises off the table, and that is exactly what Patrick breaks down live.
Reality Bites
Not automatically. A low appraisal changes the conversation: price, terms and your options get renegotiated. How buyers respond, and the exact playbook, is webinar material.
Reality Bites
The VA protects the value of the loan, not the condition of your weekend. An inspection protects you, the buyer, and in Texas that protection is worth every dollar, especially on a first home.
Straight Answer
A VA funding fee applies to most VA loans, and the amount depends on your loan type, your down payment and how you use your benefit. Some veterans with a service-connected disability and some surviving spouses may qualify for a waiver. The fee can often be paid at closing or financed into the loan. The exact rules are straightforward once someone walks you through them, and that is part of the live session.
It is a one-time cost that helps fund the VA loan program, and it takes the place of monthly mortgage insurance on most other loan types. Most borrowers pay it; the webinar shows how it shows up on your numbers.
Veterans receiving VA disability compensation and some surviving spouses can qualify for a waiver. It is eligibility-based, which is why Patrick tells every VA buyer to find out where they stand before assuming anything.
You can generally pay the fee at closing or fold it into the loan. Both choices change your monthly payment and your cash to close, and weighing the trade-off is exactly the kind of thing the webinar makes clear.
No dollar figures here on purpose: the funding fee changes with loan type, down payment and prior use of the benefit, so the honest number for your file comes from running your actual case.
Straight Answer
Yes. In a VA purchase, the seller can contribute toward certain buyer costs as part of the negotiated contract, within VA's rules. What counts as a concession, how much a given deal can absorb, and how it stacks against your cash to close is where the detail lives. Patrick negotiates these numbers for buyers on both sides of the table, and he teaches the strategy live. You can see the math for yourself in the Texas Cash-to-Close Calculator.
A dollar of seller concession lowers what you bring to closing. A dollar of price reduction lowers the loan itself. Savvy buyers use both, in the right balance, and that balance is part of the webinar playbook.
Seller concessions are negotiated like every other term: they live in the contract, they follow VA's rules, and they depend on the market, the home and the seller. Expect a conversation, not a given.
Reality Bites
A lower offer with smart concessions can beat a higher offer with none, on your numbers.
How to frame the offer so it wins, and how to protect your cash to close, is exactly what the free webinar teaches.
Before You Call
These are the questions Patrick hears before every webinar. The short answers are here; the full walkthrough is live.
The VA does not set a minimum credit score; your lender does, and most lenders look for around 620 or higher. The live session explains what lenders actually weigh on a VA file, from credit history to income and debt, so you know where you stand before you apply.
VA underwriting weighs residual income, the money left over each month after housing and other debts, more than a rigid ratio. Your income, debts and employment still get verified, and lenders add their own guidelines. How the math works, with real examples, is webinar material.
Yes. A VA pre-approval covers your Certificate of Eligibility plus a full credit and income review, so your offer is taken seriously. It also tells you your real price range before you fall in love with anything. Patrick explains the exact steps in the webinar and in the first-time buyer FAQ.
Texas property taxes and insurance get escrowed with your payment, Texas is a non-disclosure state for sales prices, and some Texas down payment programs work alongside VA loans. Patrick covers the Texas-specific steps from contract to closing, and the Texas Down Payment Assistance Checker can show you which programs may fit your county and income in about a minute.
Over $11M in combined loan and real estate volume, aggregated with no client details.
See the results50 five-star Google reviews from buyers across San Antonio and Texas.
Read the reviewsReal answers on credit, pre-approval, loans and closing, in Patrick's voice.
Read the FAQFive questions. See which Texas down payment programs may fit your county and income.
Run the checkerEstimate your full cash to close, then subtract concessions and assistance.
Run the numbers
Your Instructor
The Mortgage Patriot • Loan Officer & Realtor
Patrick is dual licensed in Texas as a mortgage loan officer and a real estate agent, with more than 23 years in loan origination and 19 years in real estate sales. He works with veterans and military families across Texas, and he originates VA and other home loans statewide while serving real estate clients around Greater San Antonio, Bexar County and the Texas Hill Country, home to the Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) community.
Here is the honest part: Patrick is not a veteran himself, and he says so straight. What he brings is front-line experience doing loans and real estate on both sides of the table. Two of his sons served in the Marine Corps, and one of them now works with him as his loan processor, so he knows how military families move, PCS and plan around deployments, orders and timelines.
“I want buyers to understand what happens before they ever have to make a major financial decision, from getting prepared and approved all the way through contract, inspection, appraisal, financing, closing and getting the keys.”
23+ Years
In loan origination
19 Years
In real estate sales
Dual Licensed
Loan Officer & Realtor, TX
#454749
Sales Agent, AXEN Realty LLC
The information on this page is general educational content about VA home loans and the Texas homebuying process. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not an approval, a loan application, or a commitment from any lender.
VA loan eligibility, entitlement, the funding fee, appraisal requirements and seller concession rules are determined by the VA and by each lender's guidelines, and they can change. Every borrower's situation is different: confirm your specific case with a loan officer and, where appropriate, with the VA and a licensed professional. Some Texas down payment assistance programs work alongside VA loans, and program rules, income limits and availability can change.
Want your actual numbers? Call Patrick at 210-317-6514 or book a no-pressure conversation. He has run VA and other loans for over 23 years, on your side.
Free • Live Q&A • 169-page Roadmap for live attendees • Built for Military City USA
The what is here. The how, with real examples and the Patriot Pro Tips, is live on October 15 at 7 PM CT.