How To Navigate VA Loans

Sep 27, 2021

Here are some nuances of VA loans that you should be aware of.

As a Veteran, I take a lot of pride in helping military Veterans with their home purchases. Today I’m talking with Joe Long from Guild Mortgage about some of the nuances to be aware of with the VA loan. He’s a great local lender, and he does a lot of business with Veterans as well.

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:

0:27 — Introducing today’s topic

1:19 — Meet with your lender and obtain your certificate of eligibility

2:14 — VA loans and rural properties

2:49 — Wisconsin termite inspection requirement

3:56 — VA appraisals in a nutshell

4:39 — Purchasing a condo with a VA loan can be tricky

5:33 — VA loans are eligible for up to four-unit properties

6:22 — You could be eligible for two VA loans

6:56 — Wrapping up

If you have any questions about real estate or the VA loan process, reach out to our team at 608-345-6594 or jdholt@kw.com. We look forward to hearing from you and helping in any way we can.

About Holt Real Estate Team

We’re not just any real estate team; we’re a proud Veteran Owned force in Madison, WI, and beyond, covering the vibrant SouthCentral Wisconsin region. Every sunrise marks the start of a day dedicated to our three-fold mission: Sell Houses. Have Fun. GiveBack. 🏡🎉🤝

Join us on this exciting journey where we’re not just selling homes; we’re creating unforgettable experiences. We’re injecting joy into every step of the real estate process, and as a bonus, we’re giving back to our community. Get ready for a dynamic and meaningful real estate adventure with us!

Holt Real Estate Team
Keller Williams
Powered by PLACE
200 River Pl #230 Madison, WI 53716
608-345-6594
info@homeswithholt.com
holtrealestateteam.com

We had a great experience with the Holt Real Estate team. This was our first time buying a home and weren’t sure what to expect or what to look for in a real estate agent. Our lender offered to connect us with an agent who had experience with our loan type (VA loan) and we accepted. Jonathan contacted me within an hour with questions about what we wanted in a home and immediately had us set up into their portal with potential listings. Two days later we found our home, put in an offer, and had it accepted. Home buying can be stressful but the Holt teams was available anytime we had a question or needed guidance. They even met us for an extra showing so our son could see the home. We mostly worked with Jonathan but Joshua was there along the way to answer questions and offer his experience. Savannah sent us weekly updates on where we were at in the process and was quick to respond when I reached out. The Holt team made a very stressful process that much easier and I felt confident that they had my family’s best interests at heart. We will absolutely use them again in the future.

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- Karoline & Dan (Buyers)

Josh was great to work with on my purchase of a new home! He handled a lot of the coordination with the builder to free me up. Highly recommended.

- Jason S. (Buyer)

Turned a stressful process of buying a home into an enjoyable experience.

- Dillon D. (Buyer)

Joshua helped us purchase our first home. He is very knowledgeable and walked us through every step. He was willing to drive 1.5 hours one way to show us properties. He was available by phone, text or email and promptly replied to any issues or questions. He was also not pushy, which I definitely appreciated. I will definitely recommend Josh and his team if anyone I know needs a Realtor in the Stoughton/Janesville/Madison area!

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- Eunice & Andy N. (Buyer)

Excellent Marketing is the REAL key to selling your home and if you are looking for a realtor who markets your home ABOVE AND BEYOND the rest, then JOSHUA HOLT of KW is the realtor for you. Josh marketed my property to unlimited websites with normal professional photos and a virtual tour. Plus, he took it to another level of marketing by using a 3D program. Absolutely Awesome! You must see it to believe it! Like I previously stated, Josh is the one to get the job done!!!

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- Beth V. (Seller)

Josh was extremely helpful and understanding with our move and helping us find a home. We used a VA loan and we were moving from states away and he was always so helpful and patient when we had any delays or questions.

- Clayton and Lindsay (Buyer)

Josh is the most professional and knowledgeable realtor my wife and I have ever worked with. He was extremely responsive, always made time to answer questions and went way above and beyond what we expected for a realtor. Buying a home is stressful, but having Josh on our side was the best decision we ever made. We will absolutely be using him again, and referring any friends and family in the Madison area to use him!

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- Alex and Samantha (Buyer)

Josh did a wonderful job helping us get our first house! He went above and beyond for us to be able to be comfortable with the home buying experience! We loved working with him and will definitely be using him in the future. We highly recommend him for your home buying need...

- Tate and Cody (Buyer)

Josh was wonderful to work with. He listened to all of our wants/needs and don’t wants for a home. His schedule was easy to work with for showings and he was always available for questions. We will always recommend him to friends or family and use him as a realtor again if ...

- Sydney A. (Buyer)

It's been 16 years since I last purchased a home. Joshua was wonderful to work with. He explained the local market and assisted me with finding homes that met my needs. Once I decided on a home he assisted me with the facts I needed to make an accepted offer. His network of professionals included bankers, home inspectors, etc. I was extremely pleased with his professionalism and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.

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- Todd K. (Buyer)

Josh was professional and worked so hard to sell my house. He sold it in less than a week. His team did a great job teaching me how to prepare my house to be ready to show on the market.

- Jessie M. (Seller)

We recently just purchased our first home through Josh. We were looking for a home for about 8 months and went through many many homes before finally choosing one. Josh was so patient with us and catered to our needs! He was always available when we had questions or wanted ...

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- Megan (Buyer)

I recently purchased my first home with Josh as my buyers agent. He insured the entire process went smoothly. He kept me well informed and answered all of my questions thoroughly. He is knowledgeable, trustworthy and very responsive. I would not hesitate to work with Josh a...

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- Jesse (Buyer)

Joshua did exactly what he said he would do. First class in all phases of getting our property sold. We would highly recommend Joshua for any real estate needs and we will certainly use him again for any needs we may have.

- Georgia and Jim (Seller)

Josh is a wonderful person who truly cares about his customers, his community, and making sure he does everything he can to help find your dream home!

- Molly (Buyer)

We have had a great experience buying a house with Josh’s help! He was always available for questions and showings. He was very thorough and professional. We appreciate his efforts on our behalf. Thanks!!

- Andrea and Rio (Buyer)

Josh never gave up on finding the right home for my family and I. He went the extra mile and got us into the right home, in the right place, at the right time!!! He was the best man for the job!!

- Rachel (Buyer)

For anyone looking to purchase in the Madison area Joshua Holt was exceptional to work with! He listened well, researched lots of information without having to be asked, focused on us. Highly recommend!!

- Beth and Tony (Buyer)

I was renting out a condo that I owned in Stoughton, when my renters decided not to renew their lease I decided it was time to sell my investment property! Originally I had wanted to use a flat fee service and do the majority of the work myself, it was the best way to make the most profit – but when Josh messaged me and asked if I would meet with him I figured it was worth a shot – I know NOTHING about real estate! When we met, he came prepared with lots of paperwork including comparible properties in the area that had sold and a print out showing me the potential profit based on the sale price. The best thing Josh did was provide proof of comparible sales, because he recommended that I list $15,000 MORE than I was intending to list. My property was vacant – Josh held 3 open houses the first weekend it was listed and I accepted an offer of $1500 OVER list price ($16,500 over what I was planning to list at) on the 4th day it was on the market.

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- Tiffany (Seller)

Joshua was amazingly flexible for my wife and me. He was supportive to us and caring for our needs as parents of a 9-month old. Would recommend him to anyone!

- Dan and Lauren (Buyer)

My wife and I bought a home in Jefferson which is farther out from the Madison area, and we felt like Joshua worked with us just as diligently as he would have with anyone else. He was fast to reply and communicate through our entire purchasing process, and was extremely re...

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- Andy and Sarah (Buyer)

When I was searching for a new place to live in June, I happened to be put in the capable hands of Joshua at Keller Williams. I was panicked and didn’t have much money to buy a place and he constantly reassured me about how he would do anything to help me find a place or with anything I’d need. The very first day I went looking for a Condo with Joshua, I wanted to see a number of places but figured Joshua had other appointments and would never have time to show me different places. But, I was wrong for Joshua took me to every place I wanted to see and even back to a place we already looked at just to make sure. Well, the place we saw again was what I could afford and we made an offer on it. We even made a lower offer to see if it would be accepted. It was accepted and the ball was rolling. I was then getting more nervous each day as the offer was accepted. Frequently I would get a reassuring call from Joshua calming my fears about finances.

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- Sally (Buyer)

Josh was fantastic. Knowledgeable, helpful, and insightful. I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t bought a home with him.

- Patrick (Buyer)

Josh Holt made buying my first home a walk in the park. He focused on what my priorities were in a property, and he always made me feel like his #1 client/priority. Josh has a plethora of real estate knowledge and a passion for finding the right match for his clients. He was very timely in all responses and PROactive in our search. He made sure my interests as a buyer were protected and that I felt comfortable. Josh treated me like family. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! If you’re looking for the best...it’s Josh Holt Real Estate Team!

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- September (Buyer)

When my husband and I started talking about buying a house I wanted to work with a realtor that I could trust and I immediately thought of Josh Holt. Josh is an amazing realtor. When buying your first home everyone makes the process look so easy from finding the perfect home to getting financing. But that is not at all the experience we had. I think we hit about every bump in the road but Josh was amazing through this process from keeping us posted via phone call or text message to just being there for moral support. Josh was also awesome about meeting on our time. My husband works 2 retail jobs so finding time to meet with Josh sometimes had to be scheduled out and he was so good about getting times that worked for us and working them into his schedule even if it was a phone call while he was driving home at night. No doubt if we decide to sell our house and find a new one we are going with Josh again!!

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- Bridget (Buyer)

Joshua Holt was an amazing realtor. We worked with him as buyers in 2017 and sellers in 2020. He helped us purchase a beautiful condo for our family in 2017, and then helped us to sell it in 2020 as a result of moving out of state. Throughout the whole process Joshua was excellent at prioritizing us and our needs as a family in our home search, quick to get back to us and our questions, flexible in showing us homes on the weekend/evenings, and overall just a great, experienced realtor who knew the process of buying and selling a home inside and out! We highly recommend him as a realtor - you will not regret working with him!

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- Lauren (Seller)

Josh Holt made my home buying experience truly stress free amidst all of the choices we had. We were between buying and building and he used ALL of his resources to ensure we were fully informed and all of our needs were met. He was so kind and accommodating and truly worked at all hours for us, as I’m sure he does for all of his clients. He’s veteran friendly with a lot of knowledge regarding VA Home Loans, and definitely knows his market overall. I could not have been more pleased. Thank you Josh!!!

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- Alyson (Buyer)

We interviewed a lot of realtors and we actually started with someone else however that didn't work out. We called up Josh and he was more than happy to take on our home sale as well as ensure that we didn't have another experience like our last one. He talked us through everything when we got forms or documents and even wanted to meet in person to go over different things. That helped us feel more comfortable throughout the whole process. He would check in every once and awhile just to see how we were and if we had any questions. He also went above and beyond and checked to ensure that our house was safe and secure when we were gone on vacation. We would recommend Josh to anyone trying to sell a house, he's great!!

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- Amber & Corey (Seller)

Joshua was available during the morning, afternoon, and evening any day of the week. This was helpful to us when we have questions at any time of day. He was always personable, professional, and caring. We appreciated Joshua's expert opinion as we navigated selling a home with him in record time. We trust him entirely and that is why we returned to Joshua to sell the home he helped us buy just a few years earlier- he's awesome!

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- Dan (Seller)

Josh is an amazing Realtor! I had several questions about the property I was going to buy and thought I would have to do a ton of my own research. Josh was amazing and did all the work for me! I would highly recommend Josh as your next Realtor. You will not be dissapointed!...

- Brock V. (Buyer)

If you need a responsive, knowledgeable, and eager real estate agent, Joshua Holt is the realtor you have been looking for. We could not have been more pleased with how Joshua handled our sale and subsequent purchase. He was professional, knowledgeable, and eager to please. Joshua is the true epitome of a realtor who works for YOU! Thanks for everything you have done for Sarah and I throughout our sale and purchase. It has always been important for us to hire and utilize Veterans first, and Joshua did not disappoint.

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- Erik E. (Seller & Buyer)

Excellent Marketing is the REAL key to selling your home and If you are looking for a realtor who markets your home ABOVE AND BEYOND the rest than JOSHUA HOLT of KW is the realtor for you. Josh marketed my property to unlimited web sites with the normal professional photos and virtual tour plus he took it to another level of marketing by using 3 D program. Absolutely Awesome! You must see it to believe it! Like I previously stated, Josh is the one to get the job done!!!

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- Beth V. (Seller)

- Clayton and Lindsay (Buyer)

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- Alex and Samantha (Buyer)

We had a great experience with the Holt Real Estate team. This was our first time buying a home and weren’t sure what to expect or what to look for in a real estate agent. Our lender offered to connect us with an agent who had experience with our loan type (VA loan) and we accepted. Jonathan contacted me within an hour with questions about what we wanted in a home and immediately had us set up into their portal with potential listings. Two days later we found our home, put in an offer, and had it accepted.
Home buying can be stressful but the Holt teams was available anytime we had a question or needed guidance. They even met us for an extra showing so our son could see the home. We mostly worked with Jonathan but Joshua was there along the way to answer questions and offer his experience. Savannah sent us weekly updates on where we were at in the process and was quick to respond when I reached out. The Holt team made a very stressful process that much easier and I felt confident that they had my family’s best interests at heart. We will absolutely use them again in the future.

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- Karoline & Dan (Buyers)

First home purchase. Great team. Jonathan was my realtor. He always had time for me. Always eager to help and answer questions, and I had a lot. Made the most significant financial decision of my life completely stress-free and found the perfect house that met my needs and ...

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- Mark F. (Buyer)

The whole team was amazing and supportive. Buying a house when we did was a challenge and they were there every step of the way and wouldn’t let us give up hope. We highly recommend them!

- Natasha B. (Buyer)

Great people and very helpful.

- Raul M (Buyer)

Josh is everything I wanted in a realtor. He kept in contact with me for months, keeping me informed of the market, showing me houses, without requiring me to sign any kind of contract. When the time came to make an offer, he found ways for us to make a compelling offer, wh...

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- Joe & Jackie I (Buyer)

Working with Josh and his team was a pleasure. We have sold three properties in the past 2 years with Holt Realty and all properties sold within 4 days. The sales process was handled efficiently with great communication at all times. Josh had a solid marketing plan for each of our properties and listened to any suggestions we had. We feel he had accurate price proposals and were happy with the offers we received. Josh offers a lot of valuable extras with his marketing, including an extensive market analysis, professional staging advice, open houses, great photography and even a home warranty! We would highly recommend Holt Realty.

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- Rick & Susan S (Seller)

Debbie (and her team!) rocks! She was with us every single step of the way, went out of her way to help us out multiple times, and was generally just a very wholesome and awesome Real Estate Agent to work with! Highly professional, punctual, and attentive to all of our need...

- Kleber L (Buyer)

Jonathan was the best! He is kind, professional, knowledgeable, and very responsive. He paid attention to key home details that I would have missed and helped me find the perfect home. I’ve bought homes before, but never had this level of high quality service. I highly reco...

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- Tiffany M (Buyer)

It was wonderful working with Josh. He always returned our calls promptly. Josh's work is with the utmost professionalism.

- Brandi & Jeff Y (Seller)

Being a single guy trying to find a place to live and be comfortable financially was not easy. Jonathan Gaspero stuck with me for months finding places, looking at places constantly staying in contact with me until I finally found the right home, let me just say this guy goes way above and beyond being a real estate agent, always taking the calls and questions! A 5 star rating doesn't cut it with me, he is beyond that! Victoria Murray handled the bumpy road to keep everything on track and intact right up to closing, I can't thank her enough for her help, as Victoria always says at the end of her emails "Cheers" Thank you!!!

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- John G (Buyer)

Joshua and his team were great to work with. Joshua was patient throughout the whole process and helped answer all my questions. I would definitely recommend him and his team!

- Cheryl E (Buyer)

Joshua Holt and Debbie Lindquist were a great team to market our home. They took time to understand our needs and provided quality service and a quick sale. I highly recommend the Holt Real Estate Team for your next purchase or sale!

- Chris & Irene R (Seller)

We were very pleased with Joshua and his team. He was patient with us as we considered different options and very responsive to our questions. Josh was a trustworthy and considerate guide. We are glad we chose this team to help us.

- Cammy & Aaron W (Buyer)

We had handled our preceding real estate transactions without an agent, using a real estate lawyer to assist with the proper forms and closing processes. But since those transactions, so much has changed, technologically and certainly with current market conditions. So as we looked to sell our home, we felt that we needed an agent to help us properly market our home, and to help us rank the offers that now contain many more variables than just price. We did our research and interviewed three exceptional agents before selecting Josh. We didn’t feel like it would have been a bad decision to go with any of the agents we spoke with. But we also feel like picking Josh was clearly the BEST decision.

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- Greg & Rochelle W (Seller)

We had a very difficult property to sell from out of state.Joshua and his team worked with us through every step and helped us solve every issue. Going the extra step to take paperwork to the state offices. They are very helpful, professional, and caring. I would absolutely...

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- Dianna Y (Seller)

We had the pleasure of working with Jonathan! He was awesome and easy to work with! We went through many houses with him and always reassured us that we will find your perfect house, we FINALLY did.

- Jeanne & Scott F (Buyer)

Jonathan was super friendly and no matter how many times we wanted to see the house while it was in the process of building he made time to show us. Josh and his team were super knowledgeable in using a VA loan and the process in new builds. With their knowledge and experti...

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- Sheryl & Jerid S (Buyer)

Josh assisted us with the purchase of our new home and the sale of our home of thirty years. Josh is excellent to work with. He offered great suggestions and real estate expertise all with patience and grace. We would highly recommend Josh and his team if you are looking to...

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- Shelley & Dan E (Seller & Buyer)

The Holt team went above and beyond helping me make my dream come true of buying my first home. I couldn’t be more grateful for them and loving the new house! Thank you!!

- Stacy K (Buyer)

Jonathan Gaspero was not only a gentleman, but very professional and went above and beyond to make sure I was taken care of during my journey to search for a place to live. He answered all my questions and would dig deeper into the root of the issue at hand. Highly recommen...

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- Joey R (Buyer)

Debbie as my realtor with the Holt Real Estate team was amazing and made it an excellent experience for buying my first home!!

- Austin M. (Buyer)

Everyone at Holt Real Estate is amazing! I worked closely with Debbie and Joshua and they helped make buying and finding my first home a breeze. They walked me through every step and made sure that I was getting the best treatment from the seller and everything I deserved. Truly the best experience and I will only work with them for any future housing needs. Highly recommend! Thank you for making my dreams come true!!

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- Wesley C. (buyer)

Josh and his team made it possible for us to find our home in the Wisconsin area. Josh is the best and made this process very easy since we were moving to Wisconsin from another state. Thank you Josh we are so happy with what you and your team have done for us.

- Ami M. (buyer)

I cannot say enough about Josh and his team. Josh is so patient and was able to solve every problem that came up calmly and quickly. If you're looking to work with an agent who is kind, calm, patient, a great problem-solver, and will help everyone find the right fit, look n...

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- Katy W. (seller)

Very friendly, knowledgeable, kind, & extremely caring team. We worked with Debbie Lindquist & our experience was phenomenal. She genuinely cared about what we were getting ourselves into & worked incredibly hard to get us what we wanted!! Amazing team at Holt!!!

- Ryan & Jessica D. (buyer)

608-345-6594

info@homeswithholt.com

holtrealestateteam.com

Keller Williams Realty, Inc. is a real estate franchise company. Each Keller Williams office is independently owned and operated.
Keller Williams Realty, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and supports the Fair Housing Act.

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