VA Loan Limits and San Angelo Real Estate: Maximizing Your Benefits

San Angelo has long been a sanctuary for those who serve. With Goodfellow Air Force Base anchoring our community, the honour of supporting our veterans is woven into the very fabric of our neighbourhoods. As we move into 2025, the landscape for VA loans in Tom Green County is shifting, offering local veterans more purchasing power than ever before.

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to leverage your hard-earned benefits, understanding the updated limits and strategic "tiers" of your entitlement is the first step toward a successful home purchase.

2025 VA Loan Limits for Tom Green County

For 2025, the standard VA loan limit for Tom Green County has increased to $806,500.

It is important to clarify a common misconception: if you have your full entitlement (meaning you don’t currently have an active VA loan and haven't defaulted on one), there is technically no limit on how much the VA will guarantee. You can borrow as much as your lender approves with $0 down. The $806,500 figure acts as a benchmark primarily for veterans with partial entitlement—those who want to keep their current home as a rental while purchasing a new primary residence.

Using Entitlement Effectively

Your entitlement is the specific dollar amount the VA "guarantees" to your lender. In San Angelo's current market, where the median home price sits around $286,500, most veterans find that their basic entitlement easily covers their purchase with no down payment required.

However, to use your benefit effectively:

• Obtain your COE: Your Certificate of Eligibility is the golden ticket. It tells us exactly how much "basic" and "bonus" entitlement you have available.

• The "Lock-and-Leave" Strategy: Many local veterans use their VA benefit to buy a home, live in it for a few years, and then convert it into a rental property when they receive PCS orders or decide to upsize, all while keeping their low-interest VA rate.

Second-Tier Entitlement for Higher-Priced Homes

What if you already have a VA loan on a property in the Bluffs or Santa Rita neighbourhoods but want to buy another home in San Angelo? This is where second-tier entitlement (also known as "bonus entitlement") comes into play.

If you have used part of your entitlement, you can still use the remaining portion to buy another primary residence.

• The Math: By subtracting the entitlement already used from the 2025 county limit, we can calculate your "remaining" entitlement.

• Higher-Priced Options: This allows veterans to move into premium San Angelo areas like Country Club or Bentwood without necessarily having to sell their first home or put down a massive 20% deposit.

Combining VA Loans with Other Programs

Texas is particularly aggressive in its support for veterans. You can often combine your VA loan benefits with:

• VLB (Veterans Land Board) Loans: Texas veterans can borrow up to $150,000 for land purchases, which can be a game-changer if you’re looking to build a custom ranch-style home on the outskirts of town.

• Property Tax Exemptions: Depending on your disability rating, you may be eligible for significant reductions in property taxes—a massive saving in a state with no income tax.

Refinancing Options: IRRRL and Cash-Out

If you already hold a VA loan in San Angelo, 2025 might be the year to look at your rate.

• IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan): Also called a "Streamline," this allows you to lower your interest rate with minimal paperwork, no appraisal, and no out-of-pocket costs.

• Cash-Out Refinance: With San Angelo home values trending up by roughly 2.7% year-over-year, you may have enough equity to take cash out for home favours like a new roof, kitchen remodel, or debt consolidation.

Local Success Stories

We recently worked with a Master Sergeant at Goodfellow who was able to use his second-tier entitlement to purchase a $450,000 home in the Southland area while keeping his first home as a high-performing rental property near the base. By navigating the 2025 limits correctly, he secured a "no-money-down" deal on a second home, effectively doubling his real estate portfolio in Tom Green County.