Key takeaways

Eight out of 10 VA borrowers in 2025 paid above the most competitive price available for their borrowing profile, according to Bankrate’s Hidden Homeownership Tax research. Averaged across all VA borrowers, that came to $2,922 a year.

Your mortgage rate, discount points and most of your closing costs set by the lender, not the VA, which is why it’s so important to compare lenders. The VA only sets the funding fee and caps lender origination charges at 1% of the loan amount.

Get Loan Estimates from at least three VA lenders on the same day, compare the annual percentage rate (APR) and total closing costs side by side, then confirm your loan officer has closed VA loans recently.

For eligible service members, veterans and some surviving spouses, a loan backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of the lowest-cost ways to buy or refinance a home. There’s no down payment requirement and no mortgage insurance.

But the VA doesn’t set your interest rate.…