This is a valid and quite common question.? Technically, on a VA Loan, the only income we can use for qualifying purposes is the Veterans’ and the Veteran’s spouse.? No other person can be on the loan – not the parents, brothers, girlfriend’s or fiancee. But there is one exception.

[Update 2/4/13 – ?As of this writing, we did find another exception in which you can read more details here.?]

If two Veterans who are eligible for a VA Loan want to purchase a property together, they can by doing a “Split Entitlement” VA Loan.? What “Split Entitlement” means is that instead of a Veteran using 100% of his or her entitlement to purchase a home, the entitlement is split 50/50 with another Veteran – which they in-turn share responsibility in making sure the loan is eventually paid in full.

What are the steps for “Split Entitlement”?

The process is quite similar to doing a regular VA Loan.? The only difference is that when all Prior-to-Doc conditions are met (right before signing final loan documents), the file must be sent to the local VA office for prior approval.? This process may take up to 10 days, but once the final approval is issued by the VA office, the VA Loan Specialist may proceed with ordering the loan documents and closing the loan.

Doing a “Split Entitlement” VA Loan is best for unmarried Veterans looking to share the cost of homeownership.