Colorado VA Home Loans | Zero Down for Veterans

Colorado VA Home Loans

Colorado Springs has one of the densest military footprints in the country — Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever, and the Air Force Academy, all inside one metro. Add Buckley in Aurora and you have a state where VA purchase volume is concentrated hard along the Front Range.

Prices along that corridor have run well ahead of pay. Zero down with no monthly mortgage insurance is doing most of the work on these files.

Colorado Has No State Veteran Loan Program

Worth saying plainly, because California, Texas, and Oregon all do and veterans moving here often expect one.

The Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs does not originate mortgages. It refers veterans to the federal VA program. CHFA — the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority — offers down payment assistance, but it is a general first-time-buyer program, not veteran-specific.

So in Colorado, the federal VA loan is the program. The state’s veteran-specific housing benefit is the property tax exemption below, and it is worth understanding properly.

The Colorado Exemption — and the Route Most Veterans Miss

• Amount: 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value on your primary residence is exempt
• Standard eligibility: 100% permanent VA disability rating
• The route people miss: Individual Unemployability also qualifies — at least one disability rated 60%+, or two or more disabilities with one at 40%+ and a combined rating of 70%+
• Income limit: none
• Also available to Gold Star spouses

That IU path matters. A veteran rated at 70% combined who receives compensation at the 100% rate through unemployability qualifies, and a lot of them assume they don’t because they’re not “100% rated.” If you’re receiving IU, check it.

Sources: Colorado Division of Property Taxation

VA Loan Limits in Colorado

With full entitlement — no active VA loan, no prior VA foreclosure — there is no VA loan limit. County figures only bind when entitlement is partial.

Colorado does have high-cost counties, and they are the mountain resort counties: Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, and Summit. The Denver and Boulder metros also carry limits above the national baseline. If you’re buying in the high country on partial entitlement, check the specific county before you write an offer.

Where We See Colorado VA Volume

• Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security-Widefield — the Fort Carson commuter ring, and by a wide margin the most VA purchase activity in the state
• Monument and Falcon — Academy and Schriever families buying north and east of the Springs
• Aurora — Buckley Space Force Base, plus the most attainable price point in the Denver metro
• Pueblo — the affordability valve for Springs buyers priced out to the south
• Denver metro — the largest overall veteran population, and where the high-cost limit actually comes into play
• Fort Collins — a growing veteran population without a base attached

VA Purchase Requirements

Guidelines vary by lender. Typical:

• Credit score: 620 minimum on most VA programs; better pricing at 700+
• Down payment: none with full entitlement
• Mortgage insurance: none, at any LTV
• Funding fee: one-time, financeable, waived if you receive compensation for a service-connected disability
• Occupancy: primary residence only
• Certificate of Eligibility: we can pull it, or request it with VA Form 26-1880
• PCS timing: with orders in hand you can start the file before you arrive. Front Range inventory moves fast

Related Colorado Programs

• Colorado Hard Money Loans — asset-based, business purpose
• How VA Refinancing Works — IRRRL and cash-out on an existing VA loan
• VA Jumbo Loans — above conforming, still zero down with full entitlement

Talk Through Your Scenario

Bring your county, price point, entitlement status, and rating. If you receive Individual Unemployability, say so — it changes the property tax side even though it isn’t a 100% schedular rating.

For illustration only. Not a commitment to lend. Rates and terms subject to change and qualification. 1st Nationwide Mortgage Corporation, NMLS #1281. Equal Housing Lender.