Yes. If you’re leaving San Antonio on PCS orders, a buyer can assume your VA loan, but your loan holder (or VA) has to approve the buyer’s credit first. VA requires approval when the loan is current, the buyer is contractually obligated to buy the home and take on the loan, and the buyer is creditworthy under VA standards. Your entitlement is restored only if the buyer is an eligible Veteran who substitutes their own entitlement. Otherwise, it stays tied to the loan until it’s paid off. Here’s how a VA assumption works and how to protect yourself.
Brock Bremmer | U.S. Air Force Reserves Veteran | Real Estate Agent | eXp Realty | San Antonio Metro Area
VA Loan & Home Seller Specialist
Also see: Using Your VA Loan Again | How to Sell Your Home in San Antonio | PCS to San Antonio Guide
What Does It Mean to Assume a VA Loan?
VA.gov describes an assumption this way: instead of opening a new mortgage, the buyer takes over the seller’s loan. The buyer keeps your interest rate, remaining balance, and remaining term. If you bought or built in San Antonio when rates were lower than they are now, that existing rate can be a selling point.
VA Circular 26-23-10 says an assumption involves both the transfer of ownership and a release of liability for the seller. That release is the key part. A buyer simply taking over your payments without approval doesn’t release you, and you’d still be on the hook for the loan.
Who Can Assume Your VA Loan?
The buyer doesn’t have to be a Veteran for a standard assumption. Under VA’s rules, the holder must approve the assumption if all three of these are true:
- The loan is current.
- The buyer is contractually obligated to purchase the property and assume full liability for the loan.
- The buyer is creditworthy under VA’s credit and underwriting standards.
The circular says the documentation to underwrite an assumption is the same as for a VA purchase. Being a Veteran matters only for substitution of entitlement, which is covered next.
What Happens to Your VA Entitlement?
This is the biggest decision in a VA assumption.
| Type of assumption | What happens to your entitlement |
| Without substitution of entitlement | Your entitlement stays tied to the loan until it’s paid in full, even though you’re released from liability. |
| With substitution of entitlement | The buyer must be an eligible Veteran who will live in the home and has enough entitlement. They substitute their entitlement for yours, and yours can be restored. |
VA.gov lists a qualified Veteran-transferee assuming your loan and substituting their entitlement as one of the ways to restore entitlement. If your entitlement stays tied up, VA.gov says you may still have remaining entitlement to buy at your next duty station. How much depends on your loan history, so ask your lender to check your COE before you agree to terms. My guide on using your VA loan again while you still own a home explains how remaining entitlement works.
VA’s lender training materials list the COEs for both seller and buyer, plus VA Form 26-8106, as part of a substitution of entitlement package.
How Long Does a VA Assumption Take?
Circular 26-23-10 sets these deadlines once the holder has a complete application:
- Holders or servicers with automatic authority: Must decide within 45 calendar days.
- Holders without automatic authority: Must send the package to VA for prior approval within 35 calendar days.
- If the assumption is denied: The decision can be appealed to VA within 30 calendar days.
Those clocks start with a complete application, so build extra time into your contract if your report date is fixed. If you’re PCSing into San Antonio and buying at the same time, see my guide on buying a new build before your PCS.
What Does a VA Assumption Cost?
| Charge | Limit or amount (per VA) |
| Assumption processing fee | Up to $300 if the holder has automatic authority, or $250 if VA prior approval is required. $50 is returned if the loan stays disapproved after 60 days. |
| VA funding fee on an assumption | 0.5% of the loan balance, unless the buyer is exempt |
| Other charges the buyer may pay | Credit report, recording fees, taxes and insurance, title examination and title insurance |
As an example, on a $290,000 balance, the 0.5% funding fee is $1,450. The seller can pay real estate commission. Also, if you received COVID-19 partial claim assistance, VA says it must be repaid in full when you transfer ownership.
What About the Equity Gap?
The buyer assumes your balance, not your sale price, so the difference has to come from somewhere. If you sell for $340,000 and owe $290,000, the buyer needs $50,000 plus closing costs, either in cash or through separate financing the buyer arranges. That gap often decides whether an assumption works for a given buyer. Price the home against recent sales either way, and see my San Antonio seller’s guide for pricing and prep.
How Do You Protect Yourself in the Contract?
In Texas, TREC has a promulgated form for this: the Loan Assumption Addendum (TREC No. 41-3). It covers the buyer’s credit documentation, lets you terminate if the credit documents aren’t delivered or are unacceptable, and lets either side terminate if the noteholder doesn’t consent. It also says that unless you’re released from liability, a vendor’s lien and deed of trust to secure the assumption will be required. My advice is to make the noteholder’s formal release of liability a condition of the sale. Then decide up front whether you’ll accept only a Veteran buyer who substitutes entitlement. That narrows your buyer pool, but it frees up your entitlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the buyer have to be a Veteran to assume a VA loan?
No. Any buyer who is creditworthy under VA’s underwriting standards and contractually obligated to buy the home can assume the loan if it’s current. The buyer must be an eligible Veteran only if they’re substituting their entitlement for yours.
Will I get my VA entitlement back after an assumption?
Only if the buyer is a qualified Veteran who substitutes their entitlement. Without substitution, your entitlement stays tied to the loan until it’s paid in full, though you may still have remaining entitlement for your next purchase.
Ready to Sell Before Your PCS?
Brock Bremmer with eXp Realty is a U.S. Air Force Reserves veteran with 120+ homes sold across the San Antonio metro. He helps sellers compare an assumption against a standard sale, price the home, and write contracts that protect their release of liability in San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Boerne.
- 📞 Call or text: 210-501-5088
- 📧 Email: [email protected]
- 📅 Schedule a free consultation
Also see: VA Funding Fee Exemptions | VA Loan Guide for San Antonio | Buying Near JBSA-Randolph
Sources: VA Circular 26-23-10, Assumption Processing (May 22, 2023); VA lender training, Assumptions (2023); VA, purchase loan; VA, eligibility and entitlement restoration; VA, funding fee and closing costs; TREC, Loan Assumption Addendum (TREC No. 41-3).