Pittsburgh Veterans Home Buying Program

Our team at One Real Mortgage can generally qualify you. In the rare event they are unable to locate you in the database, we'll instruct you on who to contact at the VA for verification.

To be eligible for commission rebates or a commission discount, you must use a Real Broker agent on the Knox Team for your real estate services, One Real Mortgage for your VA Loan, and One Real Title for your closing services. Only the VA loan is eligible for this program. Conventional, FHA, or any other type of home financing is not eligible for the discounts regardless of veteran status.

Classic Pittsburgh homes can often have things that pop up in appraisals, and we work to guide you away from homes that are problems, but you never know what might pop up. We negotiate any inspection failures with the seller. Sometimes it is something minor like sanding and repairing an area of chipped paint, other times it might be a railing is needed. We often keep certain common items in stock for when a seller won't or cannot make a repair to help. For example, we often pick up 2-3 step railings at auction sites to have on hand just in case. Where there is a will, there is a way as they say. In a worse case scenario where something high dollar and major gets flagged like a roof - it may lead to having to find a different house and we want to be transparent with that. This is also why we bring drones with us on home tours to check these things before you fall in love with a home so you're not disappointed later.

When you finance your VA loan through One Real Mortgage, your appraisal fee is waived up to $750, adding even more value. If the appraisal costs more than $750, you're responsible for the difference.

The 2% flat listing rate or commission charge for home purchases applies to transactions initiated directly through the Knox Team at Real. Buyers or sellers who come through referral partners such as Veterans United are not eligible, since they already receive rebates and discounts through that partner. Clients who come through any other referral source that charges us a fee are also not eligible, but may receive a prorated discount.

We do not recommend this. Just because you can get a VA loan without a down payment doesn't mean this is the best financial choice. A down payment reduces both your monthly payment and the total amount of interest you pay over the life of a loan significantly. We suggest putting down as much as possible as it is also instant equity in the home.

The VA itself sets no minimum credit score — that requirement comes from individual lenders, not the VA. Most lenders look for 580–620. If your score is below that, you're not out of options: FHA loans accept scores as low as 500 (with 10% down) or 580+ (with 3.5% down), so we can usually find a path to homeownership either way.

The VA funding fee is 2.15% of the loan amount on your first VA loan, and 3.3% on subsequent uses, at $0 down. Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 10% or higher are fully exempt.

No. Veterans with full VA loan entitlement have no VA-imposed loan limit — you can finance any amount as long as you qualify for the payments and the home appraises for that value.

Yes. The VA maintains its own approved condo list, separate from FHA's — a condo approved for FHA isn't automatically approved for a VA loan, and vice versa. If a condo isn't on the VA list, we can help you find out whether it's eligible or has simply never gone through the process.

Generally 90 consecutive days of active duty during wartime, or 181 days during peacetime. National Guard and Reserve members qualify with 6 years of service, or 90 days of active duty (at least 30 consecutive) under Title 10 or Title 32 orders. If you were discharged early due to a service-connected disability, hardship, or a reduction in force, you may still qualify regardless of how long you served. Not sure where you fall? We can pull your Certificate of Eligibility and tell you in minutes.