For Louisiana veterans, service members and surviving spouses
You served. Let's make sure Louisiana serves you back.
VA home loans are my work. The rest of this page is here because buying a home is only one of the benefits you've earned, and too many of them go unclaimed.
Bernard Guste · Veteran, 769th Engineer Battalion · 20+ years in mortgage lending · NMLS #79676 · Licensed in Louisiana and Georgia
Seven places I look for savings on every VA loan.
A VA loan is already one of the strongest benefits you have. My job is to make sure you get all of it.
- Funding fee exemption. If you receive VA disability compensation, you may not owe the VA funding fee at all. If you have a claim pending, timing matters, so tell me early.
- Funding fee refunds. If VA later awards you compensation with an effective date before your closing, you may be owed a refund of the fee you paid. I'll show you who to call.
- Your down payment options. Most VA buyers put nothing down. If you choose to put 5 or 10 percent down, VA charges a lower funding fee. We'll run it both ways.
- Seller-paid costs. VA lets a seller pay your closing costs, and allows additional concessions up to a limit VA sets. We build that into the offer strategy with your agent.
- Shopping lenders for you. I'm a broker. I price your loan across wholesale lenders instead of handing you one company's rate sheet.
- Local and state programs. Some Louisiana housing programs work with VA loans, and some waive the first-time buyer rule for veterans. I'll check what is open in your parish.
- Property tax relief. A service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or higher can lower your Louisiana property tax. A 100 percent rating may remove parish property tax entirely. That changes what you can afford, so we plan for it.
Eligibility, fees and program availability depend on your situation and can change. I'll confirm the current rules with you before you rely on any of them.
Our best number comes first. There is no second offer.
We take our duty to serve you seriously, so we don't play the back-and-forth game. First we ask a few questions: what you're trying to accomplish, whether you want to pay points, and how you'd like to be quoted. Then we send you the lowest quote we can write, up front.
Want to check us? Take our rate to any other lender and ask them to quote that exact rate. Then compare the two things that are left, the points and the fees. Same rate, side by side, and whoever charges less wins. Send us their quote and we'll go through it with you honestly. If they beat us, we'll tell you so. We can't go lower, because we already went as low as we can.
A quote is not a commitment to lend. Rates and pricing change daily, so compare quotes from the same day.
VA one-time close construction loans
Building a home with your VA benefit. Most banks don't offer it. We do.
VA lets you use your home loan benefit to build a new home, not only to buy one. The hard part is finding a lender. VA itself has written that lenders who make these loans "can be difficult to locate." Read VA's article
In September 2026 we went through the websites of about 40 banks and credit unions that serve Louisiana. Nearly all of them advertise VA purchase loans, construction loans, or both. Only a couple advertised a VA construction loan. We help veterans with VA one-time close construction financing.
One closing.
One loan covers the construction and the permanent mortgage, so you close once instead of twice.
One approval.
You qualify once, up front, instead of qualifying again when the house is finished.
The same VA benefit.
Your eligibility, your funding fee exemption if you have one, and VA's rules on the loan all still apply.
Your builder matters.
The builder has to be approved by the lender and registered with VA. I'll tell you what your builder needs before you sign a contract.
Your land.
In many cases the lot can be part of the loan, whether you already own it or still need to buy it.
Based on a review of lender websites in September 2026. A lender may offer a product it does not advertise, and offerings change. Construction loan terms, down payment and credit requirements vary by lender and can be stricter than for a standard VA purchase. Subject to lender and builder approval.
From one veteran to another.
I served in the 769th Engineer Battalion. I don't lead with that, and I'm not going to make a big deal of it here. But it's the reason this page exists.
I know what it's like to sort out your benefits on your own. When a veteran works with me, I treat the loan the way I'd want mine treated: every exemption checked, every program looked at, and the best deal I can find for you.
Free help exists. Use it.
Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs parish offices.
LDVA's counselors are VA-accredited, and they file claims for compensation, pension, education and burial benefits free of charge. There is an office serving every parish.
LDVA state benefits overview.
The state's own list of Louisiana veteran benefits.
Find a VA-accredited representative.
VA says the help an accredited Veterans Service Organization gives on your claim is always free.
A word of caution
VA's own guidance is that you should never pay anyone a fee to file an initial claim for benefits. If someone asks you to, report it at VSAFE.gov or 833-388-7233.
Property tax relief for disabled veterans.
Extra homestead exemption at 50 percent and 70 percent ratings, and a full parish exemption at 100 percent. You apply through your parish LDVA office and your parish assessor. It is not automatic.
State income tax.
Louisiana does not tax military retirement pay.
Driver's license and plates.
A "Veteran" designation on your license, and free licenses and disabled veteran plates at a 50 percent or higher rating.
State parks.
Free day-use entry for veterans with a 50 percent or higher rating, and discounts for active duty.
Hunting and fishing.
Free licenses for veterans with a 50 percent or higher permanent rating, and reduced-price licenses for other resident veterans and retirees.
College for your family.
The Title 29 tuition exemption for children and spouses of certain disabled or deceased veterans.
Campus help.
LaVetCorps navigators on Louisiana college campuses.
Military Family Assistance Fund.
Need-based help with housing, utilities and other essentials for Louisiana veterans, Guard and Reserve families. It cannot be used to buy a home.
Veteran-owned business.
State contracting certification and the Louisiana Veterans First Business Initiative.
Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal.
For honorably discharged Louisiana veterans.
State veterans homes and cemeteries.
Programs that can work alongside a VA loan.
These programs open, close and change their terms. I'll check what is available for you right now.
Jefferson Parish Finance Authority.
Lists VA as an eligible loan. Serves Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Tammany and St. Bernard.
Capital Area Finance Authority (CAFA).
Its Platinum program lists VA as an eligible loan across much of Louisiana.
Louisiana Housing Corporation Mortgage Credit Certificate.
A federal tax credit on mortgage interest that names veterans as eligible. Availability must be confirmed with LHC.
VA Energy Efficient Mortgage.
Roll qualifying energy improvements into your VA loan.
VA adapted housing grants.
Grants to buy, build or modify a home for certain service-connected disabilities.
All programs are subject to funding, income limits and eligibility set by the agency, not by me.
Certificate of Eligibility (COE).
I can usually pull this for you in minutes. You can also request it yourself.
Get your DD-214 for free.
The National Archives provides it at no charge in most cases. You do not need to pay a service.
Already have a VA loan?
Read about the VA streamline refinance.
National Parks lifetime pass.
Free for veterans and Gold Star Families.
Commissary and exchange access.
For veterans with a service-connected rating, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs and others.
CHAMPVA.
Health coverage for certain spouses, dependents and survivors.
Hire Heroes USA.
Free job search help from a nonprofit.
USO transition support.
For service members and spouses leaving the military.
Vet Tix.
Free event tickets for veterans and service members from a nonprofit.
- New Orleans: Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System
- Alexandria / Pineville: Alexandria VA Health Care
- Shreveport: Overton Brooks VA Medical Center
- VA Regional Benefit Office, New Orleans
- Vet Centers(free, confidential counseling, no VA enrollment needed): New Orleans · Baton Rouge · Alexandria · Shreveport
- On PCS orders? Housing offices: Barksdale AFB · Fort Johnson · NAS JRB New Orleans
If you or a veteran you love needs help today.
- Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1. Or text 838255. Free, confidential, 24/7.
- Trouble making mortgage payments: VA loan specialists at 877-827-3702 will counsel veterans and surviving spouses even if the loan is not a VA loan.
- Facing homelessness: National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, 877-424-3838, 24/7.
- Housing help in South Louisiana: Volunteers of America SSVF · Southeast Louisiana · South Central Louisiana
Get your VA loan checkup.
Tell me where you are, and I'll tell you what I'd look at first. No cost, no pressure.