The VA Buyer Starter Kit — Free Guide for Veterans, Active Duty, Guard & Reserve

The problem

Most VA guides tell you the good parts. Then you lose a week you didn't have.

You've heard "zero down" and "no PMI." What nobody leads with is the funding fee, the four-percent rule people get wrong, or the two places VA buyers lose a week — missing paperwork and a file that went into underwriting incomplete.

What it costs to get wrong: a funding fee you were exempt from and paid anyway, a seller concession structured so you got less help instead of more, or a closing date that slips past your report date.

There's a better way: know the rules before you talk to anyone — eligibility, the fee and the exemptions, what to have ready, and what to ask — so you walk in as the most prepared buyer in the stack.

What it's worth

$0Down payment, with full entitlement — no loan limit, no PMI

2.15%Current first-use funding fee under 5% down — and five exemptions that get missed

7VA myths corrected, including the one about sellers and VA offers

Funding fee rates and exemptions from VA.gov. Rates set April 7, 2023, current as of September 2026.

What's inside

Eight pages. The starter version — read it before you call a lender.

What the VA loan actually gets you — and what it costs, said plainly
Who qualifies — VA's own service thresholds by era, Guard and Reserve, and surviving spouses
The funding fee, and how to not pay it — the current table, the stale numbers still floating around, and the five exemptions
The seller-concession rule everybody gets wrong — what the 4% cap actually covers, and what it doesn't limit at all

Entitlement, in one paragraph — why most veterans have no loan limit
Your pre-approval checklist — the eight documents to gather before the first lender conversation
The timeline — pre-approval to keys, with typical ranges and the two things you actually control
Seven VA myths, corrected — and five questions to ask before you choose an agent

Why it's worth more than free: every VA figure comes from VA.gov, there are no rate promises, and it tells you the parts a sales pitch leaves out. If you want the full deep dive afterward, the Florida VA Loan Playbook is at va.buyahomeatthebeach.com.

About Garrett

I've had orders, I've used the benefit, and I can write your loan

I'm Garrett Decker — Marine Corps disabled combat veteran, former wildland firefighter and sheriff's deputy. I'm a licensed Florida Broker Associate and a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator with FLO Mortgage, and I hold the National Association of REALTORS® Military Relocation Professional certification. My brokerage is Navy To Navy Homes, which was named Homes for Heroes 2026 Real Estate Specialist Team — #1 in Florida and #2 nationwide. The Decker Group is part of that program.

One person handles the house and the loan, so nothing gets lost between two offices. For a VA buyer on a PCS clock, that's often the difference between closing on time and not. And the mortgage side is always your choice — never a condition of working with me.

Why I'm qualified: licensed since November 2019, 180+ homes sold, #6 by volume in Palm Coast in 2025 (RealTrends Verified), 2022 REALTOR® of the Year for Flagler County, 96 verified reviews at 4.9 stars.

My process

Straight answer first.

Your eligibility, your entitlement, your exemption status, and whether buying makes sense right now — before we tour anything.

The whole number before the search.

Mortgage, taxes, insurance, flood, HOA and utilities — run against your real budget, not the app's guess.

Every date tracked.

COE, pre-approval, offer, appraisal and inspection in the same window, clear to close. You'll know what's happening before it happens.

Why work with Garrett

What working with me actually gets you

One person for the house and the loan.

The number I show you before we tour is the number I'd underwrite — not a handoff to somebody else's spreadsheet.

The funding fee exemption, checked first.

Because I carry a rating myself, I ask about it on the first call. If nobody has asked you, that's your sign.

Fully remote if you're still out of state.

Whole transactions handled while you're at your current duty station — video tours, remote signing, one timeline.

I've sat on the builder's side.

If you go new construction, I know what incentives are really on the table and where the contract protects the builder.

Both hero programs, as an approved vendor.

Florida Hometown Heroes and Homes for Heroes through Navy To Navy Homes. Whether you qualify is the program's decision — I'll check and tell you either way.

I answer.

Eleven separate clients across six years have said the same thing in writing: after hours, weekends, across time zones.

Proof

People who bought without the drama

"Garrett and his wife were the absolute BEST Real Estate agents. They took great care of us and their follow through was outstanding (especially since we're not in the State just yet). Service like that was extraordinary, to say the least."

Buyer, out of state · 2026

"He was always prepared and ready to do whatever and whenever something came up that needed to be done or checked into. He also always responded immediately, and I called him often, after hours, weekends."

Buyer · 2025

"Garrett was instrumental in getting our designing our custom home and as our lender he was our advocate in getting closed while dealing with adversity from the builder."

Buyer, new construction · 2025 · Garrett acted as both agent and loan originator, disclosed

Thinking about using your VA loan? Start here — it takes twenty minutes.