Program figures verified July 2026 — details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Mike Certo · Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 ·
Maryland-licensed VA loan specialists. PCS to Fort Meade or Joint Base Andrews in 60 days? Retired and settling into your forever home — or using your benefit for the first time, decades after service? A disabled Veteran claiming Maryland's full property tax exemption? We do this every day. Direct line: (480) 296-6513.
Get pre-approved Talk to Mike first
A VA loan isn't a different mortgage — it's a conventional 30-year fixed (or 15-year, or ARM) mortgage with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteeing 25% of the loan to the lender. That guarantee is what lets lenders offer the VA loan's key features:
The VA also imposes some unique requirements:
Three things changed in 2026 that affect every Maryland VA buyer:
A Veteran rated 100% permanent and total service-connected by the VA pays no real property tax on the dwelling house and surrounding yard. The exemption passes to an unremarried surviving spouse, and to surviving spouses of service members killed in the line of duty. File SDAT's 100% Disabled Veteran Exemption Application; you may apply at any time, and refunds for eligible prior years are available within a 3-year window. This is a full exemption, not a capped credit.
On a typical Maryland home this can be worth thousands of dollars a year in cash flow that improves your debt-to-income ratio. Full pillar with application instructions →
The 2026 DoD BAH at Joint Base Andrews (DC-metro) runs well above Aberdeen (Harford) or Pax River (St. Mary's), because DC-area rents are higher. The BAH calculator on this site maps your rank and base to a realistic Maryland purchase price.
Practical implication: a DC-metro buyer has more BAH headroom but faces higher prices; a Southern Maryland or Harford County buyer trades BAH for lower prices and more inventory.
Normal VA loans follow conventional limits — $832,750 in 2026 across most of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions. Four DC-metro counties (Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Charles) are high-cost at $1,249,125, and Calvert is high-cost at a distinct $1,209,750. A Veteran with full entitlement can finance a higher-priced home with $0 down using a VA jumbo; we handle VA jumbo above the county limit for full-entitlement borrowers. Full loan limits guide →
We handle the full VA loan menu across the Maryland market:
For non-VA borrowers (military spouses without VA eligibility, civilian buyers), we also handle conventional and FHA loans through Cornerstone's full product menu.
Every base gets its own deep page: BAH by rank, neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown, school districts, commute by gate, and base-specific MPR pitfalls. Not tied to a base? Retired and choosing Maryland on its merits — see the retiring-Veteran guide.
We write a VA loan anywhere in Maryland, well beyond the base towns — including Baltimore County communities like Towson, Hunt Valley, and the Sparks-Glencoe area (ZIP 21136), plus Howard County, Frederick, and Southern Maryland.
NSA and U.S. Cyber Command; the largest workforce of any Maryland installation. Tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel in the Baltimore-Washington corridor.
Buyers spread across Odenton, Severn, Hanover, and the BWI/Columbia area.
316th Wing; home of Air Force One. The DC-metro housing area, so BAH runs high.
Buyers look at Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Waldorf, and the National Harbor area.
Naval Air Systems Command; F-35 and V-22 flight test. Southern Maryland's anchor employer.
Buyers concentrate in Lexington Park, California, and Leonardtown.
Army Test and Evaluation Command. Northeast Maryland, an easy commute from Bel Air and the I-95 corridor.
Buyers look at Bel Air, Abingdon, and Havre de Grace.
A few things you can hold us to:
Eligibility requires: (a) qualifying military service (active duty 90+ days during wartime, 181+ days during peacetime, or 6+ years National Guard/Reserve); (b) honorable or general-under-honorable discharge; (c) sufficient remaining entitlement. The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is the official confirmation — Mike can pull it from the VA in 24-48 hours. Full eligibility guide →
Yes. VA entitlement is restorable. If you've paid off a prior VA loan, the entitlement comes back. If you have an active VA loan and want a second simultaneous one (common for active-duty members who relocate but want to keep the original home as a rental), partial entitlement applies — Mike will walk through the math.
No — that's the conventional loan rule, not the VA rule. With VA, $0 down is the standard for borrowers with full entitlement. Some buyers put 5-10% down anyway to lower their monthly payment, reduce their funding fee, or shape the monthly payment differently. Mike will model both scenarios for you.
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee (1.25%-3.30% of loan amount depending on down payment and whether it's your first VA use) that goes to the VA to keep the program self-funding. The funding fee is waived entirely for borrowers receiving — or entitled to receive — VA disability compensation for a service-connected disability (in practice, any compensable rating, 10% and up). That's a $5K-$15K savings on a typical Maryland purchase.
No. VA loans require the property to be your primary residence (which you must occupy within 60 days of closing). The exception is multi-unit properties (2-4 units) where you live in one unit and rent the others — that's still a primary residence in VA's eyes. For investment properties, conventional or Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loans apply.
With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit — the county numbers only apply if you have reduced entitlement. For reference, the 2026 conforming limit is $832,750 across most of Maryland, $1,249,125 in four DC-metro counties (Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Charles), and $1,209,750 in Calvert County. County-by-county guide →
No. Maryland fully exempts real property tax on the home and surrounding yard for a Veteran rated 100% permanent and total service-connected — no income limit, no value cap. Refunds are retroactive within a 3-year window, and an unremarried surviving spouse keeps the exemption. At 50-99%, some counties offer a partial credit instead. Full exemption guide →
Partially. Maryland lets you subtract $12,500 of military retired pay from state taxes if you are under 55, and $20,000 at 55 or older. VA disability compensation is fully exempt. Retiring-Veteran guide →
If you've gotten this far, you've probably figured out whether this is the right site for your situation. The next move is a free 30-minute call. No pressure, no script, no follow-up sales calls.
Bring your orders (if PCSing), your latest LES or pay stub, and any questions about base, neighborhood, rate, or the path forward. I'll walk through actual numbers.
(480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com · NMLS #260555
Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. This site is educational and not a commitment to lend. Loans subject to buyer and property qualification.
Tax, legal, and property assessment information on this site (including disabled-Veteran property tax exemption coverage and county application notes) is provided for general information purposes only. Mike Certo is a mortgage loan originator, not a tax professional or attorney. Consult a licensed Maryland CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney for tax or legal advice specific to your situation. All cited statutes, agency forms, and program rules are linked to original sources for verification.
