Re: the VA loan -- it can be a great deal, but just be aware (I wasn't when I refinanced my private mortgage to a VA mortgage) that it is not free. One would think that a benefit earned by virtue of having served your country in remote, hostile parts of the world would be one that didn't require having to fork over thousands of dollars for -- in which case, one would be mistaken. Thanks to former President Reagan, the VA is required to charge the servicemember/veteran a "funding fee." Depending on the value of the loan, this can be a lot of money -- mine was $9K. Oh but the good folks who do the lending are happy to wrap it into the loan (i.e., your $X loan becomes $X + funding fee). Do the math and make sure you check commercial and other loan programs (HUD, etc.) before committing. If you don't have the downpayment to avoid paying PMI, then the VA loan can be a deal because there are no PMI payments with VA loans. Also be aware that the VA loan process can be time-consuming and frustrating (our property was not a VA listed property, so I had to pursue listing, and doing so entailed having certain parts of our condominium trust documents changed). I used USAA, and despite their good reputation for other banking services, their mortgage department is a colossal clusterf*** (do a Google search, you'll find plenty of stuff out there about others' experiences as well). In the end, I got it done, and it saved me a boatload of money, but the process was not at all what I expected going into it. Of course, YMMV.