Talk to the Lender
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two numbers decide a Pennsylvania VA file. A third question decides whether you pay property tax for the next twenty years, and it is the one nobody asks.
How to reach us
Call or text Mike at (480) 296-6513. Email mcerto@cfmtg.com. You reach the person who originates the loan.
★ What makes a file answerable
- Your Certificate of Eligibility, or what you know about your entitlement: full, or partially used.
- Your rating status: are you receiving VA compensation, and is there a proposed or memorandum rating pending?
- ★ The county you are buying in. It decides the loan limit input, the local transfer tax, and which office handles your exemption.
- ★★ Whether a Pennsylvania tax-exemption application is in progress, approved, or not started.
★★ The question to ask someone else first
If you hold a 100% permanent service-connected rating, or TDIU, or service-connected blindness, paraplegia or loss of two or more limbs, and you served during a period of war, call your county Director of Veterans Affairs about the Disabled Veterans' Real Estate Tax Exemption before you call anyone about a mortgage.
★★ And if you were denied before on income: the State Veterans Commission raised the presumptive need level to $114,637 on 1 January 2025 and says veterans and surviving spouses previously denied "are encouraged to consider submitting a new application." The criteria.
★ We do not administer that programme, cannot submit for you, and will not guess at how your county will decide. We raise it because it changes the payment we underwrite and because it is the most valuable thing available to a disabled veteran buying in this state.
★ One thing we will say that a brochure would not
If you are putting 20% down and you are not exempt from the funding fee, a conventional loan is often the better deal, and we will tell you so.
★★ And if you expect to sell within two or three years, a zero-down purchase in a flat market is a real risk. Pittsburgh rose 0.2% over the year to August 2026. With no equity at the start, a short hold can mean paying to leave. The honest comparison.
What we will not quote over email
Rates or payment figures. They depend on your file and on the day, and a number sent on Tuesday is wrong by Friday. Current terms against your actual position, on a call.
★ And what is outside our lane
We are a private lender and we are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. The VA decides entitlement, ratings and fee exemptions. The State Veterans' Commission and your county office decide the tax exemption.
No tax advice, no legal advice. We publish no residual income thresholds, as policy rather than for want of a source, and no installation headcounts because the military hosts are closed to crawlers. The full sourcing note.
Useful pages first
- ★★ The property-tax exemption, read this before anything else.
- No down payment, no funding fee, no property tax.
- The wartime-service condition.
- The whole thing in one read.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #173855. Equal Housing Lender. This is not a commitment to lend. Loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a VA loan in Pennsylvania?
Contact the lender with four things: your Certificate of Eligibility or what you know about your entitlement, your VA rating status including any proposed or memorandum rating, the county you are buying in, and whether a Pennsylvania tax-exemption application is in progress. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555, at Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 can be reached at (480) 296-6513 or mcerto@cfmtg.com.What was the Pennsylvania presumptive need level before 2025?
$108,046, applicable on or before December 31, 2024, per Pennsylvania Bulletin 55 Pa.B. 149. It rose by $6,591 to $114,637 on January 1, 2025.Should I reapply for the Pennsylvania exemption if I was denied?
If you were denied on financial need, yes. The State Veterans Commission raised the presumptive need level to $114,637 on January 1, 2025 and states that veterans and surviving spouses previously denied for need are encouraged to consider submitting a new application.Can you help with my Pennsylvania property tax exemption application?
No. It is administered by the Pennsylvania State Veterans' Commission through your county Director of Veterans Affairs. We raise it because it changes the housing payment we underwrite and the VA residual income calculation, but we cannot submit or decide an application.Will you tell me if a conventional loan is better for me?
Yes. If you are putting twenty percent or more down and are not exempt from the VA funding fee, conventional financing is often the better deal. And if you expect to sell within two or three years, a zero-down purchase in a flat market such as Pittsburgh carries real risk, which we will say plainly.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Pennsylvania Disabled Veterans' Real Estate Tax Exemption is administered by the Pennsylvania State Veterans' Commission through each county Director of Veterans Affairs, not by Cornerstone; its criteria and income thresholds are set by the Commonwealth and change. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.