VA loans in Del Mar (2026)
Amir Nurani · NMLS #197458 · (619) 366-9494
Quick answer: Eligible veterans and active-duty buyers who will occupy a Del Mar home can often buy with little or no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. The 2026 first-use VA funding fee is 2.15% with under 5% down unless you are exempt. Full entitlement is not capped by the old county VA limit. That matters here because Village, Heights, and beach-side purchases more often sit near or above the $1,104,000 San Diego County 1-unit line. Partial entitlement, overlays, and any conventional comparison still use that figure. VA is a primary-occupancy path, not a second-home or investment file.
Del Mar is a coastal jumbo-versus-high-balance market. The Village, Del Mar Heights, and the beach side do not share one loan. Many purchases sit above the 2026 San Diego County 1-unit limit of $1,104,000, but a larger down payment can still keep a conventional loan high-balance conforming. This page is the other half: VA when the buyer is eligible and will occupy the home as a primary. A second home is a different qualification path. Left Coast Leaders, Inc. (NMLS #2394495) treats VA as the first call for eligible buyers who will occupy a Del Mar home. A clean Certificate of Eligibility and a payment that includes coastal taxes, insurance, and HOA is what lets the offer hold. Move-up buyers without VA eligibility start on jumbo loans in Del Mar. Coastal neighbors more often start on Carlsbad VA loans or Oceanside VA loans.
Why Del Mar is a full-entitlement VA file
The loan amount is the local reason this page exists. The test is loan amount, not the list price. A $1,200,000 purchase with 20% down is a $960,000 loan, which is high-balance conforming in San Diego County, not jumbo. A $1,250,000 purchase with 10% down is a $1,125,000 loan, which is jumbo on a conventional file. VA with full entitlement is a different test. Our Del Mar jumbo page already says we price VA on the same address when you are eligible: full entitlement is not capped by the old county VA limit, but the investor still has a rate sheet once the loan is large. A VA condo or stacked building has to clear VA and lender rules. We pre-approve to a monthly number, not a list-price guess, and we keep occupancy on the correct guidelines. Mislabeling a second home as a primary is how a Del Mar file breaks after you are in contract.
2026 numbers we actually use
These figures are the ones already published on our county posts. We copy them here so you do not have to hunt.
- San Diego County 1-unit high-cost conforming limit for 2026: $1,104,000. Baseline conforming is $832,750. Amounts from $832,751 through $1,104,000 are high-balance conforming. Above $1,104,000 is generally jumbo on a conventional file. See VA loan limits San Diego 2026 and 2026 conforming loan limits.
- VA with full entitlement is not capped by that old county limit. Partial entitlement still uses the 2026 $1,104,000 county figure. Investor overlays still get checked on the COE.
- The test is loan amount, not the coastal price tag. A $1,200,000 purchase with 20% down is a $960,000 loan, which is high-balance conforming, not jumbo. A $1,250,000 purchase with 10% down is a $1,125,000 loan, which is jumbo on a conventional file. VA with full entitlement is a different test.
- Funding fee (purchase, not exempt): 2.15% first use with under 5% down, including $0 down; 3.30% subsequent use at the same down payment; 1.50% once you put 5% to 9.99% down; 1.25% at 10% or more. Cash-out uses 2.15% / 3.30%. IRRRL is 0.50%. Full chart: VA funding fee.
- On a $900,000 North County-range purchase, a first-use $0-down fee is about $19,350 if financed (loan about $919,350). Subsequent use at $0 down is about $29,700. That is why we price 0%, 5%, and 10% on subsequent-use files the same day. Del Mar files often sit higher, so we run the fee on the actual loan amount.
VA still has no monthly PMI. The fee is a one-time charge. If the COE shows a disability exemption, the fee is $0. A 10% rating can be enough. Non-service-connected disability is not. We pull the COE at pre-approval, not after you are in contract. Program overview: VA loans in San Diego.
How we run a Del Mar VA purchase
- COE first: exemption, first use vs subsequent, remaining entitlement if you still own a VA-financed house.
- Same house, same tax and insurance estimate, VA vs conventional (and jumbo vs high-balance) so you see the fee instead of pretending it is free. A larger down payment can move a conventional Del Mar file back under the jumbo line.
- Occupancy on the correct guidelines. VA is for eligible buyers who will occupy as a primary. A second home or full-time rental is a different file.
- Property condition early. VA appraisals look at livability. Village condos, stacked buildings, and older cottages need that conversation before the offer.
- Seller concessions: VA caps certain concessions at 4% of reasonable value. The funding fee can sit in that bucket if the contract and appraisal allow it.
Del Mar is its own city, so San Diego Housing Commission programs for City of San Diego 921 ZIP codes do not apply. Check CalHFA MyHome and whether a County of San Diego program lists Del Mar before you count assistance in an offer. Amir Nurani (NMLS #197458) will not treat Del Mar as a footnote on the Carlsbad or Oceanside VA page. On a $900,000-range purchase the funding fee is a five-figure line, and many Village and Heights files sit higher. Use the payment calculator for principal and interest, then we add the fee treatment from your COE.
Related
Del Mar mortgage hub · VA loans in San Diego · VA loan limits 2026 · Del Mar jumbo loans · Carlsbad VA loans · Oceanside VA loans · VA funding fee · Payment calculator · Del Mar news
Frequently asked questions
Many eligible veterans and active-duty buyers can purchase in Del Mar with little or no down payment, subject to entitlement and lender guidelines, when they will occupy the home as a primary residence. Del Mar is coastal: the Village, Del Mar Heights, and the beach side. VA does not use monthly mortgage insurance like FHA. A funding fee may apply unless you are exempt. A second home or full-time rental is a different file.
If you are not exempt, the 2026 first-use purchase rate is 2.15% of the loan amount with under 5% down, and 3.3% on subsequent use. Putting 5% down drops both to 1.5%. Disability compensation and a few other categories waive the fee. The Certificate of Eligibility is what underwriting uses.
Borrowers with full entitlement are not capped by the old county VA limit the way they used to be. That matters in Del Mar because Village, Heights, and beach-side purchases more often sit near or above the 2026 $1,104,000 conforming line. Partial entitlement and lender overlays still matter. The investor still has a rate sheet once the loan is large. We check remaining entitlement before assuming a large VA loan is automatic.
Buying in Del Mar with a VA loan?
Get pre-approved and we will pull the COE, price the funding fee, and put a real Del Mar payment on paper.
Get Pre-ApprovedLeft Coast Leaders, Inc. · NMLS #2394495 · DRE #02191517 · Equal Housing Lender · San Diego, CA 92111