Talk to the Lender
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two federal numbers and one county question decide an Ohio VA file, and the county one is the one nobody asks about.
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 an Ohio file answerable
- Your Certificate of Eligibility, or what you know about your entitlement: full, or partially used on an earlier purchase.
- ★★ Your rating status: are you receiving VA compensation, and is a proposed or memorandum rating pending? A memorandum rating dated before closing is in the VA's own exempt list, so the timing is worth a sentence.
- ★ The county. It decides which auditor handles your homestead application and what the county permissive conveyance fee is.
- ★★ Whether a homestead exemption application is in, approved, or not started. It changes the escrowed tax in the payment we underwrite.
★★ The call to make before you call us
If you hold a total VA disability rating, or a total rating for compensation based on individual unemployability, for a service-connected disability, ring your county auditor about Ohio's disabled-veteran homestead reduction.
★★ Two things make Ohio's version easier than most states': there is no wartime-service condition, and the $30,000 income threshold gates the standard exemption, not the disabled-veteran branch. So a veteran who was turned down somewhere else on income, or who assumes wartime service is required, should look again. Every condition.
★ We do not administer that programme, cannot submit for you, and will not predict how your county decides. We raise it because it changes the payment we underwrite and because it is the most valuable thing available to a disabled veteran buying here.
★ One thing a brochure would not say
If you are putting a substantial deposit down and you are not exempt from the funding fee, conventional financing is often the better deal, and we will tell you so. The honest comparison.
★★ And on a second VA purchase, ask us about the 5% threshold before you decide how much to put down. Subsequent use is 3.3% under 5% and 1.5% at 5%: and at Ohio prices that threshold is genuinely reachable. The table.
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.
★ Outside our lane
We are a private lender and we are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Ohio Department of Veterans Services or any government agency. The VA decides entitlement, ratings and fee exemptions. Your county auditor decides the homestead reduction. No tax advice, no legal advice, and nothing about purchase-contract terms.
★ We also publish no residual-income thresholds and no installation headcounts. The sourcing note explains exactly why in each case.
Useful pages first
- ★★ The homestead reduction, read this before anything else.
- The two tests, compared.
- The funding fee and its five exemptions.
- The whole thing in the order it happens.
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 Ohio?
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 homestead exemption application is in with that county's auditor. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555, at Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 can be reached at (480) 296-6513 or mcerto@cfmtg.com.Does Ohio's disabled veteran homestead exemption have an income test?
Not on the disabled-veteran branch. The $30,000 income threshold in Ohio Revised Code 323.152 gates the standard homestead exemption. The disabled-veteran reduction of $50,000 of true value as adjusted has no income test and no wartime-service requirement.Can you submit my Ohio homestead exemption application?
No. It is administered by your county auditor, not by a lender. We raise it because it changes the escrowed property tax in the payment we underwrite and feeds 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 in Ohio?
Yes. If you are putting a substantial deposit down and are not exempt from the VA funding fee, conventional financing is often the better deal, and we will say so. We write both.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 Ohio homestead exemption for disabled veterans is governed by Ohio Revised Code sections 323.151 and 323.152 and is administered by county auditors, not by Cornerstone; the statutory amounts are adjusted annually by the Ohio Tax Commissioner and the tax effect depends on local assessment and effective tax rates. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.