Streamline Your VA Loan with an IRRRL.
The VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan is a fast, low-documentation way for VA homeowners to refinance an existing VA loan.*
A simpler VA refinance.
An IRRRL only replaces an existing VA loan, and its costs have to be recouped.
- Your current mortgage must already be a VA loan
- You certify that you previously lived in the home
- DTI calculated only when you choose credit qualifying*
- Refinance a home you occupied as your own*
- Fees and closing costs recouped within 36 months of the note date
- First payment on the old loan due 210 days or more before closing
Refinance your existing VA loan balance*
No certificate of eligibility needed
Previously occupied by you
Funding fee can be financed
Condo approval not required
No reserves to show
What is the Saxton VA IRRRL?
A VA-to-VA refinance with its own occupancy and recoupment rules.
The Saxton VA IRRRL is a full-featured mortgage that is the VA’s streamlined refinance for homeowners who already have a VA loan. It is fast and low-documentation, often without a new appraisal.
The occupancy rule is looser than on a purchase. You certify that you previously occupied the home, and one program accepts a second home or investment property on that basis*. VA rules call for neither an appraisal nor a notice of value on a rate reduction refinance, though at least one program still requires a valuation product.
Use it to refinance the VA loan you already have into a lower rate, with no cash out. You must certify that you previously occupied the property as your home, but you do not have to live there now, so a home you moved out of and rented can still qualify on at least one program.*
Why choose the Saxton VA IRRRL?
Built for veterans who already have a VA loan and want a better rate.
Current VA Borrowers
You must already have a VA-guaranteed loan to use the IRRRL.*
Low Documentation
A streamlined path with minimal paperwork.
Active Chapter 13 Can Qualify
An open Chapter 13 case does not block an IRRRL under one guide, provided your trustee or the court approves it in writing*.
Rate Reduction Only
The IRRRL exists to lower your rate, not to return cash to you.
Keep Your Benefit
Refinance while retaining your VA benefit.*
No New Appraisal
Most VA streamline files close without a new appraisal.
Hear From Homeowners Like You
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers on VA IRRRL eligibility, funding fees, recoupment and seasoning.
No. An IRRRL is a VA-to-VA refinance only, so the mortgage you are replacing has to be a VA loan. If your loan is FHA or conventional, we look at other refinance options with you.
Saxton Mortgage does. We offer the VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan on a VA loan you already have, in both credit-qualifying and non-credit-qualifying versions. The home can be your primary residence, or a property you now rent out if you certify that you previously lived in it as your primary residence. The new loan can close no sooner than 210 days after the first payment due date on your current loan, and you cannot prepay the current loan to speed that up.
The fees, closing costs and expenses you pay must be recouped within 36 months of the new note date. The statutory calculation leaves out the VA funding fee, escrow and prepaid items such as insurance, taxes and HOA fees. An IRRRL that fails recoupment is ineligible.
Yes, the VA funding fee applies to an IRRRL unless you are exempt, and the fee can be added to the new loan balance. You are exempt if VA pays you compensation for a disability tied to your service, or if a pre-discharge disability exam rated you eligible for it. One IRRRL guide takes a screen print of your fee status from the time the loan number is ordered as proof*.
The first payment due date on the loan being refinanced must be 210 days or more before the new note date. You also need at least six full consecutive payments made in the month they were due.
Yes. When a veteran and spouse were both on the old VA loan, the divorced veteran alone can be on the new IRRRL at one program. A divorced spouse alone cannot, while a surviving spouse alone can after the veteran has died.
Not a conforming limit. At one program, Freddie Mac conforming loan limits do not apply to IRRRLs. The maximum loan there is the existing VA loan balance plus allowable fees and charges, plus the VA funding fee. Learn more about cash-out refinance.
Find out what you qualify for
Have your current VA loan statement and note date ready so we can check seasoning and recoupment together.
Get Pre-Qualified- Department of Veterans Affairs, eligibility for VA home loan programs
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA home loan types
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA funding fee and closing costs
*Loan amounts, rates, terms, and down payment requirements are subject to credit approval, income and asset verification, and program eligibility. VA IRRRL terms are set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Down payment and cash-out limits vary by occupancy, credit score, and documentation type. Not all applicants will qualify. Saxton Mortgage, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender.