Savannah is home to Hunter Army Airfield, headquarters of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, and sits roughly 40 miles from Fort Stewart in Hinesville — the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi and home to the 3rd Infantry Division. Between the two posts, the Savannah area has one of the highest concentrations of VA loan-eligible buyers in Georgia. Joe Pistone at CrossCountry Mortgage helps active-duty, veteran, and Reserve/Guard households use their VA benefit to buy with zero down.
Yes — eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and certain surviving spouses can buy a home in the Savannah area with a VA loan and no down payment at all, and unlike FHA, VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance. A one-time funding fee applies to most borrowers (waived for those with a service-connected disability rating), and a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is required to confirm your entitlement before a lender can move forward.
Savannah's active-duty and Reserve community moves fast because PCS orders don't wait. Pull your Certificate of Eligibility before you start house hunting near Hunter Army Airfield or Fort Stewart — it's usually quick to get online — so financing isn't the thing holding up an offer once you find the right home.
For Savannah's substantial active-duty and veteran population, a VA loan is typically the most cost-effective path to homeownership available — zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and a benefit that can be used more than once. For full program details, see the VA's official home loans overview.
Check My Eligibility →Hunter Army Airfield sits inside Savannah's city limits and is home to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade "Falcon" of the 3rd Infantry Division, along with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment — roughly 5,500 soldiers, airmen, and other personnel are stationed there. About 40 miles southwest, in Hinesville, sits Fort Stewart: at roughly 280,000 acres, it's the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi River and the home station of the 3rd Infantry Division, one of the Army's most frequently deployed divisions. Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield operate as a combined power-projection platform, which means the Savannah metro absorbs a steady flow of active-duty arrivals, departures, and Reserve/National Guard members on top of its existing veteran population. That's a genuinely large pool of VA-eligible buyers, not a hypothetical one.
Chatham County's median single-family sale price runs around $370,095 as of mid-2026. On that purchase price, even FHA's 3.5% down payment works out to roughly $12,953 in cash. A VA loan removes that requirement entirely for eligible borrowers: 0% down, financed up to the lender's approved amount. Just as important over the life of the loan, VA financing carries no monthly mortgage insurance, whereas FHA's MIP typically lasts for the life of the loan on low-down-payment purchases. Instead, VA loans charge a one-time funding fee that can be rolled into the loan balance — and that fee disappears entirely for veterans with a VA disability rating.
For veterans with full entitlement, there is generally no VA-imposed loan limit — the amount you can borrow with zero down comes down to what a lender approves based on your income, credit, and debt-to-income ratio, not a county cap. Veterans with partial entitlement (from an existing VA loan or a prior foreclosure) may still be subject to a county-based limit, so it's worth reviewing your specific entitlement with Joe before assuming either way. On the ground, military and veteran buyers in the Savannah area gravitate toward Richmond Hill, a growing suburb closer to Fort Stewart's gate that's popular for its schools, Pooler, which sits convenient to both Hunter Army Airfield and I-95 with a heavy pipeline of new construction, and neighborhoods closer to Hunter itself in Midtown and Southside for shorter commutes to post.
No down payment saved up yet? That's the point of the benefit. Call (941) 260-1894 and Joe will walk through exactly what applies to your service history and timeline, including PCS-driven deadlines.
Check your VA eligibility in minutes — no credit pull, no obligation, no SSN required.
Check My Savannah Eligibility →Yes — a COE is the document that proves to a lender you have VA loan entitlement. With Savannah's concentration of Army personnel from Hunter Army Airfield and nearby Fort Stewart, most active-duty borrowers can request one quickly online through the VA, and Joe can help pull it during your first conversation.
For 2026 purchase loans, most first-time users pay 2.15% of the loan amount with less than 5% down, 1.50% with 5–9.99% down, or 1.25% with 10% or more down. Subsequent use with less than 5% down runs 3.30%. Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability are fully exempt from the funding fee.
Yes — eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and certain surviving spouses with full entitlement can finance up to the lender's approved amount with no down payment at all, and VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance, which is a real cost advantage compared to FHA or conventional financing in the Savannah area.
Yes. National Guard and Reserve members typically qualify after six years of service, or sooner if activated for at least 90 days of active duty. Eligibility is confirmed the same way as for veterans and active-duty members — through a Certificate of Eligibility.
Yes — entitlement can be restored after a VA loan is paid off or sold, and some veterans qualify for second-tier entitlement, which can allow a second active VA loan without selling the first property, including in a market like Savannah with frequent PCS moves in and out of Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart.
For the full statewide VA guide and other Georgia loan programs:
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