Mike Certo · Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 ·
Utah-licensed VA loan specialist. PCS to Hill AFB in 60 days? A disabled Veteran claiming Utah's property tax abatement? VA-specific questions civilian loan officers fumble through? We do this every day. Direct line: (480) 296-6513.
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Most VA mortgage sites are national templates with thin Utah pages. The big national lenders dominate "VA loan" search results, but their state-level content is mostly the same paragraphs with the state name swapped. Their base pages, when they exist, were written by someone who has never driven I-15 past Hill Air Force Base. This site is the other thing — written for Utah Veterans by a team that originates Utah VA loans.
A few decisions worth flagging:
Every base gets its own deep page. Not a paragraph. Not a templated stub. 4,500-8,000 words per base covering BAH by rank, neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown, school districts, commute by gate, on-base housing waitlist reality, base-specific MPR pitfalls, and a 45-day PCS timeline. Start with Hill AFB — it's the largest section and serves as the model.
Utah's disabled-Veteran property tax abatement gets the depth it deserves. Utah exempts a share of your home's taxable value scaled by your VA rating, up to a $535,459 maximum at a 100% rating, with no income limit. It scales with your rating, not a flat exemption. Read the full pillar →
The BAH calculator is built on Utah county tax rates and the actual 2026 base BAH. It maps your rank and base to a realistic Utah purchase price instead of a national average. Run your numbers →
Utah's major installation: F-35 fighters plus the Ogden Air Logistics Complex (AFMC depot), one of the largest employers in the state. Davis and Weber counties.
Buyers spread across Layton, Clearfield, Syracuse, Kaysville, and the Ogden area.
The Army's chemical and biological defense test range in Utah's West Desert.
Buyers look at Tooele, Grantsville, and the southwest Salt Lake Valley.
Army munitions storage and maintenance, west of Salt Lake City.
Buyers concentrate in Tooele, Stansbury Park, and Erda.
Three things changed in 2026 that affect every Utah VA buyer:
Utah exempts a share of your primary residence's taxable value, scaled by your VA disability rating, up to a 2026 maximum of $535,459 at a 100% rating (for example, a 50% rating exempts up to $267,730). There is no income limit, and there is no benefit below a 10% rating. File by September 1 with your county; it auto-renews after the first filing. Full pillar with application instructions →
The 2026 DoD BAH at Hill AFB (the Ogden-Clearfield area) is the figure most Utah military buyers use; Dugway and Tooele run lower. The BAH calculator on this site maps your rank and base to a realistic Utah purchase price.
Practical implication: compare your base's BAH against local prices before you set a budget.
Normal VA loans follow conventional limits — $832,750 in 2026 across most of Utah. Summit County (Park City) and Wasatch County are high-cost at $1,150,000 (Wayne County runs about $997,050). A Veteran with full entitlement can finance a higher-priced home with $0 down using a VA jumbo; we handle VA jumbo above the county limit for full-entitlement borrowers. Full loan limits guide →
Mike handles the full VA loan menu across the Utah market:
For non-VA borrowers (military spouses without VA eligibility, civilian buyers), I also handle conventional and FHA loans through Cornerstone's full product menu.
A VA loan isn't a different mortgage — it's a conventional 30-year fixed (or 15-year, or ARM) mortgage with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteeing 25% of the loan to the lender. That guarantee is what lets lenders offer the VA loan's key features:
The VA also imposes some unique requirements:
A few things that should be true of working with any loan officer, and aren't always:
Eligibility requires: (a) qualifying military service (active duty 90+ days during wartime, 181+ days during peacetime, or 6+ years National Guard/Reserve); (b) honorable or general-under-honorable discharge; (c) sufficient remaining entitlement. The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is the official confirmation — Mike can pull it from the VA in 24-48 hours. Full eligibility guide →
Yes. VA entitlement is restorable. If you've paid off a prior VA loan, the entitlement comes back. If you have an active VA loan and want a second simultaneous one (common for active-duty members who relocate but want to keep the original home as a rental), partial entitlement applies — Mike will walk through the math.
No — that's the conventional loan rule, not the VA rule. With VA, $0 down is the standard for borrowers with full entitlement. Some buyers put 5-10% down anyway to lower their monthly payment, reduce their funding fee, or shape the monthly payment differently. Mike will model both scenarios for you.
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee (1.25%-3.30% of loan amount depending on down payment and whether it's your first VA use) that goes to the VA to keep the program self-funding. The funding fee is waived entirely for borrowers with a 10% or higher VA disability rating. That's a $5K-$15K savings on a typical Utah purchase.
No. VA loans require the property to be your primary residence (which you must occupy within 60 days of closing). The exception is multi-unit properties (2-4 units) where you live in one unit and rent the others — that's still a primary residence in VA's eyes. For investment properties, conventional or Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loans apply.
If you've gotten this far, you've probably figured out whether this is the right site for your situation. The next move is a free 30-minute call. No pressure, no script, no follow-up sales calls.
Bring your orders (if PCSing), your latest LES or pay stub, and any questions about base, neighborhood, rate, or the path forward. I'll walk through actual numbers.
(480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com · NMLS #260555
Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. This site is educational and not a commitment to lend. Loans subject to buyer and property qualification.
Tax, legal, and property assessment information on this site (including disabled-Veteran property tax abatement coverage and county application notes) is provided for general information purposes only. Mike Certo is a mortgage loan originator, not a tax professional or attorney. Consult a licensed Utah CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney for tax or legal advice specific to your situation. All cited statutes, agency forms, and program rules are linked to original sources for verification.
