Talk to the Lender
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two federal numbers and one unusual question decide a Missouri VA file. The unusual one is the question nobody thinks to ask.
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 a Missouri file answerable
- Your Certificate of Eligibility, or what you know about your entitlement: full, or partly 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, or the city if you are in St. Louis: the independent city and the county are two different jurisdictions and "St. Louis" alone is ambiguous on a form. Why
- ★★★ Whether you were a prisoner of war. It is an odd thing for a lender to ask and it is the single most consequential tax question in this state.
★★★ The conversation to have before you fall in love with a house
If you hold a 100% service-connected rating and you are expecting Missouri to exempt your property tax, tell us at the start, because in almost every case it will not.
★★★ Mo. Const. art. X, § 6 reaches a former prisoner of war with a total service-connected disability, and nobody else. The bills that would widen it have been introduced in four of the last five sessions and none has passed. The full picture, with the status of each.
★★ We raise it first because it changes the escrowed tax in the payment we underwrite, and a payment built on an imagined exemption is not the payment you will have.
★★ The better news we would rather deliver early: the Missouri Property Tax Credit was substantially expanded on 1 January 2026, it has no age requirement on the veteran route, and plenty of people who were refused or came out at zero in an earlier year now clear it. What changed.
★ Two things 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 if you are at Fort Leonard Wood or Whiteman expecting to PCS in two or three years, a zero-down purchase carries real risk. There is no equity at the start, so a short hold can mean paying to leave. We would rather raise it than let you discover it. The PCS question.
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 Missouri Veterans Commission, the Missouri Department of Revenue or any government agency. The VA decides entitlement, ratings and fee exemptions. Missouri's taxing authorities decide the exemption; the Department of Revenue administers the credit. 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 exemption Missouri does not have, read this before anything else.
- The credit you get instead.
- What changed on 1 January 2026.
- 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 Missouri?
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 or city you are buying in, and whether you were a prisoner of war. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555, at Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 can be reached at (480) 296-6513 or mcerto@cfmtg.com.Why would a mortgage lender ask whether I was a prisoner of war?
Because in Missouri it is the question that decides the property tax. Article X section 6 of the Missouri Constitution exempts the homestead of a former prisoner of war with a total service-connected disability, and no other disabled veteran. It changes the escrowed tax in the payment we underwrite.I was told Missouri exempts 100 percent disabled veterans. Is that wrong?
It describes a proposal rather than current law. Joint resolutions to extend the exemption have been introduced in four of the last five legislative sessions and none has passed or reached a ballot. The exemption in force reaches former prisoners of war only.Can you help with my Missouri Property Tax Credit claim?
No. The credit is administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue and claimed on a return. We raise it because it affects your annual cost of owning, but we cannot submit or decide a claim, and we are not tax advisers.Will you tell me if a conventional loan is better for me in Missouri?
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. Missouri's property tax exemption for former prisoners of war is established by article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution, and the Missouri Property Tax Credit is governed by sections 135.010 to 135.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue, not by Cornerstone. Proposed constitutional amendments described on this site are proposals and are not law. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.