Calabash · VA / Military
VA and Military Buyers in Calabash, NC
VA financing and PCS timing explained plainly, with the search and the closing built around your report date.
A Quick Note
This page is general information, not legal, tax, insurance, or lending advice. VA loan rules and insurance requirements change, and only the VA, your lender, your insurance agent, and the county tax office can decide what applies to you. I am a real estate professional, and my part is the search, the contract, and keeping your timeline on track.
VA and Military Buyers in Calabash
Calabash is a river town at the state line, so before anything else I confirm which side of that line a house is on, because North Carolina and South Carolina handle contracts and property tax differently, and the veteran tax break is a different program on each side. Local to Coastal Realty handles the house side. I talk with your lender early so your offer fits what a VA loan requires, I walk every serious house with you, and I run the comps so you see what it is worth before you offer.
Your VA Loan, in Short
According to the VA, a VA-backed purchase loan requires no down payment as long as the sales price does not exceed the appraised value, carries no private mortgage insurance, and has no prepayment penalty. You need a Certificate of Eligibility and must intend to live in the home. With full entitlement, the VA says you have no VA loan limit, as long as you can afford the loan and the appraisal supports the price.
Most borrowers pay a one-time funding fee: 2.15 percent for a first-use purchase loan with less than 5 percent down, which is $6,450 on a $300,000 loan. You are exempt if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, among other exemptions the VA lists. My page on buying a home with a VA loan covers entitlement and the appraisal.
The North Carolina Exclusion, at Calabash's Rate
For a Calabash house, North Carolina's Disabled Veteran Homestead Exclusion applies: up to the first $45,000 of the appraised value of a permanent residence, for a veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability or one who received specially adapted housing benefits, and for certain unremarried surviving spouses. Brunswick County lists it with no age or income limit. At Calabash's 2026 total of 0.44 per $100, that is worth about $198 a year. Take Form NCDVA-9 to a veterans service office for certification, then file it with Form AV-9 at the county tax office by June 1 of the tax year.
Watch the town rate. Brunswick County's table shows Calabash's own rate climbing from 0.058 in 2024 to 0.07 in 2025 and 0.098 in 2026, while the town's website still showed 0.070 when I checked, so go by the county's table. Every increase makes the $45,000 exclusion worth a little more. The town also says the Calabash Fire Department covers a district of nearly 30 square miles, including Carolina Shores and unincorporated county, and that the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office patrols the area, which is worth knowing when you compare a house inside town limits with one just outside.
The county office is Brunswick County Veterans Services at 10 Referendum Drive, Building F, in Bolivia, 910-253-2233; the county asks you to call for an appointment. North Carolina also lets you deduct military retirement pay on your state return if you served at least 20 years or were medically retired under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 61.
Flood Insurance and Next Steps
A VA loan is federally backed, so a house in a Special Flood Hazard Area needs flood insurance, and near the river and marsh that check comes first. We sign a written buyer agreement before touring, as the National Association of REALTORS has required of MLS participants since August 17, 2024. A VA-approved appraiser checks value and the VA's minimum property requirements, and I still recommend a full inspection. Read buying a home in Calabash and VA buyers in Brunswick County, then call me.
Sources
The rules and figures above come from these sources, checked in October 2026. VA fees, insurance rules, and rates change, so your lender, insurance agent, and the tax office have the final word.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA-backed purchase loans
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA home loan limits and entitlement
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, funding fee and closing costs
- Brunswick County, property tax relief programs
- Brunswick County, tax rates
- N.C. G.S. 105-277.1C, disabled veteran homestead exclusion
- NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, veterans property tax relief
- Brunswick County Veterans Services
- NC Department of Revenue, military retirement
- FEMA, flood risk and lending requirements
- National Association of REALTORS, settlement FAQs, practice changes effective August 17, 2024
- Town of Calabash, town and local information (fire district, patrol, town rate)
- South Carolina Code, Title 12, Chapter 37, Section 12-37-220, property tax exemptions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is North Carolina's disabled veteran exclusion worth in Calabash?
It excludes up to the first $45,000 of value. At Calabash's 2026 total of 0.44 per $100, that is about $198 a year.
Where is the veterans service office for Calabash?
Brunswick County Veterans Services, 10 Referendum Drive, Building F, Bolivia, 910-253-2233. Call ahead for an appointment.
Does the VA funding fee apply to me?
Most borrowers pay it, but you are exempt if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, among other exemptions the VA lists.
Calabash
What va / military looks like in Calabash
The Seafood Capital of the World, a fishing village on the Calabash River that gave its name to Calabash-style seafood.
Calabash calls itself the Seafood Capital of the World. In the 1930s, fishing families opened restaurants by the river serving lightly breaded fried seafood, and that style of cooking took the town's name.
Before the state line was set in 1735, Calabash was considered part of South Carolina and was known as Pea Landing. It sits in Brunswick County, and deep-sea fishing and golf are close by.
VA / Military: keep exploring
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