VA and Military Buyers in Little River, SC

This page is general information, not legal, tax, insurance, or lending advice. VA loan rules and tax exemptions change, and only the VA, your lender, the South Carolina Department of Revenue, and the county 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.

South Carolina law exempts from property tax the house owned by a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled as a result of a service-connected disability and who files with the South Carolina Department of Revenue a certificate signed by the county service officer. The exemption covers the dwelling and its lot, classified as a legal residence, and it extends to a qualified surviving spouse who remains unmarried and lives in the house. That is the whole house, not a slice of its value. North Carolina, by comparison, excludes up to the first $45,000.

Even without that exemption, a home you live in gets the 4 percent legal residence assessment and no school operating millage: on Horry County's 2026 levies, about 91.9 mills in unincorporated county, roughly $1,470 a year on a $400,000 house.

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 $8,600 on a $400,000 loan, unless an exemption applies, such as receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability.

A VA loan is federally backed, so a house in a Special Flood Hazard Area needs flood insurance. We sign a written buyer agreement before touring, as the National Association of REALTORS has required of MLS participants since August 17, 2024. Read buying a home with a VA loan and buying a home in Little River, then call me.