No state in the country has a more significant or more varied military presence than Texas. Fifteen active military installations — spread from the Panhandle to El Paso, from the Gulf Coast to Central Texas — serve hundreds of thousands of active-duty personnel, veterans, and military families. Fort Hood in Killeen is the largest military installation in the Western Hemisphere. Joint Base San Antonio is the largest joint base in the entire Department of Defense. Fort Bliss in El Paso is the second-largest Army installation in the country.
Texas layers on the most comprehensive state-level veteran benefit package in the country, including the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) — the only program of its kind in the nation.
If you’ve served our country, you’ve earned one of the most powerful home loan benefits available: the VA Loan. The Bookspan Baker Team at Keepsake Loans is proud to help Arizona veterans, active-duty service members, and surviving spouses use this benefit to achieve homeownership with unmatched financial advantages.
No down payment required in most cases
No monthly PMI even with zero down
VA-guaranteed loans typically carry rates at or below conventional market rates
No VA-set minimum credit score; most lenders look for 580–620+
The VA restricts certain fees lenders can charge veterans
VA Loans can be assumed by a qualified buyer
Texas Tax Advantage for Veterans: Texas has no state income tax of any kind — no tax on wages, salaries, military pay, military retirement income, disability compensation, or any other income. For military retirees from high-tax states, the Texas tax environment represents a dramatic and permanent financial advantage.
Active-duty service members who have served at least 90 continuous days
Veterans discharged under other than dishonorable conditions
Surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected disability
National Guard and Reserve members with qualifying service
(typically 6 years, or 90 days active duty under Title 10 federal orders)
Fort Hood (Bell and Coryell Counties, Killeen/Copperas Cove area): The largest military installation in the Western Hemisphere — 335 square miles of Central Texas. Home to the 1st Cavalry Division and III Corps headquarters; 40,000+ soldiers and 83,000+ total population. Renamed Fort Hood in June 2025 by the Trump administration (honoring Col. Robert B. Hood, WWI Distinguished Service Cross recipient). Annual economic output: $39 billion. Killeen, Copperas Cove, and Harker Heights are the primary civilian communities. One of the most active VA loan markets in the country.
Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) — Bexar County, San Antonio: The largest joint base in the entire Department of Defense. JBSA consolidates Fort Sam Houston (Army North, US Army Medical Center of Excellence, Brooke Army Medical Center — the DoD’s largest inpatient medical facility and the nation’s primary military burn center), Lackland Air Force Base (only Air Force enlisted Basic Military Training — 85,000+ airmen annually), and Randolph AFB (Air Education and Training Command headquarters). 266+ mission partners; 250,000+ total personnel.
Fort Bliss (El Paso County, El Paso): The second-largest Army installation in the United States — spanning over 1 million acres. Home to the 1st Armored Division and the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command; the largest air defense artillery training center in the Army. Annual economic output: $27.9 billion. VA loan usage is extremely high in El Paso.
NAS Corpus Christi (Nueces County, Corpus Christi): Chief of Naval Air Training — where Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots earn their wings. Training Air Wing FOUR, T-6B Texan II. Largest employer in Corpus Christi. Annual economic output: $4.6 billion.
NAS Kingsville (Kleberg County): Training Air Wing TWO, T-45C Goshawk carrier jet trainer. Primary pipeline for Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots.
NAS JRB Fort Worth (Tarrant County): Fighter, airlift, and refueling aviation. Economic output $4.8 billion.
Dyess AFB (Abilene): B-1B Lancer bombers and C-130J tactical airlift.
Sheppard AFB (Wichita Falls): Technical training and the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program — the only multinational pilot training program in the world.
Laughlin AFB (Del Rio): Pilot training with T-6A and T-38C aircraft.
Goodfellow AFB (San Angelo): Intelligence, surveillance,
reconnaissance, and firefighting training.
Ellington Field JRB (Houston): Strike aviation; $1.6B economic output.
Red River Army Depot (Texarkana): Ground combat vehicle and MRAP repair/overhaul.
Corpus Christi Army Depot: Army’s Helicopter Repair Center of Excellence (UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook).
Army Futures Command (Austin): Army modernization headquarters — rare urban-based command in Austin’s technology ecosystem.
Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) Home Loans: Eligible Texas veterans can purchase a primary residence with competitive VLB rates on loans up to $832,750, in 15/20/25/30-year fixed terms, with little or no down payment. 3-year primary residence requirement. Does not offer refinancing.
VLB Land Loans: The only veteran land loan program of its kind in the nation. Texas veterans can purchase Texas land (minimum 1 acre) up to $200,000 with only 5% down. Two eligible veteran spouses can borrow up to $275,000 together. No other state offers anything comparable.
VLB Home Improvement Loans: Up to $50,000 (20-year) or $10,000 (10-year) for repairs to an existing primary residence. No down payment required.
0.5% Rate Discount: Veterans with a 30%+ service-connected VA disability rating qualify for a 0.5% interest rate reduction on VLB home and land loans.
Stacking VLB and VA: Veterans can use a VLB land loan to purchase Texas land and a federal VA construction loan to build a home on that land — using both benefits without overlap.
Your VA Loan benefit is not a one-time-use tool. Many Arizona veterans use their VA benefit multiple times throughout their lives. Once a VA loan is paid off — through sale, refinance, or full payment — the entitlement can be restored and used again. In some cases, you may even be able to have two VA loans simultaneously using remaining entitlement.
The Bookspan Baker Team can pull your VA entitlement history and help you understand exactly how much purchasing power you have available today.
No. Texas has no state income tax of any kind — one of the most significant financial advantages for veterans and military retirees choosing Texas.
A state agency under the Texas General Land Office offering home loans, land loans, and home improvement loans exclusively to eligible Texas veterans and military members. The VLB land loan program is the only one of its kind in the nation.
Yes. For veterans with full entitlement, VA Loans have no dollar limit and no required down payment. In Killeen (Fort Hood) and San Antonio (JBSA), VA is the dominant purchase loan product.
In most cases, yes — for different purposes. A VLB land loan for buying Texas land and a federal VA construction loan to build a home can be used together without conflict.
