Spokane County Mortgage Broker: Home Loans from Airway Heights to Liberty Lake

Fairchild, west of Spokane near Airway Heights, drives a steady flow of PCS moves into Spokane County. A few points for incoming families:

• Qualify on orders. Lenders accept PCS orders plus a Leave and Earnings Statement to pre-approve you before you arrive, so you can shop on a house-hunting trip.
• BAH. Basic Allowance for Housing is non-taxable and counts as qualifying income; many lenders gross it up. Check current Spokane-area rates at the Defense Travel Management Office (opens in a new tab).
• Occupancy. VA expects you to move in within a reasonable time, usually 60 days. A deployed member's spouse can satisfy the requirement.
• Funding fee. First use with no down payment is 2.15% of the loan, financeable; veterans receiving VA disability compensation are exempt.
• Residual income. Washington is in VA's West region; check your numbers with our VA residual income calculator.

Our VA loans overview covers entitlement, assumptions and the IRRRL refinance in depth.

WSHFC (opens in a new tab) programs are available through participating lenders statewide. Home Advantage pairs a first mortgage with a second mortgage for part of the down payment; House Key serves lower-income buyers with below-market rates. Both require a homebuyer education class, which can be completed online.

Spokane's price points make these programs meaningful: a modest down payment assistance loan can cover most of the 3% to 3.5% minimum on an entry-level home in Spokane Valley or north Spokane. Use the affordability calculator to size a comfortable payment, then ask Frank which participating lender prices the program most competitively for your scenario. Estimates before underwriting are not a commitment to lend.

USDA guaranteed loans provide no-down-payment financing for primary residences in eligible rural areas within household income limits. The USDA property map (opens in a new tab) is address-specific and changes over time as areas grow. Cheney and Airway Heights have been partly or wholly ineligible in recent maps because of their size, so check before you fall in love with a house.

House-hacking a duplex is common in Spokane's older neighborhoods. For financing:

• FHA: 3.5% down on 2 to 4 units with a self-sufficiency test on 3 to 4 unit properties (rents must cover the payment).
• VA: zero down for eligible veterans on up to four units; lenders often want landlord experience or reserves to count rental income.
• Conventional: Fannie Mae allows 5% down on owner-occupied 2 to 4 units under current guidelines, with rental income from the other units documented by the appraiser's rent schedule.

Investors not living in the property use conventional investment loans with larger down payments or a DSCR loan that qualifies on the building's rent.

The state tax uses tiered rates by sale price, and Spokane County adds a local rate; the Washington Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab) publishes current tiers. Our net proceeds calculator applies them so you can see what will be left for your next down payment. Idaho, by contrast, has no transfer tax, which some Spokane buyers weigh when considering Post Falls or Priest River.