VA and Texas Veterans Land Board buyers in Guadalupe County

Barbara Peterson is a U.S. Army veteran. She separated as a Major after over 14 years of service, with an honorable discharge, and she's spent her real estate career working with VA loans and the Texas Veterans Land Board program. She and James Peterson ALC own the United Country Real Estate franchise in Floresville, Texas Ranch & Home. They work rural homes and land across five counties, Guadalupe County among them.

VA loans and the Land Board program are exactly where rural deals tend to stall, which is why her experience with them matters more than any sales pitch. She knows which questions to ask on a rural property before an offer, and she follows the file through to closing. If the appraisal or a program requirement does raise a problem, you hear it from Barbara plainly, along with your options and what she recommends.

Shannon Sims bought through the Texas Veterans Land Board with us in July 2023. In her words: "Despite significant issues with TVLB Barbara and James went above and beyond to make this a reality for us."

When the property is land, or a home on acreage, James brings the land side. He's an Accredited Land Consultant, and he'll look at access, fencing and usable ground with the same care Barbara gives the loan. Read more about how we work with VA and Land Board buyers.

Much of rural Guadalupe County runs on private wells and septic systems, and VA minimum property requirements speak to both. The well has to produce drinkable water that passes testing. The septic system has to work and can't pose a health hazard. There's also a minimum distance between the well and the septic system, generally 50 feet for a conventional system in Texas.

Barbara checks those points before you make an offer on a rural property, so the appraisal doesn't become the first time anyone looks. A home that fails them isn't always off the table, but you want to know what it would take before you're committed.

Some veterans want to buy land and build. VA offers construction-to-permanent loans for qualifying borrowers, but they're more complex than a standard purchase loan, and Barbara will point you to lenders who do them. If you're buying from a seller with a VA loan, ask whether it's assumable. Our article on buying near Lackland as a military family covers more of the VA details Barbara checks.

On the IH-10 corridor you may be competing with buyers from the Austin side. A VA offer backed by a real pre-approval, on a property already screened against the program, gives a seller fewer reasons to worry about your loan.