<prompt> Human: Hello guys, Im trying to buy my first house in CA using my VA loan, which is around 240K...but something seems a bit off. Can you guys take a look at the most recent conversation I had with the Real Estate agent? REA: Hey Lefthandedandcandid, its been a minute. The LO told me she is almost ready with your pre-approval letter. She said that tentatively we should stay under 180,000 if you wanted to do 0 down. Anything over though is cool with a down payment. Have you found some more houses you like? Me: Hello REA. I will call you tomorrow afternoon.Quick question though. Why am I being limited to 180K if the VA loan covers up to 424K with 0 down, as long as I qualify?REA: Verifiable income. The bank will only allow your debt including your mortgage and anything that will show up on your credit report to be 45 of your verifiable income.Assistant: I am not sure what your question is, as it sounds like she explained it pretty well.The REA is saying that they can only loan you a certain amount based upon your income, and since a down payment reduces the loan amount is increases the value of a home you can buy.What is your income?Generally, both buying a home with no down payment and getting anywhere close to the max of what a bank will lend you are huge red flags about whether borrowing is wise. Unless you have very carefully though through the purchase, I would take this conversation as an opportunity to think though the purchase a second time.What is your gross and after tax monthly income?Human: Hello! Thank you for commenting. My monthly income is 4K.I have about 90K saved up and they know that. My question was mostly regarding the VA loan. One of my friends who has used his VA loan twice, said I shouldnt have to put a down payment as long as I qualify for the VA loan and the loan is smaller than what the limit is in CA, which is 424K.I thought it was strange they were limiting me to 180K and maybe trying to sucker me into a shitty loan. If I were to borrow 180K and put down the other 60K, it would feel as though Im not using the VA loan to its full potential.  <response>: You need a higher income in order to use the VA loan to its full potential.If you had an income of 1y then they arent going to let you borrow 424k with VA loan or not. In that case, you might be able to buy a house worth about 3.If your income was 200ky, then you would easily qualify to borrow the whole 424k with no downpayment. 