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Moving to Gainesville to work, retire or be close to family at the University of Florida, or already an Alachua County Veteran? Here’s how a VA loan works in Gainesville, Newberry, Alachua and High Springs: the primary-residence rule for homes near campus, buying in one of the city’s historic districts, acreage on a well and septic, the VA medical center and clinics in town, and every benefit that stacks if you have a disability rating.
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Can I use my VA loan to buy a house near UF for my son or daughter? Usually not. A VA loan has to be on the home you live in as your primary residence, so a house for a college student while you live somewhere else generally won’t qualify. If you’re moving to Gainesville yourself, a home near campus works like any other, with $0 down if you have full entitlement. My team can tell you whether any exception fits your family before you shop.
Gainesville grew up around the University of Florida, and the neighborhoods change quickly as you move away from campus: older streets and historic districts close in, newer subdivisions to the west, and farms and small towns across the rest of Alachua County.
Archer Road and the west side
Popular areas: The Archer Road corridor, Haile Plantation, Kanapaha, Tower Road
Planned neighborhoods and newer subdivisions. Several VA clinics are on SW 34th Street and SW 64th Street, and the VA medical center is on Archer Road.
Millhopper and beyond
Popular areas: Millhopper, the NW 39th Avenue corridor, NW 98th Street area
Wooded lots and established subdivisions, with the Gainesville Ninety-Eighth Street VA Clinic nearby.
Close to downtown
Popular areas: Northeast Residential Historic District, the Duck Pond, Pleasant Street, Southeast Residential
Homes from the late 1800s through the 1950s. Changes to the outside of a home in a local historic district need city approval.
The rest of Alachua County
Popular areas: Newberry, Alachua, High Springs, Archer, Micanopy
Small towns and acreage. Out here many homes rely on a private well and septic system, which the VA appraisal looks at.
Close to campus, a lot of homes are bought as rentals or by parents for a student. A VA loan isn’t built for either. It’s for the home you, the Veteran, live in as your primary residence, usually moving in within about 60 days of closing. If a home near campus is going to be your own home, it qualifies like any other.
There is one way a Veteran can end up owning a rental near UF with a VA loan: live in the home first, then keep it and its loan when you move. Buying a two- to four-unit property and living in one unit also works, and rent from the other units may help you qualify.
If you’re starting work at the university, a hospital or anywhere else in town, a signed offer with a start date can be used to qualify, so you can buy before your first day.
A duplex, triplex or fourplex can be bought with a VA loan if you live in one of the units. My team may be able to count part of the expected rent from the others when we qualify you.
Gainesville has five local historic districts: Northeast Residential, Pleasant Street, Southeast Residential, University Heights North and University Heights South. The Northeast Residential district, first platted in 1854, covers about 80 blocks with buildings from the 1880s through the 1950s, including the Duck Pond and Sweetwater Branch. It has been on the National Register since 1985.
In a local district, changes to the outside of a home need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city, and the city suggests meeting its historic preservation planner first. If you plan new windows, a porch or an addition, build that review into your timeline.
Century-old homes usually need a 4-point inspection for insurance. Updated wiring, plumbing and roof make a big difference in which insurers will quote.
On a home built before 1978, the VA appraiser will call for any peeling or chipping paint to be fixed before closing. Ask the seller to handle it as part of the deal.
Alachua County has one countywide school district, so Gainesville and every town around it are served by the same district.
| School district | Serves | State grade (2025–26) |
|---|---|---|
| Alachua County school district | Gainesville, Newberry, Alachua, High Springs, Archer, Micanopy | B |
District grades are the Florida Department of Education’s A–F school grades. Attendance zones follow the address, not the city name, so check the district and school for any home before you make an offer.
Nearest VA care: Malcom Randall VA Medical Center (SW Archer Road, Gainesville) · Lake City VA Medical Center (South Marion Avenue, Lake City), plus VA clinics nearby.
SW Archer Road, Gainesville
SW 34th Street, Gainesville
SW 34th Street, Gainesville
SW 64th Street, Gainesville
NW 98th Street, Gainesville
NW 23rd Avenue, Gainesville
South Marion Avenue, Lake City
Locations from VA.gov. Services change, so confirm with the VA before you count on a specific clinic.
In Alachua County, homeowners pay about 0.96% of their home’s value in property tax each year on average. That average is held down by Florida’s homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap, which limits how fast a homestead’s assessed value can rise. When a home sells, its value resets to market value, so a new buyer usually pays more than the seller did, and two homes a mile apart can differ a lot.
| Who qualifies | Florida exemption |
|---|---|
| Service-connected disability of 10% or more | $5,000 off assessed value |
| Age 65 or older with a combat-related disability | Tax discount equal to your disability percentage |
| Service-connected total and permanent disability | Full exemption on your homestead |
What that’s worth in Gainesville: on a $275,000 to $325,000 home in Alachua County at the county’s average 0.96% effective rate, a full exemption removes at least $2,600 to $3,100 a year in property taxes. A new buyer’s bill is usually higher than that average, so the real savings is often more.
You apply with the county property appraiser once you own and live in the home. How Florida’s exemptions work
Average effective rates are median property taxes paid divided by median home value for owner-occupied homes, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates. They include exemptions and caps current owners already receive.
In Florida, insurance often changes your payment more than the interest rate does. Get quotes early, while you can still walk away. Homeowners insurance on a Florida VA loan
A wind mitigation report documents features like roof shape, roof-to-wall connections and storm shutters or impact windows. Insurers give credits for them, and the savings can be large. Ask the seller for a recent one or order your own.
On older homes, insurers often require a 4-point inspection of the roof, electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling. An older roof can make a home hard to insure, so ask its age first. The VA appraisal also checks the roof.
If the home is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone, flood insurance is required. Even outside those zones, flood coverage is worth pricing near the coast, rivers and low areas. An elevation certificate can lower the cost.
When a named storm threatens the area, insurers can stop writing new policies until it passes. If you’re closing during hurricane season, bind your policy early so a storm doesn’t delay your closing.
Buying a condo? It has to be VA-approved, and Florida’s condo safety laws now require structural inspections and funded reserves for many buildings three stories or taller, which is raising dues and special assessments. My team checks the association before you commit. VA condo approval in Florida
Gainesville gives Veterans a college town with a VA medical center, a ring of VA clinics and quick access to North Florida’s springs.
Disabled Veterans can combine federal and Florida benefits that most buyers never hear about. Together they can lower your cash to close and your yearly taxes.
Waiting on a claim? Tell my team. Your expected rating can change your funding fee and your taxes, so we plan around it.
You can earn VA loan eligibility through six years of Guard or Reserve service, or through qualifying active-duty time such as a federal activation. Your Certificate of Eligibility confirms it, and my team can pull it for you. VA loan eligibility
If your spouse died in service or from a service-connected disability, you may be eligible for a VA loan with the same $0 down benefit. Surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) don’t pay the funding fee, and Florida’s disabled Veteran property tax exemptions can continue for an eligible surviving spouse. We handle these files with extra care. VA loans for surviving spouses
You don’t have to sell it to buy in Gainesville. Your remaining entitlement can often buy your next home with $0 down while the first one stays a rental. VA entitlement calculator
A VA streamline refinance (IRRRL) can lower the rate on your current VA loan with less paperwork. A VA cash-out refinance lets you use your equity for repairs or debts.
Some Gainesville sellers have older VA loans with low rates you may be able to take over. The seller’s loan servicer handles the assumption itself. My team can finance the second loan that covers the gap between the loan balance and the price. Assumable loan calculator
Moving again later? You can keep your Gainesville home as a rental and keep its VA loan and rate in place. Your homestead exemption ends when it stops being your home, so plan for higher taxes on a rental.
Alachua County has more than 26,000 septic systems, and many rural homes have a private well. The VA appraisal checks the water supply and septic, and a water test may be required. Get a septic inspection too.
North Central Florida sits on limestone, and sinkholes do happen. Florida homeowners policies cover a sudden ground cover collapse, but broader sinkhole coverage is often extra. Ask about it when you price insurance.
Many Gainesville lots have large oaks and pines. Insurers and the VA appraiser both look at the roof, and limbs over it can raise questions. Budget for trimming if the trees are close.
You’ll see plenty of manufactured homes on the rural roads around Archer and High Springs. A VA loan can cover one fixed to a permanent foundation when you hold title to the land beneath it, but not a home on rented land, a park model or an RV. VA loans for manufactured homes
Newberry, Alachua, High Springs and the west side of Gainesville have land and new communities for Veterans who want a new home. A VA one-time-close construction loan covers the land and the build in one loan: $0 down up to $1 million, with a 620 minimum credit score. New homes built to Florida’s current wind codes are often easier and cheaper to insure.
Nothing, if you have full VA entitlement. There is no VA loan limit with full entitlement and no monthly mortgage insurance. The VA funding fee can be rolled into the loan, and Veterans who receive VA disability compensation are exempt from it.
Yes. You can be pre-approved, shop remotely and close before you arrive, as long as you intend to move in and make the home your primary residence, usually within about 60 days. Retirement pay, VA disability pay and Social Security all count as income.
There is no minimum credit score on a standard VA purchase or refinance with my team. We look first at your residual income, the money left each month after your housing payment and bills. VA construction loans start at a 620 score.
Florida Veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability can be fully exempt from property taxes on their homestead. Veterans rated 10% or more get $5,000 off their home’s assessed value. Veterans 65 or older with a combat-related disability can get a discount equal to their disability percentage. These come on top of Florida’s regular homestead exemption.
Florida’s Save Our Homes cap limits how fast a homestead’s assessed value can rise while the owner keeps it. When the home sells, the value resets to market value for the new owner. So the seller’s tax bill can be much lower than yours will be. My team estimates your taxes on the price you pay, not the seller’s bill.
Often, yes. If you keep your current VA home as a rental, your remaining entitlement can usually buy your Gainesville home with $0 down up to a certain price. Above that, you put 25% down on the difference. My team checks your exact numbers from your Certificate of Eligibility.
Yes, if you are an eligible surviving spouse, for example of a service member who died in service or from a service-connected disability. Surviving spouses who receive DIC are exempt from the VA funding fee.
Yes, as long as the property is mainly your home and not a farm business. Expect a private well and septic system on most rural parcels, which the VA appraisal checks, and the appraiser has to find comparable sales for land like yours.
VA construction loan
Shirley and her team were an absolute pleasure to work with. They helped my wife and I obtain a VA Construction Loan which gave us the ability to build our dream home.
Agent referral · VA purchase
Shirley was excellent to work with on our client’s VA home loan. VA loans can be tricky and it is so important to work with a loan officer that knows them well. Shirley did an excellent job!
VA purchase
Ms. Shirley and her team are the BEST. Clear communication, specialized VA knowledge, responsiveness, and reduced stress. Thank you all for your help .
VA one-time-close construction loan
Some agents on my team were more responsive than others. But the VA One Time Close Construction Loan is a big and complicated one. A lot of waiting involved and some miscommunication, but that happens with project like this. I believe Shirley’s team handled my loan better than any other lender I could have used. In the end, I know I was in good hands.
Problem solved fast
Ms Shirley and her team were among the top teir customer service representatives I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I'll admit, I was apprehensive at first, given the number of people that had their hands in everything. Tends to lead to confusion and things getting messed up, which takes time to fix. I brought an issue to Ms Shirley and without hesitation, calls the team members involved and conferences the issue. Absolutely stunned when that happened. This goes to show you the dedication of this team and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone! Thank you and I can't say it enough. Still hope for humanity yet.
First home · VA purchase
Absolutely top notch!!! This being our first home, I had no idea what to expect, and to be honest the thought of getting through this was quite stressful! This entire process from start to finish has been nothing short of amazing and stress-free. Everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful! All of my questions and concerns were addressed quickly and promptly! You have all made this veterans dream of home ownership come true, what a pleasure this journey has been! Thank you all!!
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