Using Your BAH to Buy in Huntsville: VA Loan Basics

A lot of service members coming to Redstone Arsenal ask the same question: can my housing allowance go toward a mortgage instead of rent? Sometimes it can. Whether it makes sense depends on your rate, your timeline and the home. Here's how to look up the numbers yourself and what to ask a lender. We're real estate agents, not lenders, so treat this as a starting point.

Step one: look up your BAH

Basic Allowance for Housing depends on your pay grade, whether you have dependents and the ZIP code of your permanent duty station. The official source is the Defense Travel Management Office BAH lookup on travel.dod.mil. You enter the year and the duty station ZIP code, and it shows the rates.

Redstone Arsenal's installation addresses use ZIP code 35898. Use the duty station ZIP on your orders when you look up your rate.

Some context on 2026: the Department of War announced that 2026 BAH rates rose by an average of 4.2 percent, effective January 1, 2026. That's a national average. Your Huntsville rate is whatever the DTMO tool shows for your grade, so plan with that number. The same release notes that BAH keeps a member cost-sharing element of five percent of the national average housing cost by pay grade, which means BAH isn't designed to cover every dollar of housing cost.

Step two: understand the VA home loan

According to VA.gov, a VA home loan may offer better terms than a traditional loan from a private lender, and nearly 90 percent of VA-backed loans are made with no down payment. VA offers a direct loan program and three VA-backed loan types for buying, building, improving or refinancing a home.

A few basics before you talk to a lender:

The Certificate of Eligibility (COE). VA calls the COE the first step in getting a VA-backed home loan. It confirms for your lender that you qualify. You can request it online, your lender may be able to get it through VA's Web LGY system, or you can mail VA Form 26-1880. Mail requests may take longer.

The funding fee. The VA funding fee is a one-time payment on a VA-backed or VA direct loan. VA says it helps lower the cost of the program to taxpayers, since VA loans don't require a down payment or monthly mortgage insurance. Some borrowers don't pay it, including those receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability. VA.gov has the full list and current fee charts.

Closing costs. VA loans still have closing costs. VA.gov's funding fee and closing costs page explains them, and your lender will spell them out for your loan.

Step three: build a budget with your lender

Here's how we'd think about BAH and a mortgage, and the questions to bring to a lender who closes VA loans in Alabama regularly.

• Look at the full monthly payment. Principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance and any HOA dues. Our mortgage calculator is a quick way to rough it out.
• Plan for the years after you leave. Orders change. Think about whether you'd sell or rent the home out if you PCS again, and talk through both with your lender.
• Know the tax calendar. In Alabama, property taxes are due October 1 and delinquent after December 31, according to the Alabama Department of Revenue. In Madison County, the homestead exemption requires the home to be your primary residence on October 1 of the tax year, and the deadline to apply is December 31.
• Get pre-approved before you come down. It makes a short house-hunting trip far more productive.

If you'd like a starting point, our preferred lender is Logan Hoffman of Novus Home Mortgage (NMLS #1771803), 256-585-5984. You're free to choose any lender.

Before you sign anything

If you're military, contact Redstone's Housing Services Office first. Military OneSource says new arrivals must check with the HSO before making housing arrangements, and asks that you contact it before signing any lease or rental or sales contract for off-post housing. The HSO is at the One Stop, Building 3494 on Honest John Road, 256-876-6666.

Where the homes are

Once you know your budget, we can match it to areas and gates. Our PCS to Redstone Arsenal guide walks through the move from orders to keys. Moving to Huntsville for Redstone Arsenal covers the areas people commute from. Considering a new build? See New Construction Near Redstone.

Tell us your BAH, your timeline and what you want in a home, and we'll put together a starting list. Get the Huntsville relocation guide or call The Nicolaou Group at Capstone Realty at 256.993.5800.

Sources

• Defense Travel Management Office, BAH and BAH rate lookup: https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/
• Department of War, "Department of War Releases 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing Rates" (Dec. 11, 2025): https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4357076/department-of-war-releases-2026-basic-allowance-for-housing-rates/
• Military OneSource, Redstone Arsenal check-in (installation ZIP 35898): https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/redstone-arsenal/base-essentials/check-in-procedures
• VA.gov, VA home loans: https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/
• VA.gov, How to request a COE: https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/how-to-request-coe/
• VA.gov, Funding fee and closing costs: https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs/
• Alabama Department of Revenue, When are my property taxes due?: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/faqs/when-are-my-property-taxes-due/
• Madison County Tax Assessor, Homestead Exemption Information: https://www.madisoncountyal.gov/departments/tax-assessor/homestead-exemptions
• Redstone Arsenal, For Newcomers (HSO at One Stop, Building 3494): https://home.army.mil/redstone/my-fort/newcomers. Military OneSource, Redstone Arsenal Housing (HSO): https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/redstone-arsenal/housing/housing