VA Loans in Marietta, GA: What Military Buyers Should Know
How Does a VA Loan Work for Buyers in Marietta, GA?
A VA loan lets eligible service members, veterans, and some surviving spouses buy a home in Marietta or Cobb County with zero down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. In exchange, the VA requires a stricter appraisal that checks the home's condition against its Minimum Property Requirements, and you'll pay a one-time VA funding fee (2.3% of the loan amount for most first-time users with no money down as of 2026, more for repeat use, less if you put money down). Georgia's standard due diligence period and closing process still apply, with one added protection: the VA amendatory clause, which lets you walk away with your earnest money if the appraisal comes in low.
TL;DR
- Zero down payment and no PMI, but a VA funding fee applies: 2.3% of the loan on a first use with nothing down, 3.6% on a repeat use, dropping to 1.65% or 1.40% if you put down 5% or 10%.
- The VA appraisal checks Minimum Property Requirements (roof, electrical, heating, moisture, peeling paint on pre-1978 homes) in addition to value, and it typically takes longer than a conventional appraisal.
- The VA amendatory clause is mandatory on every contract and lets you cancel and keep your earnest money if the appraised value comes in under the purchase price.
- Georgia requires a wood-destroying insect (termite) report on VA purchases since the state falls in a "very heavy" infestation zone, but who pays for it is negotiable, not automatic.
- A VA offer competes fine in Cobb County when it's written correctly with a local lender and a loan contingency exhibit sellers actually understand.
Marietta sits next to Dobbins Air Reserve Base and the Lockheed Martin plant that shares its runway, which means I work with active duty, reserve, and retired military buyers more than almost anyone outside a base town would expect. Most of them have the same handful of questions once they find a house they like: what does this loan actually cost, why is the appraisal taking so long, and will my offer even get taken seriously in this market. Here's what I tell every VA buyer before we write an offer.
Living Near Dobbins and Lockheed: Why So Many VA Buyers Land in Marietta
If you're relocating for a position at Dobbins, Lockheed Martin, or one of the defense contractors clustered around Cobb County, Marietta is usually the shortest commute. Kennesaw and Acworth run a close second and third for buyers who want more square footage for the money and don't mind another 10 to 15 minutes on I-75.
Kennesaw's median sale price has been running around $363,576 (Redfin, June 2026), and the same VA math applies whether you land there, in Marietta, or further out toward Acworth. What changes is your commute and your lot size, not your loan.
If you're coming from a duty station in California or the Northeast, the price difference alone is usually the first thing that gets you off the fence. What surprises most relocating buyers isn't the price. It's how differently the VA loan process runs compared to what they used the last time they bought, especially if their last purchase was years ago or in another state.
The VA Appraisal in Cobb County: What Gets Checked and What Can Delay You
A VA appraisal does two jobs at once. It confirms the home is worth what you're paying, and it checks the property against the VA's Minimum Property Requirements, which are a baseline safety and livability standard the home has to meet before the VA will guarantee the loan.
That second part is what catches buyers off guard. A conventional appraisal is mostly about value. A VA appraisal can flag things a conventional buyer would never think twice about.
VA Minimum Property Requirements Sellers Get Wrong
The issues I see most often on Cobb County homes, especially the older inventory around Marietta and east Kennesaw, are:
- Peeling or chipping exterior paint on homes built before 1978, which the VA treats as a lead paint hazard regardless of whether the home has ever tested positive
- Roof condition with visible wear, missing shingles, or remaining life the appraiser can't confirm
- Non-functional or unsafe electrical, heating, or cooling systems
- Moisture or ventilation problems in crawl spaces and attics
- Standing water or poor drainage around the foundation
- Missing handrails on stairs with more than a few steps
None of these are dealbreakers. Most get resolved with a repair addendum before closing, and sellers who want a clean sale usually just fix them. But they can add a week or two to your timeline, so I flag likely issues during the showing, before you're locked into a contract with a hard closing date.
The VA Escape Clause: Your Built-In Appraisal Protection
Every VA contract includes a VA amendatory clause, sometimes called the escape clause, and it can't be waived the way an appraisal contingency can on a conventional offer. If the VA appraisal comes in below your contract price, you have the right to cancel and get your earnest money back in full. You're never forced to make up the gap out of pocket to keep the deal alive.
That's a real advantage over a conventional buyer who waived their appraisal contingency to win a bidding war and then found themselves stuck. If you want the deeper mechanics of what happens when any Cobb County appraisal comes in low, including how sellers usually respond, I broke that down in Low Appraisal in Cobb County, GA: What to Do Next.
What a VA Loan Actually Costs in Marietta
The zero-down-payment part is real. But the VA funding fee is the line item first-time VA buyers usually don't see coming, since it doesn't show up on a Zillow mortgage calculator.
Here's what it looks like on a $364,000 purchase, based on the 2026 VA funding fee schedule:
| Down Payment | Use | Funding Fee Rate | Fee on $364,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% down | First use | 2.3% | $8,372 |
| 0% down | Subsequent use | 3.6% | $13,104 |
| 5% down | First use | 1.65% | $5,706* |
| 10% down | First use | 1.40% | $4,586* |
*Calculated on the reduced loan amount after the down payment.
The funding fee can be rolled into your loan amount instead of paid at closing, which is what most of my VA buyers do. Veterans receiving VA disability compensation are exempt from the fee entirely, and your lender can confirm your exemption status directly with the VA.
Beyond the funding fee, VA buyers pay the same categories of Georgia closing costs as anyone else: the attorney closing fee, the intangible recording tax, prepaid taxes and insurance, and a title search. I walked through every line item, including what's customarily seller-paid versus buyer-paid in Georgia, in Buyer Closing Costs in Cobb County, GA: What to Expect.
One cost that's specific to VA buyers here: Georgia is classified as a "very heavy" termite infestation zone, so a wood-destroying insect report is required on every VA purchase in the state. Since June 2022, the VA allows either the buyer or the seller to pay for it, so it's negotiable rather than automatic. I put it in the offer as a seller-paid item whenever the market allows it.
How a VA Offer Competes in Cobb County's Market
I still hear the myth that VA offers are automatically weaker than conventional or cash offers. That's mostly outdated. What actually matters to a seller is whether the buyer is fully underwritten, working with a lender who knows VA loans specifically, and represented by an agent who can explain the amendatory clause and the appraisal timeline before it becomes a surprise mid-contract.
The Georgia GAR contract handles VA financing through a loan contingency exhibit attached to your offer, and it works alongside the state's standard due diligence period, not instead of it. You still get your negotiated window to inspect the home and exit for any reason, and the VA appraisal and MPR review happen on their own track. If you want the full rundown on how that due diligence window works and what it protects for buyers regardless of loan type, that's covered in Georgia Due Diligence Period: Can Cobb County Buyers Back Out?
The offers that lose out usually aren't losing because they're VA loans. They're losing because the paperwork wasn't tight, the pre-approval wasn't current, or the seller's agent had a bad experience with a VA file once and never got a clear explanation of why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a VA loan buyer compete with cash offers in Marietta?
Yes, when the file is clean. A VA pre-approval from a lender experienced with military buyers, a competitive offer price, and an agent who can walk the seller's side through the amendatory clause up front puts a VA buyer on close to equal footing with most financed offers, though a true all-cash offer with no contingencies at all will usually still win on speed alone.
Who pays closing costs on a VA loan in Georgia?
Buyers and sellers split costs the same way they would on any Georgia purchase, with the seller customarily covering the transfer tax and the buyer covering their attorney fee, lender fees, and prepaids. The VA also limits certain fees a lender can charge you directly, and caps total seller-paid concessions at 4% of the loan amount for specific cost categories, though the seller can still pay ordinary closing costs outside that cap.
Does a VA loan still require a Georgia due diligence period?
Yes. The due diligence period is a Georgia contract right that applies regardless of loan type, giving you a negotiated window to inspect the property and exit for any reason. The VA appraisal and Minimum Property Requirements review run separately from that window, not in place of it.
What happens if the VA appraisal comes in lower than my offer?
Your VA amendatory clause lets you cancel the contract and get your full earnest money back, or you can try to renegotiate the price with the seller, cover the gap yourself if you choose to, or request a second appraisal if you believe the first was flawed. You're never obligated to close at a price above the appraised value.
Is a termite inspection required for a VA loan in Marietta and Kennesaw?
Yes. Georgia's entire footprint, including Cobb County, falls in the VA's "very heavy" termite probability zone, so a wood-destroying insect report is required on every VA purchase here. Who pays for it is negotiated as part of the offer rather than assigned automatically. For more on how Kennesaw's buyer market has been running lately, visit the community page.
Buying with a VA loan in Marietta comes down to the same fundamentals as any purchase here, just with a few extra protections and a couple of extra line items you need to plan for ahead of time. The appraisal process, the funding fee, and the amendatory clause all work in your favor once you understand them, and none of them should slow down a well-prepared offer.
If you're relocating to Marietta with a VA loan, whether you're PCSing to Dobbins, starting at Lockheed, or just ready to use your benefit, I'll walk you through exactly what your offer needs to look like and what your numbers come out to before you write anything. Schedule a consultation with me, Robert Masoudpour, Associate Broker in Atlanta, GA, and get a clear, personalized plan built around your VA benefit and this market. Schedule a 15-minute consultation
