Buying near Fort Bragg or Camp Lejeune: a checklist for military buyers

First, the name change

If you're searching listings, note that Fort Liberty became Fort Bragg again on February 14, 2025. Per the Army, the post is now named for Pvt. First Class Roland L. Bragg, a World War II soldier. You'll see both names in older listings and documents. Fort Bragg sits by Fayetteville in Cumberland County. Camp Lejeune is in Onslow County, next to Jacksonville.

Step 1: Line up your VA paperwork

Per the VA, an eligible buyer can purchase with no down payment and no private mortgage insurance. Your lender will request your Certificate of Eligibility. Gather these early:

• Your DD214 if you've left active duty (NCHFA uses it to prove honorable discharge for the veteran exception)
• A statement of service if you're still on active duty
• Your VA disability award letter, if you have one
• Your orders, if a move is coming

Step 2: Price the VA funding fee

The VA charges a one-time funding fee unless you're exempt. For a purchase with less than 5% down, it's 2.15% on first use and 3.3% after first use. It drops to 1.5% with 5% down and 1.25% with 10% down. You can finance it.

You don't pay it if you receive (or are eligible for) service-connected disability compensation, are a surviving spouse receiving DIC, have a pre-discharge rating, or are an active-duty Purple Heart recipient. On a $250,000 loan, 2.15% is $5,375, so check your exemption before you budget.

Step 3: Decide whether to add NCHFA help

VA needs no down payment, but you still have closing costs and prepaids. NCHFA's NC Home Advantage Mortgage accepts VA first mortgages, and you can add one of two types of help:

• Up to 3% of the loan, open to first-time and move-up buyers with income up to $158,000.
• $15,000 through NC 1st Home Advantage, if you meet the first-time-buyer rule or the veteran exception.

The veteran exception is one time only. You need 181 or more consecutive days of active duty, an honorable discharge, to apply before the 25th anniversary of leaving active service, and to own no other home at closing. Active-duty members who haven't owned a home in 3 years already count as first-time buyers.

The $15,000 option also has county income limits for total family income. Cumberland and Onslow both use $117,000 for 1 to 2 people and $137,000 for 3 or more. The price cap is $525,000.

Step 4: Time the closing to your orders

NCHFA requires the home to be your principal residence, occupied within 60 days of closing. Co-signers and non-occupant borrowers aren't allowed. That matters for military families:

• If you're PCSing in, close close to your report date so you can move in on time.
• If you might PCS out within a few years, remember that NCHFA's assistance is forgiven only in years 11 through 15. Selling or refinancing earlier means repaying the unforgiven part.
• Ask your lender how VA treats a spouse who moves in ahead of the service member. Your lender confirms VA's occupancy rules.

Step 5: Get your income counted right

For conventional loans, Freddie Mac says active-duty military need no minimum employment history. Spouses who just moved may have job gaps. FHA lets a lender count current income after a gap of 6 months or more if you've been back in your line of work at least 6 months and had 2 years of work before the gap. VA's own income rules aren't summarized here, so your lender confirms them.

Step 6: Plan for Onslow's coastal costs

Onslow County runs to the coast, with towns such as Swansboro, Holly Ridge and North Topsail Beach. Near the water, plan for:

• wind and hail coverage, which may be a separate policy with its own deductible
• flood insurance, which lenders generally require in a Special Flood Hazard Area
• a named storm deductible you can cover in cash

Get these quotes during your due diligence period. See our coastal insurance guide for the setup.

Step 7: Check local and lower-income help

If your household earns 80% of area median income or less, the Community Partners Loan Pool can add up to 25% of the price (capped at $50,000) when paired with an NC Home Advantage Mortgage. NCHFA's 2025 CPLP price limit for an existing home is $247,000 in both Cumberland and Onslow. Member groups that serve these counties include Kingdom CDC, NC Community Housing & Consulting and NC Indian Housing Authority in Cumberland, and the City of Jacksonville in Onslow.

Step 8: Claim your property tax break

If you're a veteran with a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability, or you receive specially adapted housing benefits, North Carolina excludes the first $45,000 of your home's assessed value from property tax. Per the N.C. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, you file Form NCDVA-9 (certified by a veterans service office) and Form AV-9 with your county tax office, due June 1 of the tax year.

What about Homes for Heroes?

Senate Bill 789 would give first-time buyers who are active-duty military or veterans, among others, up to the lesser of $25,000 or 10% of the price. As of November 2026 it is not law and not funded. Don't hold a purchase for it. See our Homes for Heroes guide for its status.

Have your orders and DD214 handy and check your eligibility to see what you can combine.

Reader questions

Other guides in this series

• How the North Carolina offer to purchase and due diligence period work
• How an attorney closing works in North Carolina
• North Carolina closing costs: a line-by-line worksheet for buyers
• NCHFA's 3% or $15,000 down payment help: how to choose and stack it
• Charlotte, the Triangle or the Triad: comparing first-home costs
• Setting up hurricane, wind and flood insurance on the North Carolina coast
• North Carolina property taxes on a first home, step by step
• North Carolina's Homes for Heroes bill: where it stands and what to use now
• Buying a manufactured home in North Carolina with down payment help