Your West Virginia
Mortgage, Handled.
One county line in the Eastern Panhandle separates a $1,249,125 loan limit from $832,750. Jefferson County is the only high cost county in West Virginia, and the state assistance that helps everywhere else stops at a $350,000 purchase price.
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Lending Across West Virginia
We lend in all 55 counties. Most of our volume runs through the three Eastern Panhandle counties, where buyers are commuting into the Washington metro or working at the federal facilities around Martinsburg.
The only West Virginia county inside the Washington metro, and the only one above the baseline. Its loan limit is higher than anywhere in Maryland outside the DC suburbs.
The commuter volume county. Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro, a large federal employment base, and the part of the panhandle where the state price cap still clears most of the market.
The smallest panhandle county and the one with the lowest state assistance price ceiling, which is worth checking before you write an offer rather than after.
University driven, so the rental and second home questions come up more often here than anywhere else in the state.
The state capital and its largest housing market. Older stock, which is where renovation financing and appraisal condition come into the conversation.
A medical and university employment base on the Ohio border, and a market where the state assistance programs still fit most purchase prices comfortably.
Buying anywhere else in West Virginia? The loan limit is the same in all 54 counties outside Jefferson, so the conversation moves from limits to program eligibility and property condition.
Call or textState Programs That Reach Most of the State
West Virginia runs its help through one agency, the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, and the assistance is a second mortgage rather than a grant.
The assistance is a loan, not a gift. The Low Down Home Loan is a 15 year second mortgage at 2% with its own monthly payment. That is still good money, it is simply not free money, and the price ceiling is what rules most Jefferson County buyers out rather than the income test.
Covers down payment and closing costs at 2% interest over 15 years. It is available only alongside a WVHDF first mortgage, never as a standalone second behind another lender.
The Fund’s main first mortgage. It can finance up to 100% of the purchase price, and it is the loan the Low Down Home Loan attaches to.
The Fund’s moderate income program for buyers who already own or have owned. The Low Down Home Loan can attach to this one as well.
This is the number that decides whether any of the above is usable. Effective 2 January 2026 the non targeted price limit is $350,000 in Jefferson and Berkeley and $300,000 in Morgan.
A $1,249,125 loan limit and a $350,000 assistance ceiling
Jefferson County can borrow more than almost anywhere in the region and qualify for state help on almost none of it. The two numbers are set by different bodies for different reasons and they do not talk to each other. If you are buying in Charles Town or Shepherdstown, assume the state programs are out and plan the down payment around a conventional or VA structure instead.
Talk through the optionsProgram terms from the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, verified September 2026. Price limits effective 2 January 2026. WVHDF interest rates are repriced regularly and are deliberately not quoted here. Confirm current rates and income limits with the Fund or with us before you rely on them.
Closing in Maryland instead? The Maryland Mortgage Program uses its own income caps, and Maryland splits the transfer tax differently from West Virginia.
Every Mortgage Option, One Team
The 2026 conforming limit is $832,750 in 54 of the 55 counties and $1,249,125 in Jefferson. Which program fits is usually decided by the down payment and the property condition, not the limit.
The default for most West Virginia purchases. The 2026 limit is $832,750 statewide, rising to $1,249,125 in Jefferson County because it sits inside the Washington metro.
West Virginia has a large veteran population and a heavy federal employment base in the panhandle. With full entitlement there is no loan limit at all.
Useful on older housing stock and for buyers rebuilding credit. FHA publishes its own county limits on a separate table from the conforming one, so check yours before assuming.
A lot of West Virginia inventory is older than the buyer. Renovation financing rolls the repairs into the mortgage instead of leaving you to find cash after closing.
Above $832,750 in most of the state, or above $1,249,125 in Jefferson County, the loan becomes jumbo and the underwriting standards change.
Worth a look whenever rates move or when renovation cash is the reason rather than the rate.
Send us the county, the price and your down payment and we will tell you which programs are actually open to you before you write an offer.
Get pre-approvedWhat the Transfer Tax Actually Costs
West Virginia charges a state excise tax on the transfer and lets each county add its own on top. The statute sets a floor and a ceiling, and where your county lands inside that range is a local decision.
| Purchase price | State excise at $1.10 per $500 | If the county adds the maximum $1.65 per $500 | Combined at the statutory maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $440 | $660 | $1,100 |
| $300,000 | $660 | $990 | $1,650 |
| $350,000 | $770 | $1,155 | $1,925 |
| $500,000 | $1,100 | $1,650 | $2,750 |
| $832,750 | $1,833 | $2,749 | $4,582 |
Rates from West Virginia Code 11-22-2, which sets the state excise at $1.10 for each $500 of value or fraction thereof and authorizes counties to impose an additional tax of up to $1.65 for each $500. Not every county levies the maximum, and which side of the table pays is set by your contract, so treat the right hand column as a worst case rather than a quote.
Serving Those Who Serve
The Eastern Panhandle sits inside the Washington commute and carries a heavy federal and Coast Guard employment base around Martinsburg. VA loans come up here more often than the state’s size suggests.
VA loan entitlement rules from VA.gov. Funding fee exemptions depend on service history and disability status. Base and facility locations are given for orientation only and are not endorsements.
West Virginia Mortgage Questions, Answered
The questions we field most often from panhandle and statewide buyers.
Send us the county and the price point and we will give you the real numbers rather than a range.
Call (571) 621-5413Selling Your West Virginia Home Too?
Buying in West Virginia usually means selling something first. The Jamil Brothers Realty Team offers full service listings from 1.5%. The listing side is handled by the realty team and the financing by the Ken Byrne Team at ALCOVA Mortgage, and that is what makes a simultaneous sale and purchase easier to time.
Listings from 1.5%
Listing services are provided by the Jamil Brothers Realty Team. Mortgage financing is provided by the Ken Byrne Team at ALCOVA Mortgage. The two are separate businesses working the same transaction.
We are a West Virginia mortgage lender licensed across the region, so an Eastern Panhandle search that drifts into Virginia stays with the same team.