We're rewriting our FHA vs VA loans comparison for 2026 with a focus on real decision points that competing articles skip or oversimplify. We're looking for working VA loan officers (especially Certified Veterans Lending Specialists or equivalent), HUD-approved housing counselors, and real estate agents who specialize in veteran and military buyers to share specific examples and on-the-record perspectives. Questions (please answer 2–3 in detail with real examples): 1. Walk through a specific scenario where you advised a VA-eligible buyer to use FHA instead — what was the property or situation, and what would have gone wrong on the VA side? 2. When a seller or listing agent pushes back on a VA offer, what tactics have worked to keep the deal alive? Concession structures, escalation language, MPR-readiness conversations — anything you've used successfully. 3. Tidewater and ROV are unique VA protections that most consumer articles fail to explain clearly. Walk through the most recent one you handled and what the borrower and their agent should have understood going in. 4. What's the most common red flag that signals a lender is steering a VA-eligible borrower into FHA, and what question should a borrower ask to verify the loan officer actually knows VA? 5. Where do VA-eligible buyers leave the most money on the table? Funding fee tier optimization, residual income, state-level disability tax exemptions, lender overlays — what's the one thing you wish every veteran understood when shopping for a mortgage?