10/22/2026
🇺🇸 152 VA ONE-TIME CLOSE CONSTRUCTION LOANS. $92,238,567 FUNDED. 🇺🇸
And it all started with a loan that two other mortgage originators couldn’t close.
Next week, I’ll be speaking at the VAREP National Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, where I’ll be giving a 90-minute presentation on VA One-Time Close construction lending.
While preparing for that presentation, I did something I’ve never actually done before.
I went back and counted every VA One-Time Close construction loan I’ve personally originated and funded since I started doing them in 2022.
The results surprised even me.
🇺🇸 152 VA construction loans funded
🏡 $92,238,567 in total loan volume
📅 March 2022 – Present
And here’s what’s interesting about those numbers.
They ONLY represent VA One-Time Close construction loans that closed under my name.
They don’t include the countless files I’ve worked on that never closed or ultimately became a different loan product.
They don’t include construction loans originated by members of my team, other Supreme Lending branches, or even loan officers at other companies whom I’ve advised or assisted in helping a veteran build a home.
These are just MY funded VA One-Time Close construction loans.
HOW DID THIS ALL START?
In March 2022, I closed my very first VA construction loan.
It was a rescue.
Two other mortgage originators had already failed to get the loan closed, and the veteran was so frustrated that he’d filed complaints against them.
I took over the file, figured out what needed to happen, and got it across the finish line.
But I learned something much bigger from that experience.
Veterans needed access to VA construction loans, and the mortgage industry hadn’t figured out how to make the process work smoothly for both the veteran and the builder.
The loan itself was complicated. The process was confusing. Builders were frustrated. Veterans were being turned away.
And too many mortgage professionals were advertising a product they didn’t really understand.
I decided I wanted to change that.
I learned a tremendous amount from that first loan.
And then I learned more from the second.
And the third.
And every single one that followed.
Some were relatively straightforward. Others were absolute nightmares that required creative problem-solving, patience, and a willingness to do the work that other lenders didn’t want to do.
But every one of them taught me something.
Today, I have the privilege of leading the all-veteran team at Guerrilla Home Loans while serving as SVP of Construction Lending for Supreme Lending, helping develop and support construction lending operations across the country.
And we’re still learning, improving, and finding better ways to serve veterans and the builders who work with them.
NEXT STOP: JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 🇺🇸
Next week, I’ll have the opportunity to share some of what I’ve learned with lenders, Realtors, veterans, and other industry professionals at the VAREP National Conference.
Not just how VA construction loans work on paper.
But what actually happens when you try to close them in the real world.
The problems. The mistakes. The solutions. And the lessons learned from more than four years of doing some of the most challenging loans in our industry.
Because the goal was never simply to close more loans.
The goal was to make building a home with a VA loan a realistic, accessible option for the veterans who earned that benefit.
152 loans and more than $92 million later, that mission hasn’t changed.
And we’re just getting started.
🇺🇸 VETERANS SERVING VETERANS.
Sal Zagami NMLS 2055042
SVP of Construction Lending
Supreme Lending NMLS 2129
Branch Manager Guerrilla Home Loans
📞 502-443-5350
📧 [email protected]
🌐 SLGuerrillaHomeLoans.com
