Short answer: no. A non-veteran cannot get a zero-down VA loan because a relative is a veteran. The entitlement belongs to the veteran personally. It does not transfer to a brother-in-law, an uncle, or a child, and being related to a veteran does not let you skip the down payment. (The narrow exception in VA's rules covers certain surviving spouses, which does not apply here.) There is a real structure that gets close. A veteran and a non-veteran who are not married can buy together on a joint VA loan. VA guarantees only the veteran's share, so that portion can be financed with nothing down, while the non-veteran's share carries no guaranty and generally requires a down payment. On a roughly 50/50 split, the math tends to land around 12.5% down on the total price, though the exact figure varies with the number of borrowers and how the lender sizes the gap. Confirm the current VA requirements, since specifics change. Know going in that these joint loans are more involved. They must go through prior approval directly from the VA rather than automated underwriting, so they take more time and need a lender who has actually closed them; many will not touch them at all. We have done a few. If a VA purchase is on the table, a free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes) is where we would run your specific scenario.