A down payment may or may not be required depending on the overall profile of your loan and how much of a purchase price the new home will be. I have had borrowers with only first year FO pay qualify for pricey homes, but they had very little other debt and a significant down payment. I have also qualified borrowers with 1st year FO pay with NO money down if the purchase price isn't too out of bounds and there isn't much other debt. General rule of thumb with VA financing is that the debt ratio (total debt including your mortgage payment principal + interest + taxes + insurance + any applicable HOA dues) does not exceed 55% of your gross income. You can qualify over 55%, but there need to be mitigating circumstances on the file (high credit scores, strong assets, selling a home which will drop the overall debt ratio, pay increase once hit 2nd year pay, etc..).