As part of a VA loan application, the Arizona congressmen pledged the D.C. home was his ‘principal’ residence.// Gage Skidmore
DANIEL LIPPMAN
POLITICO
When Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego bought a house near Capitol Hill last year, he claimed the Washington property as his primary residence as part of a special mortgage rate afforded to military veterans.
But Gallego and his wife also say a home they own in Phoenix is their primary residence.
The loan documents for the Washington property, obtained by POLITICO, confirmed he counts D.C. as his primary home even though his campaign maintains he resides in Arizona. Politically, it means the Democratic congressman aiming to take out Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in a hotly contested race next year may have to explain why he declared he was primarily a resident of the nation’s capital.
Gallego signed terms for a Veterans Affairs-backed loan in which he agreed to “occupy, establish, and use the Property as [the] Borrower’s principal residence within 60 days,” according to the loan document.
The program is designed to provide veterans with favorable loan rates on houses used as primary residences. According to the terms, Gallego was given a $940,000, VA-guaranteed loan in a mortgage market where interest rates have surged. Such loans come with benefits: they allow veterans to put very little or no money down. In addition, rates are typically slightly lower, mortgage insurance fees can be waived and overall loan costs can be lower.
