Help In Difficult Times

Recently there have been home owners across the United States that have found it difficult to make their mortgages payments, but thanks to quick intervention by financial counselors with the Department of Veterans Affairs, military members and veterans have been saved from defaulting on their home loans.

“The VA is taking steps to reach out to veterans. Those whom use our home-loan guarantee programs to keep people in their homes, regardless if they have used our services or not. No one deserves to lose their home when they have fought for their country” said a Veterans Affairs spokesperson. “We can be proud of the VA’s record of helping this countries veteran’s and active-duty men and women deal with this current financial crises.”

Help When You Need It

The VA accounts for much of their success in its financial assistance counselors which are positioned at nine regional loan centers across the country that assist people with guaranteed loans through the VA avoid foreclosure. This is done through individual counseling and specific financing arrangements. These counselors are also available to assist veterans with other financial problems. Through the Department of Veterans Affairs, financial counselors have assisted more than 74,000 veterans and active-duty military members as well as their survivors keep their homes for nine years saving the government more than $1.5 billion.

Depending on the veterans specific circumstances the Department of Veterans Affairs can intercede on behalf of the borrower to pursue a myriad of different options, such as structured repayment plans and modifications to the home loan, allowing the veteran to keep their home.

Since the inception of the original G.I. Bill in 1944, the Department of Veterans Affairs has guaranteed more than 18 million home loans for an excess of $911 billion, with more than 135,000 veterans, active-duty servicemen and women as well as survivors receiving loans for more than $24 billion.

More than 2.3 million home loans are still in effect, purchased through VA’s home-loan guarantee program, have made home loans more affordable for veterans and active-duty members by protecting the lenders from loss if the borrower defaults on the loan. According to VA research, more than 90 percent of home loans acquired with VA assistance were awarded without down payment.