Materials Posted
Introduction | Presentation | Recording | VA Home Loan Resources | VA Loan Limits
If you are not a Veteran or mortgage lender, you may not be aware of all the great features of VA loans, or the specific assistance VA can provide to Veteran borrowers who are having trouble making their mortgage payments. Join the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for the “Housing Resources for Hero’s: An in-depth overview and discussion on the VA Home Loan Guaranty benefit.
This webinar, the first in the “2016 Veterans Resources Summer Series”, will provide general information on the VA Home Loan Guaranty benefit, program and loan eligibility, and the actions Veterans can take to obtain a VA-guaranteed home loan. The webinar will also feature a panel discuss on the assistance that may be available to Veterans who are having trouble making their monthly mortgage payments. Participants will have ample opportunity following presentations to ask questions of the subject matter experts.
The VA home loan program was part of the original GI Bill of Rights in 1944, and is credited with helping create suburban America and the American middle-class. Since 1944, VA has guaranteed over 22 Million home loans for over 16 Million Veterans and their families. Roughly 80-percent of Veterans are homeowners, and VA loans comprise about 10-percent of new loans in the current market. While many VA loans are made in urban or suburban areas, a sizeable portion — over 15 percent — are made to Veterans living in rural areas.
VA loans are made by private-sector mortgage companies or banks– VA provides a guaranty backing on the loan that essentially takes the place of a down payment. VA loans are the only major loan product in the market that does not require a down payment. VA loans may be used to purchase a home, refinance an existing loan, build a home, or make energy efficient improvements. Interest rates on VA loans are generally lower than rates for other mortgage types, and VA limits the amount of fees and charges a borrower can be charged as part of the transaction. Flexible underwriting criteria (such as no minimum FICO requirement) may make qualifying for a VA loan easier than for another type of loan. VA loans are also ‘reusable’—a Veteran may use the benefit multiple times throughout his or her life. In addition to maximizing Veterans’ opportunities to obtain home loans, VA is committed to ensuring all defaulted VA borrowers receive every opportunity to avoid foreclosure.
