VA’s Home Loan Program is Thriving Says Shinseki

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has just announced that their Home Loan Program remains strong with the lowest rate for serious delinquency and foreclosures in the industry, according to a VA press release.

The federal government has succeeded in providing benefits for veterans such as the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program, which serve to provide military members and veterans with the opportunity to receive an education. Are you looking to get your degree? Check out the Top 25 Military-Friendly Colleges of 2010.

Veteran housing benefits are another one of the government’s great veteran benefits. The VA Home Loan Program make home ownership more affordable by permitting low or no down payment loans and by protecting lenders from loss if the borrower fails to repay the loan, according to the VA. VA home loan mortgage  benefits veterans by giving them an opportunity for home ownership that they might not have had otherwise.

The VA is committed to helping all veterans own a home and their veteran home loans are helping achieve that goal.

“The continued high performance of VA loans is due to the dedication of VA’s loan professionals, the support of our partners in the mortgage industry and most notably, the responsibility of our Veterans and their desire to maintain home ownership,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “VA is making good on its promise to help Veterans achieve the American dream of owning a home.”

There are currently 1.3 million veteran home loans that have been acquired through the VA’s Home Loan Guaranty Program. VA’s foreclosure rate for the previous eight quarters and serious delinquency rate for the last five consecutive quarters have been the lowest of all measured loan types, even prime loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey.

Veteran Affairs home loans are an incredible benefit for veterans to take advantage of and utilize. A veterans home mortgage can dramatically change the life of a veteran and provide them with the gift of home ownership. VA home mortgage loans are very attractive in part because the VA home loan interest rates are so great. Veterans can check online for the current VA home loan interest rate to see where it stands.

Every situation is different, but VA’s loan specialists can intervene on a veteran’s behalf to help attain home retention options such as repayment plans, forbearances and loan modifications. Or, when home retention is not possible, sometimes VA can help arrange a sale, or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, both of which are better options for veteran borrowers than foreclosure, according to VA.

VA gives credit for the success of home loans for veterans to the strength and efforts of the VA employees and loan servicers across the nation. The goal of the program is to “ensure all Veterans receive every possible opportunity to remain in their homes, avoid foreclosure, and protect their credit from the consequences of a foreclosure,” said Shinseki. Housing benefits for veterans remains a successful component of VA, and, hopefully, will continue to be in the future.

Veteran Administration home loan guaranties were first introduced in 1944 under the original GI Bill, and VA has guaranteed more than 18.8 million home loans worth $1.06 trillion since then.

If you’d like more VA home loan info about the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program, call VA at 1-877-827-3702 or visit the VA Home Loans website.