Guest Post by Jay Buerck
For veterans who dream of owning a home, foreclosure does not have to turn a dream into a nightmare, thanks to VA resources aimed at preventing foreclosure. Loan experts and an assortment of payment options through VA are in place to help veterans avoid the frightful F-word.
It’s no wonder why VA loans have the lowest foreclosure rates on the market, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs’ winter announcement. The programs and experts are effective. VA even offers guidance to veterans and service members who do not have a VA-guaranteed loan.
VA offers several options for veterans who need help averting foreclosure, such as:
• Deed-in-lieu – Instead of going through the foreclosure process, veterans voluntarily deeds their property to the loan collector.
• Repayment plan – Parts of the missed installments are added to the veteran’s regular monthly installment.
• Short sale – The veteran sells the property for less than the amount that is required to pay off the loan.
Lenders may give veterans more time to pay missed installments or arrange a sale of the property that will pay off the loan.
VA loan specialists are spread across the country in eight locations. To get in touch with the representative nearest to them, veterans need to call a hotline (877-827-3702). Under the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, there are options for veterans with conventional loans to refinance to a VA-guaranteed loan, covering up to 100 percent of the property’s value.
Last year, VA loan volume grew 80 percent, which is no surprise since 90 percent of VA-guaranteed loans are made without a down payment. In a December press release, Secretary of VA Erik Shinseki attributed the low foreclosure rate of VA loans to loan counselors, mortgage industry partners and the heroism of our veterans.
“VA is making good on its promise to help veterans buy homes, and veterans are achieving their dreams,” he said.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
There isn’t any doubt that the post is informative. I have a few clarifications regarding the options offered to avert foreclosure. How can veterans voluntarily deed their property to the loan collector? Need more content on this. The repayment plan too needs a little clarity.
It is good to know that VA loan volume has grown by 80 percent. I believe that this would stimulate further increase in the same. Surely, as the last line sums up, VA is helping veterans buy homes.
Foreclosures are just awful. If there was any way they could be save that would be cool. I mean the veterans deserve this more than anyone.
I wish the writer defined what VA meant before writing out the rest of the article. What does he mean? Virginia? Virtual Assistant? I went to the website and it was the same thing. No description of VA anywhere. Articles on the internet are read by people around the world so they should use universal terms. If you’re going to write an article that’s only for SEO optimization purposes, it should at least still be human-friendly.
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VA loans should be a very popular choice going forward for all of our returning veterens. As for those going through struggling financial times, cut them some slack and give them every opportunity to full fill their loans.
Despite the leads you can generate from foreclosure listings and the opportunities that exist with short sales, I think buying foreclosures can be risky for the investor because, without the proper foreclosure short sales training, you run the risk of not really knowing what you are doing.
Profits can be lost and so too can opportunities from buying foreclosures when you lack the proper Florida specific short sale training.