Home loan program remains available for veterans

With mortgage rates at historic lows, veterans and military personnel continue to use the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA home loan program to purchase a home or refinance their existing VA loans.

Home ownership has always been one of the foundations of the American dream.   The VA has been administering a benefit that for almost two-thirds of a century has profoundly affected the lives of veterans, military servicemembers, and their families by providing needed financing for the purchase and refinance of homes.

Since the VA Home Loan program began in 1944 as part of the original GI Bill, VA has helped veterans by guaranteeing more than 19 million home loans, valued at more than $1 trillion. During the past four years, the number of veterans VA has helped purchase a home has risen by 63 percent.

VA’s foreclosure rate for the last nine quarters and serious delinquency rate for the last six quarters have been the lowest in the housing industry, even when compared to prime loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey.

In a time where other no-downpayment programs are virtually non-existent and mortgage credit can be difficult to obtain, veterans and servicemembers have an avenue to obtain financing and take advantage of historically low rates through the VA home loan program.

The VA loan program has made little changes as compared to the rest of  the mortgage industry while still having a relatively low foreclosure rate, even in the face of the recent recession.  This is primarily due to following standard, prudent underwriting guidelines and not chasing market fads.