VA Loan Purchasing: What About Restoration Of Entitlement

There are certain conditions in which a veteran who has previously purchased a home using a VA home loan, can take their previously used entitlement and actually have it restored to its original amount.  This is what restoration of entitlement is all about.  It allows veterans to purchase another home.

Of course, to reap the benefits of this provision, one or the other of the following required conditions must be met.  First, the property that was bought with the previous VA loan must already be sold and the loan should be paid in full.  Second, the buyer (also called a qualified veteran-transferee) agrees to assume the remaining balance on the previous VA loan.  This buyer will then substitute his or her entitlement for the same amount of entitlement that was used by the seller.

Restoration of entitlement can be granted only once.  The veteran must have already paid the loan in full.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Interesting Historical Highlights Of The Veterans Administration

For the many veterans who take advantage of the financing resources of the VA to obtain home loans, it is often overlooked how amazing the existence of such an organization is in the history of the world.  The Veterans Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs is the outgrown of nearly four centuries of military veterans assistance programs in America.

From the time of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, onward to the fledgling United States, and on to the conflict of the Civil War, efforts have been taken to provide for the medical and financial assistance of disabled veterans.  Everything from pension plans to state-ran veteran hospitals were developed during the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

The Veterans Administration was established in 1930 and continued to expand throughout the 20th century.  In time, home lending assistance became a recognized part of the VA broad system of veteran's benefit programs.  The VA offers one of the most complete systems of its kind in the world.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Government Help to Stop Foreclosures

Many advocates reason the there needs to be an increase in government help to stop foreclosures.  With the recent increase in foreclosure rates, many politicians are pushing for government “bail out” for the institutions that offered subprime mortgages.  What the average consumer doesn’t realize is that there are many government, state and federal, that are already in place to help stop foreclosure.  When looking for information on government help to stop foreclosures, the internet is a great place to look.
The HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) has many programs in place to offer government help to stop foreclosures.  The HUD web site offers many tips and suggestions for home owners that find themselves in financial difficulty and impending foreclosure.  The most important step is to have open communication with your lender.  The federal government has incentive programs in place for the lender to help avoid foreclosure.  There is significant assistance available for those that communicate with their lender early in the foreclosure process.  HUD also has approved foreclosure counselors that will offer individualized help.
A recent collaboration of HUD/Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Labor and mortgage lenders has provided valuable information regarding government help to stop foreclosures.  If you are facing financial difficulties due to job loss, military service, or natural disasters, there are many programs providing government help to stop foreclosures.  Contacting any one of these agencies is an important step in gathering information to help you keep your home.
Victims of a natural disaster have special government help to stop foreclosure that has been made available through the national government.  If you were a victim of a national tragedy, like the attacks of September 11, 2001, there may still be help available through the disaster relief plans that the federal government has in place.  Military families that are suffering financial hardship due to deployment or disabilities caused during active duty also qualify for special programs to help them keep their homes.
The most important step when looking for government help to stop foreclosures is to contact your lender.  Lenders will have the most up to date information on what government programs are available and can tell you if you qualify for any of them.  Lenders have workout options that help you keep your home.  These options will work best if you are only 1-2 payments behind, so contact your lender early.  The farther behind you get, the fewer options there are to deal with.  Government help to stop foreclosures is available; you just have to act early to be able to benefit from most of these options.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Wartime And Peacetime Eligibility Differences For VA Loans

What are some more exact requirements for eligibility for those veterans who are interested in obtaining home financing assistance from the Veterans Administration?  Briefly, a veteran is eligible for VA home loan benefits if he or she served on active duty in any of the following branches of the armed forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.  Furthermore, you must also have been discharged under any conditions other than dishonorable after a certain time period.

These time periods are based upon whether you served during wartime or peacetime.  For those veterans who served during wartime, the timeframe for eligibility is 90 days or more.  If the veteran served during peacetime, the amount of days for eligibility is 181 continuous days or more.

Specific periods of wartime and peacetime that are covered under the provision of the VA's General Rule for Eligibility, include the following periods of time:

Wartime - World War II: 9/16/40-7/25/47; Korean conflict: 6/27/50-1/31/55; Vietnam era: 8/5/64-5/7/75; Persian Gulf War: 8/2/90 – undetermined

Peacetime - Post-World War II period: 7/26/47-6/26/50; Post-Korean period
2/1/55-8/4/64; Post-Vietnam period: 5/8/75-8/1/90

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!