VA Loans: A powerful tool for veterans despite rising interest rates
HOUSTON - With high interest rates a continuing challenge for would-be home buyers, a program for veterans is taking some of the sting out of the process. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill into law in June of 1944, to provide benefits for soldiers returning home from World War II.
Making home loans available for veterans and military members was part of that deal. In the last five years, more Texas homes have been purchased with VA Loans than in any other state.
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Steven Silva spent six years in the Army and reserves, but now that he and his wife are starting a family, the prospect of owning a home seemed a little scary and unattainable.
"I was very skeptical about the process," he says, "I didn't even know if I could afford a home."
That changed last summer, when the couple and their young daughter moved into a Galena Park home that they purchased with a VA Loan.
"Closing on the house was probably the most surreal event in my life," says Silva. "When we were given the keys, we came straight over here. We had no furniture in here yet, but we spent the night in here."
Chris Birk, with Veterans United Home Loans, says there are 20 million veterans and service members in the country today who are eligible for a VA Loan, "The VA Loan is a hard-earned job benefit for those who've served and sacrificed for our freedoms."
The hallmark of the benefit, that attracts buyers like the Silvas, is that there is no down-payment required to get a loan, provided applicants can prove, like other buyers, that they can afford the purchase.
In recent years, the program has boosted ownership among young, minority, and female veterans well above their civilian counterparts.
"It is, in so many ways, fulfilling its original mission today to help level the playing field; to boost access to home ownership for veterans, military members, and their families," says Birk.
Families, like Steven Silva's, "I figured that I didn't want to let it go to waste. I served, and I should use that."
Like a lot of home buying since interest rates have gone up, the number of VA loans have also dropped. While better rates 'can' be available, more veteran buyers are also adding a down payment to make their home purchase a little more affordable.