Housing Protections and Benefits for Veterans

Helping Vets Get - And Keep - A Home

Veterans Day is this weekend, and it is a good time to take a moment to look at what being a veteran means for the mortgage industry.

Veterans have a multitude of consumer protections and benefits including protections surrounding vehicles that they own, cell phones they use, their credit, limitations on the actions of collections agencies, and access to loan programs.

Two areas where veteran protections and benefits cross into the mortgage world: foreclosure protection and VA loans.

Recent Updates to Foreclosure Protections

Created to allow time for men and women serving in the armed forces to establish a secure financial grounding without losing their homes, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act prevents foreclosure for those who have debt that existed before they joined active service. This bill enables military families to adjust to post-active duty life with a degree of peace of mind without worrying about the loss of their living situation.

The Senate signed the bill back in 2015 and extended relief to veterans stretching through 2017. This bill protects veterans from foreclosures for up to a year. If a mortgage holder goes to court in an attempt to enforce foreclosure on a veteran-owner property, the Veteran can apply for a temporary stay on the foreclosure proceedings or adjust the mortgage obligation that protects the interests of anyone involved with the loan.

Note that many of these protections are available to servicemembers, veterans, and surviving spouses.

More Information about VA Loans

For more information about VA loans, check out our post VA Loan Need-to-Knows for MLO’s and video.

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PS: Also of note, Wells Fargo recently settled a case about charging veterans hidden fees when originating VA loans. You can read more over at Reuters.