VA, Congress Assist Veterans in Mortgage Mess

Stars and Stripes (06/06/08); Philpott, Tom
U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, wants to make VA-backed loans relevant again by raising the ceiling on loan amounts to $730,000. Meanwhile, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate veterans' affairs committee, has proposed a bill that would lower the equity requirement for a veteran to refinance a mortgage with a VA loan from 10 percent down to 5 percent; and Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., wants the maximum for VA-backed loans for refinancing to be at least $417,000. The lack of competitiveness of VA-guaranteed loans has resulted in their nationwide decline from a recent peak of nearly 500,000 in 2003 to just 133,000 last year. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs says its loan counselors have assisted 74,000 homeowners since 2000--including half of all VA loans in serious default last year--and have helped save the government nearly $1.5 billion.