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VA loans need improvement
A Times Editorial
Published July 5, 2005
It is disgraceful that our nation's military men and women could defend our country overseas only to return home as pariahs when they try to buy their own slice of the American dream. As the St. Petersburg Times ' Graham Brink reported recently, some returning veterans have had a difficult time using government-backed home loan financing, which some real estate agents and home sellers regard as slow, cumbersome and overly prone to risks.
Army infantryman Jorge Cabrera, training in Kentucky, asked his mother to house-hunt for him in Tampa. She heard the same thing time and again after mentioning that the Department of Veterans Affairs would back the financing. "The minute I said "VA loan,' it was like I said I had an atomic bomb in my purse," said Lyann Goudie, a longtime Tampa trial attorney. Navy veteran James Edwards had a similar experience, despite offering more than the asking price to sweeten his VA loan.
Congress established the loan program to help veterans readjust to civilian life after World War II. With it, millions of veterans and their families succeeded in buying their first homes. With more than 25-million people eligible for VA financing, the loan program is a huge engine for the nation's economy, one that strengthens neighborhoods even as it helps veterans and their families build personal wealth. The government does not lend money; rather, it guarantees loans against default, keeping that money in the private sector. The federal guarantee enables veterans to buy at competitive interest rates.
The VA has improved the loan application process, which real estate agents and sellers have criticized as slow and bureaucratic. Veterans are put at a disadvantage, in this hot real estate market, if VA appraisers fail to work closely with buyers and lenders to close loans within a reasonable time frame. The VA should continue to work on improving its reputation with agents and the homebuilding industry. It should improve communication with banks and brokers and hold appraisers more accountable for completing their work on time.
Veterans have earned these benefits.
[Last modified July 5, 2005, 01:33:21]
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