Veterans Affairs’ goal is to reduce foreclosures

The Department of Veterans Affairs is urging mortgage lenders to extend a foreclosure moratorium for veterans that is set to end on Friday, as reported by UPI.

“When a veteran encounters difficulties, we work closely with them and their loan servicers to prevent foreclosure,” stated VA Under Secretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs in an online announcement. “We are asking mortgage servicers to prolong a targeted foreclosure moratorium so that we can ensure veterans receive the assistance they need to remain in their homes.”

A new initiative launching on Friday aims to help over 40,000 veterans maintain ownership of their homes. This program assists veterans in creating repayment plans if they fall behind or securing a loan modification that adjusts the loan’s rate and term to make payments more manageable.

In addition, the VA is introducing a Veterans Affairs Serving Purchase program where the VA will acquire the loan from a loan servicer and place it in a VA-owned portfolio as a direct loan with a low interest rate of 2.5%, making payments more feasible. Mortgage providers will assess a veteran’s eligibility for VASP and submit a request on their behalf.

Mortgage providers have until October 1 to implement this program.