It all started with sponge and a bucket of soapy water. Recently, I helped hand-wash the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the District of Columbia. I honored my fellow service members and Naval Academy classmates who protected our country.
I stood alongside Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. At that moment, the legacy of courage and sacrifice shared by our veteran community struck me. It reminded me of our duty to repay the debt of gratitude owed to those who fought to protect our freedoms. Unfortunately, when it comes to homeownership, we are far from where we should be in this regard. Here’s the SITREP.
Homeownership offers security and greater financial stability, along with a sense of community that is essential to military families. It’s considered by many to be the pinnacle of achievement and prosperity – and frankly, if anyone deserves to achieve the dream of homeownership, it’s our nation’s Veterans.
As such, my driving mission is helping fellow veterans achieve the American dream. Homeownership offers security, financial stability, and community essential to military families. It’s regarded by many as the pinnacle of achievement and prosperity. If anyone deserves to achieve the dream of homeownership, it’s our nation’s veterans.
Research shows that younger service members are unlikely to achieve ownership. Younger service members struggle during the homebuying process, particularly around paying closing costs.
It’s important to take a moment to look back at the history behind VA benefits. In 1944, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs established the VA lending program as part of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (later renamed the GI Bill). This gave returning World War II Veterans access to education, unemployment, and housing help. The housing benefits pushed more than 28 million home loans for Veterans over the last 80 years.
However, I’ve observed that many of today’s service members are unaware of the VA benefits they’ve earned. Some of these include lower mortgage rates, insurance costs, and down payment requirements.
The number of financial institutions servicing home loans has declined. As a result, veterans have fewer options for obtaining a mortgage. Additionally, few remaining lenders maintain expertise in military benefits, compensation, and pension structures. As such, they may reject military homebuyers who don’t adhere traditional credit standards.
Misguided judgements about credit histories may arise. Veterans’ credit scores suffer under unexpected deployments or frequent relocations. In reality, veterans and families are more than their credit scores. They deserve more nuanced consideration of their unique circumstances when making lending decisions.
Veterans and active-duty service members shouldn’t face unnecessary obstacles for homeownership. We must all do our part to make the process as clear and straightforward as possible. But this requires a multi-faceted approach. We must educate ourselves about the benefits available to military homebuyers. Additionally, we must help the service members learn more about their entitled benefits. Some examples include robust awareness programs, proactive outreach, and broader collaboration with our partners at government agencies.
Our nation’s heroes deserve better. We must do more starting now and each day moving forward to ensure every Veteran has the opportunity to build fulfilling lives in their dream homes for themselves and their families.
Rear Admiral Thomas Lynch is the executive chairman of NewDay USA. He retired from the U.S. Navy after a distinguished 31-year career.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.
To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.
