It was last year, a home owner died. We were less than thirty days from settlement. As tragic as that was, things got worse when the surviving military spouse learned that her income would be cut in half and that she could no longer use her husbands VA Loan. The reason his illness had not yet been documented as a service related injury that led to his death and the VA Office needed more time...she was devastated. To say her world fell apart is an understatement. Worse, the monthly income she had been receiving stopped. There was not enough proceeds from the sale of the home to survive for very long. She was under contract for the smaller home...now what?
She was now a surviving military spouse. No money coming in, stuck in limbo.Luckily for her a very nice investments counselor along with a loan officer stepped up to see how he could help. She was lucky the builder granted us more time to get her financial house in order, and luckily for her we just needed to change her to a conventional home loan and the investment counselor was able to set her up on a small lifetime annuity that would pay her monthly mortgage payment on the smaller home. Our office held a huge Estate Sale at her home and she netted a very good some of money from all her worldly belonging. Thank God, because her VA Benefits didn't start arriving for months. I don't how in the world the military expects people to live without their monthly income. It is so unfair. However, like the old saying goes, you never know how strong a woman is until she is in hot water!
What happened to this woman should not happen to anyone who scarified their entire life while their spouse severed in our military. But it did, and it does, and so many people are left with no way to access the benefits they have been promised. Well yesterday...a few things changed for military veterans and their families.
It's About Time!
Yesterday finally their was some "Good News for Veterans and Surviving Spouses"
Some of the highlights of the new law:
- VA LOAN LIMITS for high cost area's are going back up to $729,750 until December 31st,2014 ( currently the VA Loan Limit in Prince William County Virginia, Manassas and Manassas Park and Spotsylvania is $625,500.
- Single Parents and Married Couples who are deployed can now have a dependent child fulfill the occupancy requirement.
- VA loan eligibility will now extend to spouses of veterans who lived at least the last decade of their lives with a permanent service-connected disability, regardless of whether it led to their death. (Bravo!)
- ARMS and Hybrid Arms will still remain available going forward.
Read a full article here on the Zillow Blog
When it's time to buy a home here in the Prince William County Virginia and you need a good contact for getting pre-approved with your VA Eligibility. Simply contact Markita Aldridge Woods of WestStar Mortgage at MyMilitaryMortgage.com
Other Resources:
Find out if you are eligible for a VA Loan
Comments(8)