Add Thousands of Veterans Face Foreclosure and it's not their Fault. the vA Might Help

Thousands-of-Veterans-Face-Foreclosure-and-it%27s-not-their-Fault.-the-vA-Might-Help.md

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+<br>[Countless veterans](https://www.aws-properties.com) face [foreclosure](https://horizonstays.co.uk) and it's not their fault. The VA might help<br>
+<br>By Chris Arnold, Robert Benincasa<br>
+<br>Updated Thursday, November 16, 2023 • 9:53 AM EST<br>
+<br>Heard on Morning Edition<br>
+<br>Becky Queen remembers opening the letter with the foreclosure notice.<br>
+<br>"My heart dropped," she said, "and my hands were shaking."<br>
+<br>Queen lives on a small farm in rural Oklahoma with her hubby, Ray, and their 2 young kids. Ray is a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in Iraq. Since the 1940s, the federal government has actually helped veterans like him buy homes through its VA loan program, run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.<br>
+<br>Today the VA has put this family on the verge of losing their home.<br>
+<br>"I didn't do anything wrong," says Ray Queen. "The only thing I did was trust a company that I'm expected to trust with my mortgage."<br>
+<br>Like [countless](https://www.cityneedservice.com) other Americans, the Queens benefited from what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance, which allowed homeowners to avoid mortgage payments. It was set up by [Congress](https://www.myrhouse.com) after the pandemic hit for individuals who lost income.<br>
+<br>But an NPR examination has actually discovered that countless veterans who took a forbearance are now at risk of losing their homes through no fault of their own. And while the VA is working on a method to repair the problem, for numerous it could be too late.<br>
+<br>After NPR initially released this story, a group of 4 U.S. Senators sent a letter to the VA asking it to immediately stop foreclosing on the homes of veterans and servicemembers. It's unclear if the VA will do that.<br>
+<br>For the Queens, this all started in September of 2021, when Becky's mother died of COVID-19. She had to take a prolonged leave from work and lost her task.<br>
+<br>So in 2015, with their [savings](https://zenithdreamhomes.com) decreasing, the couple states they called the company that handles their mortgage, Mr. Cooper, and were informed they could avoid 6 months of payments. And as soon as they got back on their feet and might begin paying once again, the couple states they were told, they wouldn't owe the missed out on payments in a big lump amount.<br>
+<br>"I really specifically asked 'how does this work?'" states Becky Queen. "They said we're taking all of your payments, we're bundling them, and we're putting them at the end."<br>
+<br>That is, the missed out on payments would be moved to the back end of their loan term so they could just begin making their normal mortgage payment once again.<br>
+<br>But that's not how it exercised.<br>
+<br>In October 2022, the Department of [Veterans Affairs](https://retehomes.reteicons.com) ended the so-called Partial Claim Payment program, or PCP, that allowed house owners to do that. This occurred despite the fact that the mortgage industry, housing supporters and veterans groups all alerted the VA not to end the program, saying countless house owners [required](https://www.horizonsrealtycr.com) to catch up on missed out on payments. Rates of interest had actually risen so much that many couldn't afford to [refinance](https://brokeragerefundable.com) or get back on track any other way.<br>
+<br>Ray Queen states nobody told him about any of this.<br>
+<br>"How does that happen?" Queen asked. "This is supposed to be a program that you all have to assist people in times of crisis, so you do not take their home from them."<br>
+<br>The Queens state they attempted to come off their forbearance in February of this year and resume paying their mortgage. They were both working once again. But they faced hold-ups with the mortgage company.<br>
+<br>Then, in September, the couple states they were told they needed to come up with more than $22,000, which they don't have, or either offer their house or get foreclosed on.<br>
+<br>Their mortgage servicing company, Mr. Cooper, said in a declaration it "explored every possible avenue to work through a service for this client." But it said the VA needs much better loss-mitigation alternatives and referred NPR to a letter from advocates,  and veteran groups urging the VA to restart the PCP program.<br>
+<br>The VA "has truly let individuals down"<br>
+<br>"The Department of Veterans Affairs has truly let individuals down," states Kristi Kelly, a customer legal representative in Virginia who says she is speaking with a great deal of other veterans in the exact same scenario as Ray and Becky Queen.<br>
+<br>"The house owners entered into COVID forbearances, they were made specific promises, and there were particular representations that were made," says Kelly. "And the VA basically pulled the rug out from under everybody."<br>
+<br>For some homeowners, ending the program might not indicate foreclosure, however it still indicates a financial difficulty.<br>
+<br>"Much of these people have 2 or 3% interest rate loans," Kelly states. With the [PCP program](https://propertylifesouthernhighlands.com.au) they might keep that rates of interest. But now, she states, the only way they'll be able to save their home is to participate in a loan modification where the interest rate will be around today's market rate of 7.5%.<br>
+<br>"For many people, their payments will increase by $600 or $700 a month, since the VA has chosen to end the partial claim program."<br>
+<br>Many property owners can't manage such a substantial increase in their monthly payment.<br>
+<br>According to the information company ICE Mortgage Technology, 6,000 property owners with VA loans who had COVID forbearances are presently in the foreclosure process. And 34,000 more are overdue.<br>
+<br>Kelly says most other property owners in America - [individuals](https://salonrenter.com) with FHA loans, for example, or loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - still have ways to prevent foreclosure by moving missed out on payments to the back of the loan term.<br>
+<br>But house owners with VA loans don't, due to the fact that the VA ended that program. So veterans are being dealt with worse than the majority of other house owners, Kelly said.<br>
+<br>"Service members remain in a position where they're going to lose their home," she says. "And for the majority of people, that's whatever they work for - and all their wealth remains in their homes."<br>
+<br>VA has a plan to assist, however it might be far too late<br>
+<br>The Department of Veterans Affairs says it had no option however to end the program.<br>
+<br>"We had a short-term authority for that particular program throughout COVID," says John Bell, executive director of the Veterans Benefits Administration's Loan Guaranty Service. "It wasn't part of our typical authority."<br>
+<br>Some in the industry believe the VA did, in fact, have the authority to extend the program. But either way, it ended it.<br>
+<br>Now, though, the VA is taking the scenario seriously.<br>
+<br>NPR has actually discovered that the VA is working on a new program to change the old one. It will work in a various method however to comparable effect, to conserve people from foreclosure. Bell says it's going to take 4 to 5 months to get it up and running.<br>
+<br>That's too long for a lot of those 6,000 VA house owners currently in the foreclosure process. Not to discuss the numerous more who are delinquent.<br>
+<br>Already, data shows that more VA house owners have actually been heading into foreclosure considering that the VA ended its PCP program. The exact same is not true for FHA loans or loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.<br>
+<br>Will the firetruck show up far too late?<br>
+<br>With so lots of house owners at threat, there's growing pressure on the VA to stop foreclosing on veterans up until it gets its repair up and running.<br>
+<br>"There should be a time out on foreclosures," says Steve Sharpe, a senior lawyer at the National Consumer Law Center. "Veterans must really have the ability to have an ability to access this program when it comes online since it's been so long because they've had something that will genuinely work.<br>
+<br>Sharpe states the VA might likewise reboot the PCP program that it shut down. "They have the authority to do both," he states.<br>
+<br>Pausing foreclosures seems like a good idea to veteran Ray Queen in Oklahoma.<br>
+<br>"Let us keep paying towards our routine mortgage between now and then," he says. "Then once the VA has actually that repaired we can return and deal with the circumstance. That looks like the adult, mature thing to do, not put a family through hell."<br>
+<br>NPR repeated Ray Queen's plea to John Bell at the VA directly. Bell said the VA is "exploring all [options](https://hermanusholidays.co.za) at this moment in time."<br>
+<br>"We owe it to our veterans to ensure that we're providing every chance to be able to remain in the home," Bell stated.<br>
+<br>Wednesday, a group of U.S. Senators sent a letter to the VA prompting them to put a hold on any more foreclosures.<br>
+<br>"Without this time out, thousands of [veterans](https://www.horizonsrealtycr.com) and servicemembers might needlessly lose their homes," Sens. Sherrod Brown, Jon Tester, Jack Reed, and Tim Kaine, all Democrats, wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. "This was never ever the intent of Congress."<br>
+<br>Tester, of Montana, chairs the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Brown, of Ohio, chairs the Banking Committee. They asked the VA "to execute an immediate pause on all VA loan foreclosures where customers are most likely to be qualified for VA's brand-new ... program till it is offered and customers can be assessed to see if they certify."<br>
+<br>Ray and Becky Queen are hoping the VA does let people keep their homes till the brand-new program can provide them a way to get present on their mortgages. Because if the firetruck appears after your home has actually burned down, it's not going to do much good for the thousands of veterans and service members who need aid now.<br>
+<br>Transcript<br>
+<br>LEILA FADEL, HOST: An NPR investigation has found that countless U.S. military service members and veterans might lose their homes through no fault of their own. As NPR's Chris Arnold reports, the Department of Veterans Affairs is working on a repair. But it could be too late.CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: Ray and Becky Queen are showing us around their farm in Bartlesville, Okla.BECKY QUEEN: This is Cagney and Lacey, our ducks.ARNOLD: The couple lives here with their two young kids. Ray served in Iraq in the Army. Inside their house, he states that he was wounded by an improvised explosive gadget, or IED.RAY QUEEN: And so you're mindful, I have brain damage from my time in Iraq. So there's a lot of various things that don't work the method they're expected to anymore. And my memory is not great.ARNOLD: For decades, the federal government's helped veterans like Queen to buy homes through its VA loan program. Today the VA has put this household on the verge of losing their house.B QUEEN: This is the letter that my partner and I got the other day mentioning that they're starting foreclosure proceedings.ARNOLD: What's taking place is that like millions of other Americans, the Queens took benefit of what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance. It was established by Congress after the pandemic hit for people who lost earnings. When Becky's mother died of COVID, she needed to take a prolonged leave from work and lost her task. Last year, the couple says their mortgage business informed them that they could skip six months of payments while they returned on their feet and then simply begin paying their mortgage again.B QUEEN: I really specifically asked, how does this work? And they stated, we're taking all of your payments. We're bundling them, and we're putting them at the end.ARNOLD: That is, the missed payments would move to the back end of their loan term so they could resume their normal mortgage payment. But that is not how it exercised, because a year ago in October, the Department of Veterans Affairs ended the program that made it possible for house owners to do that, although housing advocates and the mortgage industry and veterans groups all alerted them not to end the program since thousands of homeowners required to catch up on missed out on payments. Rate of interest, too, had actually increased so much that many could not afford to re-finance or get back on track any other method. Ray Queen says nobody told him about any of this.R QUEEN: How does that take place? This is supposed to be a program that y' all need to help people in times of crisis so you don't take their home from them.ARNOLD: The couple states in September, they were informed that they needed to come up with a huge payment - upwards of $22,000, which they don't have - or sell their house or get foreclosed on.B QUEEN: My heart dropped, and, like, my hands were shaking.KRISTI KELLY: The Department of Veterans Affairs has really let individuals down.ARNOLD: Kristi Kelly is a consumer attorney in Virginia who's hearing from a lot of veterans who remain in the very same boat.KELLY: The homeowners entered into COVID forbearances. They were made sure pledges, and the VA essentially pulled the carpet out from under everybody.ARNOLD: Kelly states for many other property owners in America, there are still methods to move your missed out on payments to the back of the loan term so you can prevent getting foreclosed on, but not if you have a VA loan. So she states veterans are being treated worse than many other homeowners.KELLY: Service members are going to lose their home, and for many people, that's everything they work for and all their wealth, remain in their homes.ARNOLD: For its part, the Department of Veterans Affairs says it had no option however to end the program. John Bell heads up the VA's home lending division.JOHN BELL: We had a short-term authority for that particular program during COVID.ARNOLD: Some in the market think the VA did in fact have the authority to extend the program. Now, however, NPR has actually learned that the VA is dealing with a brand-new program to change the old one, however that's still 4 or 5 months away - too long for a lot of the 6,000 homeowners with VA loans who are in the foreclosure process. Not to point out there's 34,000 more who were overdue. Right now there's pressure on the VA to put a time out on foreclosures while it gets that program running. John Bell says the VA is, quote, "thinking about all alternatives."BELL: We owe it to our veterans to make sure that we're providing every opportunity to be able to stay in the home.ARNOLD: Ray and Becky Queen are hoping that the VA does put a time out on foreclosures, because if the fire engine reveals up after your home burns down, it's not going to do much great for the thousands of veterans who need assistance now.Chris Arnold, NPR News.<br>