Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki announced recently that Veterans who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and previous conflicts will no longer have to prove what caused their illness when claiming Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Veterans will only have to show that the conditions surrounding the time and place of their service could have contributed to their illness, according to the Associated Press article dated July 11, 2010.

The article went on to say that a study last year by the RAND Corp. Think Tank estimated that nearly 20% or 300,000 of returning veterans have symptoms of PTSD or major depression.

How does this announcement help veterans move toward homeownership?

I have worked with many veterans who are receiving anywhere from 10% to 100% service-connected disability. They are receiving checks anywhere from $200 to over $2,000 dollars a month.   This income is tax-free; therefore, the VA approved lender will increase the amount by 125% when qualifying a veteran for a VA Home Loan.   This service-connected disability payment is direct deposited monthly into the Veteran’s bank account and can be verified annually by the award letter sent by the VA.

The Veteran can now add that check to any other income, including salaried income or income his spouse may be receiving.   It can make the difference as to how much house you can afford to buy, what neighborhood you can move into and the quality of the schools.

Additionally, veterans who have had claims submitted before this announcement will be able to expedite those claims more quickly.  Veterans will usually get an initial check that is retroactive to the date the claim was first filed with VA. This provides an opportunity for a Veteran to have some resources to move into a home and make any possible necessary improvements that they would not have been able to do before.

The VA Home Loan benefit is 100% financing and the Veterans I work with are able to enter into a contract on a home with $500 dollars as an earnest money deposit.   They usually get the deposit back at closing. Many times, we are able to get a lender credit or seller contribution for closing costs.  However, if we are not able to do that, this claim check from the VA could help to get the Veteran into the home they really want.

Veterans, please, please, please take advantage of this opportunity to live in Sunny Florida using the money you can claim and receive for legitimate service-connected PTSD. Now is the time.  Interest rates for 30 year fixed VA Home Loans are at an all time low and houses in the Ft. Lauderdale area are absolutely affordable.

The VA Home Loan limit allows you to purchase from one to four units up to $417,000, and once you have a service-connected disability, you do not have to pay the VA funding fee which saves you thousands of dollars.

Help make your life more comfortable.  Check up on your claim or file a claim. We work with the Stone of Hope project in Ft. Lauderdale and they are able to assist veterans at no charge in successfully filing and receiving their service-connected disability checks.

Tags: Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Home Lady, NO-NO Loans, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Stone of Hope Project, VA Home Loan, veteran homeowners

Posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 11:19 pm and is filed under VA Home Loan Benefit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.