Do Veterans Deserve Fair Access to Housing?

Real Estate Education Training:

Are Veterans Being Denied Housing?

Let me disclose that I am a Service Connected Disabled Veteran.  I served in Vietnam from 1965-1966 in many locations including Saigon (MACV Headquarters) and Pleiku (25th Infantry) in the communication centers.  I am proud to have had the honor of serving my country and I am very thankful to have survived my tour of duty in Vietnam.  I should also state that I am a homeowner and have been in my present home since 1986.  I do not plan to purchase another home.

I have had the pleasure of working with many Veterans during my 30 years as a licensed real estate agent/broker.  It always made me especially proud to help my fellow Veterans.  I remember so many transactions where the Veteran and his family were so thrilled to receive the keys to their new home that they were moved to tears while thanking me for my work.  I must admit that I was especially proud to have been a part of their journey.

The VA loan, like many loans, changes from time to time.  There have been several beneficial modifications to the rules designed to make the VA Loan more competitive.  It is, and always has been, difficult for buyers using VA loans to compete with Cash, Conventional and even FHA loans.   Cash, especially "as is" Cash offers are generally winners.  VA and FHA loans may also share similar fates when a Conventional offer is in the competition. 

My concern over the years has been whether we, as a nation, believe our Veterans deserve fair access to housing.  I cannot speak for Veterans but I believe I can comfortably speak up for Veterans.   I can also speak from personal experience.  My first effort at home ownership was in 1970.  We made an offer on a home in University City, MO.  Our offer was full price and we were asking the seller to pay our closing costs.  We were competing with another offer which was accepted  and our offer was rejected.  Per the agent, the seller did not want to pay our closing costs and felt a counter offer was not worth making because they did not want to sell to a VA buyer.  The Seller expressed concerns about other problems that might occur with the VA appraisal, etc.

Low inventory also adds to the problem of getting a VA offer accepted.  Many sellers still see the VA loan as a potential nightmare and this hurts our present day heroes.  We must find a way to help.   The Veteran buyer using his or her VA loan should not be seen by Sellers as an escrow obstacle course.  This will only happen if we demand legislation that will improve the perception of the VA loan and eliminate every possible expense to Veterans. Further, Sellers should not be asked to pick up any costs that they would not normally incur with other buyers. Our Veterans deserve a true "VA No No"  loan with no down payment and no closing costs. We need to find an elected representative to draft a bill (with real estate industry support) and secure passage of legislation that will make this happen.