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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+[gnu.org](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.en.html)<br>Countless veterans deal with foreclosure and it's not their fault. The VA could assist<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 notification.<br>
+<br>"My heart dropped," she said, "and my hands were shaking."<br>
+<br>Queen lives on a little farm in rural Oklahoma with her partner, Ray, and their 2 young kids. Ray is a U.S. Army veteran who was injured in Iraq. Since the 1940s, the federal government has assisted veterans like him buy homes through its VA loan program, run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.<br>
+<br>Now the VA has actually put this family on the edge of losing their home.<br>
+<br>"I didn't do anything wrong," states Ray Queen. "The only thing I did was trust a company that I'm supposed to rely on with my mortgage."<br>
+<br>Like millions of other Americans, the Queens benefited from what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance, which enabled homeowners to avoid mortgage payments. It was established by Congress after the pandemic hit for individuals who lost income.<br>
+<br>But an NPR examination has actually discovered that thousands of veterans who took a forbearance are now at danger of losing their homes through no fault of their own. And while the VA is dealing with a method to fix the problem, for lots of it might be too late.<br>
+<br>After NPR at first published 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 begun in September of 2021, when Becky's mom died of COVID-19. She needed to take a [prolonged leave](https://inngoaholidays.com) from work and lost her task.<br>
+<br>So last year, with their [savings](https://www.propertyeconomics.co.za) decreasing, the couple states they called the company that handles their mortgage, Mr. Cooper, and were told they might avoid six months of payments. And as soon as they got back on their feet and might begin paying again, the couple states they were informed, they wouldn't owe the missed payments in a huge swelling sum.<br>
+<br>"I very particularly asked 'how does this work?'" says [Becky Queen](https://www.qbrpropertylimited.com). "They stated 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 transferred to the back end of their loan term so they could simply begin making their regular mortgage payment again.<br>
+<br>But that's not how it worked out.<br>
+<br>In October 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs ended the so-called Partial Claim Payment program, or PCP, that enabled house owners to do that. This took place despite the fact that the mortgage market, housing advocates and veterans groups all cautioned the VA not to end the program, stating countless house owners [required](https://michigancountryrealestate.com) to catch up on missed out on payments. Interest rates had risen a lot that many couldn't afford to refinance or get back on track any other method.<br>
+<br>Ray Queen states no one informed him about any of this.<br>
+<br>"How does that happen?" Queen asked. "This is supposed to be a program that you all need to assist people in times of crisis, so you do not take their home from them."<br>
+<br>The Queens say they attempted to come off their [forbearance](https://negomboproperty.lk) in February of this year and resume paying their mortgage. They were both working again. But they encountered delays with the mortgage company.<br>
+<br>Then, in September, the couple says they were told they needed to come up with more than $22,000, which they don't have, or either sell their house or get foreclosed on.<br>
+<br>Their mortgage servicing business, Mr. Cooper, said in a statement it "explored every possible avenue to work through an option for this consumer." But it said the VA needs better loss-mitigation alternatives and referred NPR to a letter from supporters, market and veteran groups prompting the VA to restart the PCP program.<br>
+<br>The VA "has truly let individuals down"<br>
+<br>"The Department of Veterans Affairs has actually let individuals down," says Kristi Kelly, a consumer attorney in [Virginia](https://leaphighproperties.com) who says she is speaking with a lot of other veterans in the exact same circumstance as Ray and Becky Queen.<br>
+<br>"The homeowners participated in COVID forbearances, they were made sure pledges, and there were certain representations that were made," says Kelly. "And the VA basically pulled the carpet out from under everyone."<br>
+<br>For some homeowners, ending the program may not indicate foreclosure, however it still implies a financial challenge.<br>
+<br>"Much of these individuals have 2 or 3% interest rate loans," Kelly says. With the PCP program they might keep that rate of interest. Now, she states, the only way they'll be able to [conserve](https://chaar-realestate.com) their home is to participate in a loan modification where the rates of interest will be around today's market rate of 7.5%.<br>
+<br>"For the majority of people, their payments will increase by $600 or $700 a month, due to the fact that the VA has chosen to end the partial claim program."<br>
+<br>Many property owners can't pay for such a big boost in their month-to-month payment.<br>
+<br>According to the  [ICE Mortgage](https://housesites.in) Technology, 6,000 property owners with VA loans who had COVID forbearances are presently in the foreclosure process. And 34,000 more are delinquent.<br>
+<br>Kelly states most other house owners in America - individuals with FHA loans, for example, or loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - still have methods to prevent foreclosure by moving missed payments to the back of the loan term.<br>
+<br>But property owners with VA loans do not, since the VA ended that program. So veterans are being dealt with even worse than a lot of other property owners, Kelly stated.<br>
+<br>"Service members are in a position where they're going to lose their home," she states. "And for many people, that's whatever they work for - and all their wealth is in their homes."<br>
+<br>VA has a strategy to assist, but it could be too late<br>
+<br>The [Department](https://housingbuddy.in) of Veterans Affairs says it had no option but to end the program.<br>
+<br>"We had a short-term authority for that particular program throughout COVID," states 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 truth, have the authority to extend the program. But either method, it ended it.<br>
+<br>Now, though, the VA is taking the [situation](https://property-d.com) seriously.<br>
+<br>NPR has learned that the VA is working on a new program to change the old one. It will work in a various method however to comparable result, to save individuals 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 property owners already in the foreclosure process. Not to mention the lots of more who are overdue.<br>
+<br>Already, information reveals that more VA homeowners have actually been heading into foreclosure given that the VA ended its PCP program. The very same is not true for FHA loans or loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.<br>
+<br>Will the firetruck get here far too late?<br>
+<br>With so lots of homeowners at danger, there's growing pressure on the VA to stop foreclosing on veterans until it gets its spruce up and running.<br>
+<br>"There ought to be a pause on foreclosures," says Steve Sharpe, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "Veterans ought to truly be able to have an ability to access this program when it comes online due to the fact that it's been so long given that they have actually had something that will really work.<br>
+<br>Sharpe states the VA might also restart the PCP program that it shut down. "They have the authority to do both," he says.<br>
+<br>Pausing foreclosures sounds like a good concept to veteran Ray Queen in Oklahoma.<br>
+<br>"Let us keep paying towards our regular mortgage in between once in a while," he says. "Then once the VA has that fixed we can return and resolve the circumstance. That appears like the adult, fully grown thing to do, not put a household through hell."<br>
+<br>NPR repeated Ray Queen's plea to John Bell at the VA straight. Bell said the VA is "exploring all options at this point in time."<br>
+<br>"We owe it to our veterans to make sure that we're providing every chance to be able to stay in the home," Bell said.<br>
+<br>Wednesday, a group of U.S. Senators sent out a letter to the VA urging them to put a hang on anymore foreclosures.<br>
+<br>"Without this time out, countless veterans and servicemembers could unnecessarily lose their homes," Sens. Sherrod Brown, Jon Tester, Jack Reed, and Tim Kaine, all Democrats, composed in a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough. "This was never 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 carry out an immediate pause on all VA loan foreclosures where debtors are most likely to be qualified for VA's new ... program until it is offered and customers can be examined to see if they qualify."<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 method to get present on their mortgages. Because if the firetruck appears after your home has burned down, it's not going to do much helpful for the countless veterans and service members who need aid now.<br>[slunecnice.cz](https://www.slunecnice.cz/ios/sw/tour-rentals/)
+<br>Transcript<br>
+<br>LEILA FADEL, HOST: An NPR investigation has actually 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 might be too late.CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: Ray and Becky Queen are revealing 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 says that he was wounded by an improvised explosive device, or IED.RAY QUEEN: And so you're conscious, I have mental retardation from my time in Iraq. So there's a lot of various things that do not work the method they're supposed to any longer. And my memory is not great.ARNOLD: For years, the federal government's assisted veterans like Queen to purchase homes through its VA loan program. Today the VA has put this household on the edge of losing their house.B QUEEN: This is the letter that my partner and I received yesterday stating that they're beginning foreclosure proceedings.ARNOLD: What's taking place is that like countless other Americans, the Queens benefited from what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance. It was set up by Congress after the pandemic hit for people who lost income. When Becky's mom died of COVID, she had to take a prolonged leave from work and lost her job. In 2015, the couple states their mortgage company told them that they could skip 6 months of payments while they returned on their feet and after that just start paying their mortgage again.B QUEEN: I very particularly 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 out on payments would transfer to the back end of their loan term so they might resume their typical mortgage payment. But that is not how it worked out, because a year ago in October, the Department of Veterans Affairs ended the program that allowed homeowners to do that, although housing supporters and the mortgage market and veterans groups all warned them not to end the program since thousands of house owners required to catch up on missed payments. Rates of interest, too, had actually increased a lot that many could not manage to refinance or get back on track any other method. Ray Queen states nobody told him about any of this.R QUEEN: How does that occur? This is supposed to be a program that y' all have to help individuals in times of crisis so you don't take their home from them.ARNOLD: The couple states in September, they were told that they required to come up with a big payment - upwards of $22,000, which they do not have - or offer their home or get foreclosed on.B QUEEN: My heart dropped, and, like, my hands were shaking.KRISTI KELLY: The Department of Veterans Affairs has truly let individuals down.ARNOLD: Kristi Kelly is a consumer attorney in Virginia who's hearing from a great deal of veterans who remain in the exact same boat.KELLY: The homeowners participated in COVID forbearances. They were made sure promises, and the VA essentially pulled the rug out from under everybody.ARNOLD: Kelly states for the majority of other homeowners in America, there are still methods to move your missed payments to the back of the loan term so you can prevent getting foreclosed on, however not if you have a VA loan. So she states veterans are being dealt with worse than most other homeowners.KELLY: Service members are going to lose their home, and for many people, that's whatever they work for and all their wealth, are in their homes.ARNOLD: For its part, the Department of Veterans Affairs states it had no option but to end the program. John Bell directs the VA's home loaning division.JOHN BELL: We had a short-term authority for that specific program during COVID.ARNOLD: Some in the industry think the VA did in fact have the authority to extend the program. Now, however, NPR has found out that the VA is dealing with a brand-new program to replace the old one, however that's still four or 5 months away - too long for a number of the 6,000 property owners with VA loans who remain in the foreclosure process. Not to mention there's 34,000 more who were overdue. Today 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 options."BELL: We owe it to our veterans to make sure that we're offering them every chance to be able to remain in the home.ARNOLD: Ray and Becky Queen are hoping that the VA does put a pause on foreclosures, since if the fire truck appears after your house burns down, it's not going to do much excellent for the thousands of veterans who need assistance now.Chris Arnold, NPR News.<br>