VETERANS: USE YOUR VA BENEFITS

George Lopez | September 7th, 2018

VA benefits can help you buy a dream home, build wealth

For many reasons, many Veterans fail to take advantage of a wide variety of VA benefits that could be available to them, including health care coverage. If you’re a Veteran, active Servicemember, a reservist, a member of the National Guard, or the spouse or dependent of a Veteran, the financial impact of not using all of your VA benefits could be quite significant, especially when you consider some of the bigger VA benefits that are available, such as zero down payment VA Home Loans.

The reasons why some Veterans fail to utilize their rightfully earned VA benefits are numerous. In the case of health care, some Veterans incorrectly assume that only disabled Veterans are eligible for VA benefits. Still other Veterans believe that by not using their VA benefits they are enabling active soldiers to get more VA health care coverage. Whatever the reason, many Veterans are not availing themselves of their VA benefits. According to the VA, only 62% of all separated Veterans have used VA health care since 2001. In some metropolitan areas, it’s estimated that only 30% of Veterans use their eligibility.

In the case of other VA benefits, many Veterans are unaware of other VA programs which could help them improve their overall financial and retirement security, such as the VA Home Loan benefit. Eligible Veterans may be able to obtain a VA Home Loan with a zero down payment option (depending on their state of residence) at a time when interest rates are significantly lower for VA Home Loans than they are for Conventional Mortgages. Zero down payment VA Home Loans are one of the top 10 best financial benefits for military families, according to Kiplinger. Perhaps best of all, you don’t have to be a first-time homebuyer to be eligible.

Buying a home can also be a great way to build long-term wealth and retirement security. Since the Department of Veterans Affairs implemented VA benefits, the VA Home Loan Program has enabled more than 20 million Veterans to achieve the American dream of homeownership. For more information on VA Home Loans, take a look at popular VA mortgage lender James B. Nutter & Company.

Regardless of your financial situation, if you’re a Veteran or the spouse or dependent of a Veteran, you owe it to yourself to find out what VA benefits are available and whether or not you’re eligible. The VA has compiled an exhaustive resource list with all of the benefit details. Thankfully, there are also a lot of Veterans organizations that are standing by and ready to help you navigate the process, such as The American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the Vietnam Veterans Association (VVA).

In this day and age of credit cards, car loans and education expenses, saving for a down payment can be one of the toughest tasks for any family looking to buy a home. But not for military families. As a member of our armed forces, you’ve served our country and you deserve to reap the rewards by taking advantage of your VA benefits to buy a home with a zero down payment VA Home Loan. Thank you for your service!

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