VA Loan Requirements for Spouses For families and individuals currently serving or who have served in the military, VA loans have been made available to them to help them purchase homes. In some cases widowed spouses who have not remarried are also eligible for these loans. Let’s outline the qualification requirements for these individuals and single parent families.
VA Loans: A Brief History. In 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (informally known as the G.I. Bill) was passed by Congress, which provided eligible veterans with a wide array of benefits. Many of the perks included in the Act was the ability for veterans to apply for low-cost housing and business loans, and educational stipends, thereby encouraging them to return home and return to work or school, and get back into civilian life as seamlessly as possible. In the 1970s the Veterans Housing Act (1970) and the Veterans Housing Benefits Improvement Act (1979) removed termination dates for applying for loans and bumped the benefits that veterans were eligible. All of these benefits were restricted to veterans who had served on active duty during specified dates. Then the Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992 came along and expanded the program to include military reserve personnel and those serving on the National Guard. Recently, on August 6, 2012, the Honoring American’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act was signed, providing loan benefits to the unmarried widows of military personnel.
VA Loans for Spouses Under the new act, the requirements for qualification are as follows. Widows applying must have survived their spouse who must have died in service or passed away from a service-related disability. They may also be the surviving spouse of an individual who was MIA or a POW for at least 90 days. And finally, they may be the widow of deceased military personnel who was rated continuously and totally disabled for a specified amount of time who was also eligible for disability pay at the time they passed away. Provided that a widow or widower of a veteran qualifies under the requirements outlined above, VA Loans can be provided to them through an approved lender and will be backed by the government and include benefits like eliminating VA home loan funding fees, allowing the applicant to pay zero down on loans to $417,000 or more depending on the area, no penalties for early payoff, competitively low interest rates, and the option to refinance up to 100% of the appraised value of the home.
Regardless of the situation, qualified individuals seeking to purchase a home should seriously consider what the VA loan has to offer. These loans provide some of the most flexible and lenient rules and requirements, allowing individuals with low incomes to easily afford a comfortable space for their families. Since the program was established in 1944 with the original G.I. Bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs stated that as of October 2012, it has guaranteed 20 million home loans. Number 20 million was provided to the surviving spouse of an Iraq War veteran. For more information on VA loans and other home loan options, contact Government Loan Pro today. Photo Credit: Rotorhead, edman_pl