Only 9% of first-time home buyers utilized their VA home loan benefit, according to 2024 findings by the National Association of Realtors®. An expert on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ program is working to raise awareness for veterans and military families considering home ownership.
Michelle Crumley, director of VA Education and Policy for mortgage lender Newrez, said far too many are missing out on understanding the life-changing impact these benefits present. As a military spouse of more than 30 years, Crumley is committed to the military and veteran community. Her decades of expertise in the mortgage industry and deep personal ties to the military have already resulted in assisting thousands reach financial and homeownership aspirations.
“VA loans are the best programs that are out there,” she explained.
It’s because, she said, eligible service members utilizing the VA home loan program can avoid the necessity of making a down payment on a new home purchase. The program also allows them to have a lower monthly payment, because the VA’s program doesn’t require them to pay toward private mortgage insurance.
Perhaps even more significantly, because it’s a government-backed loan, VA loans are always assumable, Crumley said. That means sellers who have secured a low interest rate have the ability to allow some buyers to assume that same low interest rate. That can be “a huge selling point,” she pointed out.
It was during a home purchase for her own family that Crumley realized the lack of understanding many traditional agents have about VA benefits.
“I got into the mortgage industry with the intention of educating military families and our veteran families as they go through the process themselves,” she said.
Today, Crumley is a member of the National Education Committee of the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals — which means she creates and updates national certification programs, educating members of the industry alongside service members, veterans, and their families.
Crumley was quick to share other observations that qualifying individuals or their families might find helpful.
“We know that uncertainty is never a friend of the markets,” she said. “We were really hoping for a lot of stability as we went into 2024, and that hasn’t occurred.”
But interest rates, Crumley added, don’t necessarily dictate purchasing behavior. In fact, military families are optimistic about home buying. Seventy-one percent of current service members plan to purchase a home in the next five years, according to a national survey. That’s because these individuals aren’t making a decision based solely on market conditions, Crumley explains, sometimes, they simply need to put a roof over their head.
“(They’re) buying because you need a house: a place to lay your head at night, a place to raise your family,” she said.
Crumley emphasizes that military families should keep home purchases in perspective.
“Our service members know how to do their work before they go downrange,” she said. “They research, and they practice (before acting). They need to do the same when it comes to finding the person that’s going to work with them and find their house, as well as its financing.
“Do the research,” she suggested, “and do the homework. Ask the questions, and find that expert.”
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