The VA Home Loan Guaranty Resiliency and Concurrency Enhancement (GRACE) Act (H.R. 7388) was recently introduced to the House as a way to help military families buy homes at new duty stations, easing their transition periods during relocation.
Affordable housing has grown increasingly difficult across the U.S., and service members have found it no easier. U.S. Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Trent Kelly (R-MS), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the GRACE Act in an effort to help, expanding the VA home loan program in the process.
“Our veterans and servicemembers put their lives on the line to keep us safe, but too many are repaid with a lifetime of financial hardship that puts their housing at risk,” Porter said. “My bill would help military families get affordable mortgages and make it easier for them to relocate on short notice. I’m proud to work across the aisle to increase housing affordability for these brave Americans.”
The bill focuses on the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program to make its changes. The VA Home Loan Guaranty Program assists veterans and current service members alike to acquire affordable home loans without down payments or traditional annual mortgage insurance premiums. That’s how it’s supposed to work, at least. Limited coverage, the lawmakers pointed out, makes it tricky for military families to secure another loan when transferred or need to take out another mortgage for a new primary residence.
Changes under this bill would expand the loan guaranty to make it easier for veterans and service members alike to afford homes – and stay off the street.
As Fitzpatrick pointed out, veterans make up about 13 percent of the homeless adult population in the U.S. currently.
“We must do all we can to provide those who have served our country, and their families, with safe and secure housing,” Fitzpatrick said. “That is why I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation that would expand affordable home loan coverage for military families and avoid saddling them with an additional home loan or mortgage.”
The bill comes in the wake of an investigation by Porter’s office last year that detailed exploitation and above within the VA Home Loan Program, due to a mix of unscrupulous lenders and scammers working the systems. In some cases, lenders were found to charge veterans thousands of dollars more for the same loan than their competitors. Scammers have also reportedly pressured buyers to refinance mortgages early to harvest a second round of closing costs, despite federal laws that have sought to crackdown on the practices.