Changes Made In VA Home Loans Have Now Come Into Force

• Changes were made to VA home loans under the 2019 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Act.
• Changes include removal of any down-payment, removal of loan limits for Native American Veterans for Federal Trust Land house loans, and exemption of funding fees for Purple Heart recipients.

Changes that were made to the home loans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the US, under the 2019 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, have come into force during the first week of January.

According to the specified changes, these home loans would no longer require a downpayment irrespective of the loan amount. Also, the loan limit previously in place for Native American Veterans has been removed to allow the building and buying of houses on the Federal Trust Land. Lastly, the funding fee previously applicable to VA home loans for Purple Heart recipients currently on active duty has also been exempted.

Before these changes, loan limits on VA loans were set according to the limits specified by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The 2019 limit was $510,400 for the region of Bexar County and the areas in its surroundings.

A temporary increase in the funding fee for two years, from 0.15% to 0.30%, would be applied, according to the VA, which has been mandated by Congress. This would apply to both veterans as well as service members. However, members belonging to the National Guard and the Reserve will get a reduction in funding fees. All previously-applicable funding fee exemptions will carry forward, including those provided to veterans with service-related disabilities.

During the last fiscal year, ending in September of 2019, the San Antonio region granted 10,469 VA loans, as per the data provided by Veterans United Home Loans, a mortgage lender.

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According to the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Act, 14 health conditions possibly impacting veterans due to their time in service have also been recognized. These include conditions arising from exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange, which impacted many serving in Vietnam or the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Conditions arising from such exposure include respiratory cancers, peripheral neuropathy, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcomas, type-2 diabetes, chronic B-cell leukemia, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s, and others.

Benefits under the VA will also extend to their children that have spina bifida if there is a possibility that their parents were exposed during their time in service.