Among the multiple services available to returning and former veterans, perhaps the most attractive and most popular service utilized by veterans is the opportunity to receive a VA home loan. VA home loans are part of a program established after World War II to help returning soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen gain access to homeownership.
This single piece of legislation, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, or more commonly called the GI Bill, paved the way for great economic growth in throughout the nation and provided returning vets the opportunity of owning a home. Today, VA home loans, available to veterans through private licensed lenders, are still a valuable resource that many veterans and their families are taking advantage of.
Qualifying for a VA home loan is a simple process for all veterans of the armed services. All a veteran must do is obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA office. The following check list of requirements will cover most items that a veteran or their spouse need to be eligible to receive their Certificate of Eligibility:
– 90 days or more of active duty service during war time
– 181 days or more of active duty service during peace time
– Honorable discharge
– Currently on active duty and fit into one of the first two criteria
– If you are the surviving spouse of a veteran who died during service or because of service-related injuries and you have not remarried.
– You are a reservist and have served for either
-Six years
-Or, you have spent at least 90 days deployed to a combat zone.