The much-anticipated housing bill goes to the President for signature today.
Hopefully, this bill will be a step in the right direction.
In addition to the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and new FHA features in the bill, there's a less publicized set of safeguards that I think is a great thing: additional help for veterans and active duty military personnel.
In the interest of disclosure, I was raised a Navy brat - my father served for over twenty years, and in many ways, so did his family. I have some personal experience and knowledge regarding how these measures will provide some much needed relief for our men and women in uniform, our veterans, and their families.
There is a measure that extends the waiting period from three months to nine months before a lender can foreclose on an active duty service member returning from service abroad, and a new measure that freezes a service member's mortgage interest rate for a year after returning from service. There's also an increase of the VA loan guarantee amount, and an increase in benefits for disabled vets to pay for home accessibility adaptations. There's even a mandate to the Department of Defense to set up financial counseling services for active duty service personnel and veterans.
In an era where many are happy to put yellow ribbon magnets on their cars, but few realize the magnitude of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make for our country, it's great that service members and veterans will benefit from the housing bill.
I did not know about the military benefits of this bill. Thanks for the heads up.
It will be interesting to see exactly what we get when(If) the bill getts signed.. I caught the evening news tonight but no news....
I share your hope..that this will help the consumer and the housing industry move forward.
Again thanks.
I agree, most people do not understand the true sacrifice of self needed to serve in the Military. They deserve the additional help. I know I am the wife of a retired Marine Corp Captain with 23 years of service.
A big thank you to our Military!
While these benifits are great for those of us that are elgible, have you heard anything about a relief package that would help make up the money that we lose when we have to sell our houses due to a change in station?