The Department of Veterans Affairs is calling on mortgage lenders to extend a veterans foreclosure moratorium ending Friday UPI reported.
"When a veteran falls on hard times, we work with them and their loan servicers every step of the way to help prevent foreclosure," VA Under Secretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs said in an online announcement. "We're calling on mortgage services to extend a targeted foreclosure moratorium so we can make sure that veterans get the support they need to stay in their homes."
A new program that launches Friday is designed to help more than 40,000 veterans stay in their homes. The program helps veterans make repayment plans if they fall behind or set up a loan modification, adjusting the rate and term of a loan to make it more manageable.
The VA is also launching a new Veterans Affairs Serving Purchase program where the VA will purchase the loan from a loan servicer and then place it in a VA-owned portfolio as a direct loan with a lending rate of 2.5% to make it easier to make payments. A veteran’s mortgage provider will determine whether they are eligible for a VASP and submit a request on their behalf.
Mortgage providers have until Oct. 1 to implement the program.