VA Loan Updates

My Grandfather, an 87 year old World War II Veteran has a heart of gold and mind as sharp as a World War II sniper. He’s also got an opinion. He and I often debate sports, history and politics. I thoroughly enjoy his input and I cherish every moment of it. When he found out I was blogging about history, he wanted to add his two cents. He’s earned it. He’s part of “The Greatest Generation”. He’s put in his time. He’s allowed to be crotchety. What would this world be without curmudgeons? And I mean this is in the best possible way.

Please find below his thoughts on the GI Bill, immigration and American laziness.

“I believe The GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) was the best and worst thing in American history. Before WWII the USA was a country of family oriented God loving people. Who raised their families, feared God and worked hard; something that brought from the hamlets of Europe. Then came the Great War, and to thank them, the good men in Congress passed the GI BILL.

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David Radley, a sound engineer, wants to borrow $180,000 to buy a house he rents in Appleton, Wis., but he can’t afford a down payment and has a low credit score.

Finding such a loan was a snap until recently. Now mortgage broker John Waite of Full Resource Lending says Radley needs to pay off old bills and put down at least 5 percent to qualify. Though Waite’s motto is, “We say yes’ when the banks say ‘no,’ ” he is saying “later” more frequently these days.

Radley’s plight reflects the turmoil in the business of packaging mortgages into securities that are sold to U.S. and overseas investors.

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Question: Does the Department of Veterans Affairs recognize a veteran’s desire to have a living will or other documents that summarize wishes for health care?Answer: Each patient has a right to complete a form known as an “advance directive,” a written statement that the patient completes in advance of serious illness about which medical decisions he/she wants made in the event the veteran can no long make his or her wishes known. The two most common forms of advance directives are a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. The document, if the veteran chooses to create one, will be maintained as part of his medical record and will be reviewed periodically with the veteran or surrogate decision maker. For more information on advance directives, call the VA Medical Center at 433-0600.

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Housing and health care were the top issues among Queens veterans who met with Congressman Gregory Meeks Tuesday night during a public meeting on improving services to those who served America.

Several of the crowd’s approximately 50 veterans took the floor at St. Albans Primary and Extended Care Center’s Pratt Auditorium to voice their everyday struggles to find homes or obtain adequate medical care.

James McLaughlin, a Vietnam veteran, described the hardships of obtaining affordable housing as he continues his residency at the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence in Long Island City — a homeless shelter for male veterans. The 56 year old is on disability from the City Housing Authority, but does not make enough money to get a permanent home. He is trying to get benefits from Veterans Affairs, but representatives there said his Army records are lost.

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Military veterans frustrated with the bureaucracy in trying to get benefits told their stories Thursday to U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, who both praised them for their service and pledged to do what he could to help.

Stearns, R-Ocala, met with veterans who are students at Santa Fe Community College and the University of Florida during a day spent touring several Alachua County spots.

“This has been a high point — to see these men and women who have the best intentions but get frustrated. They want to go to college, and they have the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, but there are these frustrations,” Stearns said after the gathering.

“I’ll try to see which one is the most egregious and see if I can help with that one. And then go to the next one.”

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Jake Warner lashes out when his classmates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison protest the war.

Katie Nelson, a junior at UW-Milwaukee, gets confused by her financial aid.

Four years after enrolling at UW-Oshkosh, Todd Johnston still feels lonely; he misses having friends by his side 24 hours a day.

A slew of government benefits, including a new Wisconsin G.I. Bill, is propelling record numbers of veterans into Wisconsin’s colleges and universities.

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Q: Two years ago my wife and I bought a house on the GI Bill with no down payment. Then our old house didn’t sell, so we sold the new one to our grandson for what we owed. Now the problem: To buy it, he got a mortgage for $20,000 more than we owed. At the closing we received a check for the extra $20,000 and wrote it over to him because he will have to pay that mortgage back.

Now the paper trail shows we made a profit of $20,000 on the house. Our accountant says we will owe about $3,000 capital gains tax on profit we did not earn. Is there some way we can show the IRS what actually transpired?

A: You probably don’t want to tell the government what actually transpired. When I re-read your letter trying to figure out what happened, I could only conclude that fraud was involved.

It looks as if your grandson told the lender he was paying at least $20,000 more than you were really charging for that house. All of you committed a felony if you signed a fake sales contract he could show the lender.

Yes, I know your grandson will be paying back that loan, but even so, I think he should make you a gift of any extra income tax this flim-flam costs you.

There’s another possibility, though. In order to buy that house with a nothing-down VA mortgage, you must have told your lender you intended to occupy it as your principal residence. Assuming you told the truth then, and if you were there for two years before you sold it, profit up to half a million dollars would be tax-free through the home seller capital gains exemption.

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Eighteen California lawmakers are co-sponsoring a bill that could help provide low-interest home loans to more veterans in California and Texas.

The bill, HR 551, the Home Ownership for America’s Veterans Act, would expand funding for state-run home loan programs to make more veterans eligible.

The CalVet loan program would, if financing were available, be open to all people who served 90 days or longer on active duty under honorable conditions. Only about 4 percent of California’s veterans qualify for CalVet loans today because there is no money for more loans.

Under the program, the state serves as the lender, an entirely different approach from the federal government’s home loan guarantee program for veterans in which home buyers get loans from commercial lenders that have government backing.

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There is an under-used, special monthly pension benefit available to Georgia’s wartime veterans and surviving spouses of deceased wartime veterans incapable of self support and in need of regular personal assistance.

“Many wartime veterans and surviving spouses whose incomes are above the federally mandated limit for a basic VA pension may still be eligible for pension at the higher housebound or Aid and Attendance rate,” points our Georgia Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Pete Wheeler. “Although this is not a new program, not everyone is aware of his or her potential eligibility.”

The Aid and Attendance pension benefit may be available to any wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home care or who live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.

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TAMPA - Marine sergeant Tony Biermann will never forget the sound of the sirens that warned of a mortar attack, near the Abu Ghraib prison where he was serving.

“I didn’t have any time to run or do anything. It exploded behind me. I had shrapnel to my tailbone and to my upper elbow,” Biermann said.

A week later, he was honored with the Purple Heart.

But that medal didn’t carry the weight he thought it would when in January, he went to the Brandon campus of Hillsborough Community College.

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