The VA tells banks not to foreclose on veterans’ homes this year

The Department of Veterans Affairs has extended a moratorium on foreclosures for vets with GI Bill home loans. The move gives mortgage companies more time to get a new program up and running to rescue veterans who were facing foreclosure through no fault of their own.

“We’re calling on mortgage servicers to follow a targeted foreclosure moratorium so we can make sure that Veterans get the support they need to stay in their homes,” Under Secretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs said in a statement.

The VA initially asked mortgage companies last year to halt all foreclosures after an NPR investigation revealed that the VA had abruptly ended a key part of a pandemic mortgage relief program, stranding tens of thousands of vets who were still in the middle of it with no way to get current on their home loans. The end-date on that foreclosure moratorium was May 31st. Mortgage companies will now have until the end of 2024 to implement the VA’s new rescue plan — the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program. It’s welcome news to veterans stuck in limbo.

“It relieved the pressure off of me that I know I'm not gonna wake up one morning and see a sign outside and see a sheriff at the front door telling me to get the hell out,” said Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran Edward O’Conner.

“But at the same time, I hope that it gives the VA enough time for them to get their head and ass wired together,” O’Conner said in exasperation. “You gotta understand it gets me frustrated.”

Paused payments

After O’Connor’s wife lost her job during the pandemic, the VA told him he could pause mortgage payments on his VA-backed home-loan through what’s called a forbearance. Many vets were told they could simply add the missed payments to the back of