A shortage of home appraisers is hurting the VA mortgage loan program so much that some veterans are choosing other loans with higher costs.
By Aaron Crowe, Contributor | November 27, 2017
The VA program has worked well since it started as part of the GI Bill of 1944. It has led to 79 percent of veterans owning their own homes, compared to 63 percent of the non-veteran population.
In recent years, however, fewer vets are using the program. A 2014 survey of members of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 36 percent had applied for a VA home loan.
Kate Ziegler, a real estate agent with Arborview Realty in Boston, says she works with veterans in the competitive Boston market, and has found them often intending to use a VA loan, but end up with a conventional loan as their search continues. The competitive market for affordable condos, Ziegler says, “makes the VA requirements for properties onerous and the corresponding offers less competitive with longer closing timelines and greater risks.”
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