Lawmakers seek to boost home-buying benefit

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Lawmakers seek to boost home-buying benefit
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 14, 2007 14:43:08 EST

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is focusing on how to use the veterans’ home loan program to help service members and veterans who risk losing their homes.

Reps. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., and Mike Michaud, D-Maine, introduced a bill Thursday that would greatly increase the maximum loan amount that the Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees. The bill, HR 4539, would raise the current $417,000 limit to a new maximum of $521,250.

Buyer, the former committee chairman, said the chief reason for the increase is that the $417,000 cap is so low that it precludes service members and veterans from using the program in some high-cost areas of the country.

“Rising housing costs are keeping many veterans out of the market,” Buyer said. “And those who are able to purchase the American Dream are paying significantly higher closing costs.”

Buyer said the bill also would make it easier for people with non-VA loans to refinance under the government guaranty program by capping refinancing fees — which currently are larger for refinancing than for new loans — and could relax rules on who must pay closing costs, both actions that would make the VA loan program more attractive.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/military_veterans_homeloans_071214w/