MBA Calls On VA And Congress To Implement Permanent Partial Claim Program To Assist Veteran Homeowners At Risk Of Foreclosure
MBA’s President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, released the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) reported plans of a phase-out of its Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program:
“Halting the VASP program will increase the number of veterans facing foreclosure unless the VA and Congress implement a permanent partial claim option as soon as possible.
“Against the advice of MBA and other industry stakeholders, the VA ended its Partial Claim Payment program in 2022, leaving thousands of struggling veteran homeowners at risk of foreclosure. The VA then created VASP last year as the only viable home retention option for many veteran homeowners who could resume making payments after a temporary hardship, offering them the opportunity to do so via a more affordable and sustainable payment.
“Mortgage servicers worked tirelessly, and often with conflicting guidance, to ensure that the program was able to work for the veterans they are proud to serve. Any characterization of VASP as a ‘lender bailout’ is patently false and entirely inappropriate, given that the mortgage industry voluntarily honored a foreclosure moratorium for months until the VA was able to provide VASP as the only available solution.
“The work must start immediately to strengthen the VA’s loss mitigation toolkit, and that includes implementing a permanent partial claim option, a foreclosure avoidance tool that is widely used in every other government loan program. MBA is eager to continue to work with the VA and Congress to protect veterans and ensure that they can utilize the housing benefit they earned through their service.”
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