Al-Qaida leader admits facing pressure from drones

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A purported al-Qaida leader in Pakistan says the terror network is losing territory and fighters amid a U.S. drone strike campaign, according to an audio message monitored by a U.S. organization that tracks militant propaganda.

Karzai’s pick for parliament speaker accused of atrocities
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan warlord who’s accused of gross human rights violations and was once close to Osama bin Laden has received the backing of President Hamid Karzai for the important post of speaker of the new parliament, which was inaugurated Wednesday.
A Reservist in a New War, Against Foreclosure

While Sgt. James B. Hurley was away at war, he lost a heartbreaking battle at home

Veterans receive assistance from California support group

California servicemembers are receiving help from the Morro Bay Veterans Support Group, which hosted its first meeting last week. Officials who put the group together educated military members about veterans benefits, according to California news provider KSBY.

Pentagon to Outline Training for DADT Repeal

WASHINGTON — Pentagon leaders will roll out a plan Friday that is expected to give the military services about three months to train their forces on the new law allowing gays to serve openly, officials said Wednesday.

US IED Fatalities Up 60% in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Roadside bombs killed 268 American troops in Afghanistan last year, a 60 percent increase over the previous year even as the Pentagon employs new measures to counter the Taliban’s makeshift weapon of choice.

Report: VA Overpaid Disabled Vets by $1B

WASHINGTON — Poor oversight and missing medical follow-ups led to nearly $1 billion in overpayments in veterans disability benefits over the last 18 years, and could lead to another $1 billion in improper payouts in the near future if left unchecked, according to a new investigation.

Transcript: Obama’s State Of The Union Address

The text of President Obama’s State of the Union address, as released by the White House

President Obama laid out a big year for the military Tuesday night in his State of the Union address.

In a speech that talked about the need to cut federal spending — but not so deeply to eliminate things that aren’t wasteful — Obama said $78 billion in cuts in defense spending already proposed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates may not all of the belt-tightening the military is asked to make.

Al-Qaida-Linked Taliban Commander Killed

During a raid in the northern province of Takhar Monday, Coalition and Afghan special operations forces killed a Taliban commander linked to al-Qaida.

U.S. inspector general calls for halt in funding $26 million Iraqi academy

A top U.S. oversight office has recommended that the United States halt further funding for a $26 million education academy for senior Iraqi security officials after discovering that the Iraqi government had never agreed to operate or maintain the facility.

White House, NATO Hold Up Afghan Force Size Increase

The White House and NATO are holding up a decision on increasing the size of Afghan security forces because of their concerns over the cost and possible objections from Pakistan, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said.

Report: 35% of warrior-unit soldiers face addiction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Medical officials estimate that 25% to 35% of about 10,000 ailing soldiers assigned to special wounded-care companies or battalions are addicted or dependent on drugs — particularly prescription narcotic pain relievers, according to an Army inspector general’s report made public Tuesday.

Gitmo Detainee Gets Life in Embassy Plot

NEW YORK — The first, and possibly the last, Guantanamo detainee to have a U.S. civilian trial was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for his role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, a case that nearly unraveled when the defendant was convicted on just one of more than 280 counts.

Veteran crisis: Newest war vets become homeless at alarming rate

EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The house that Jordan Sanford now calls home sits on a barren hilltop near Eagle Mountain, in a secluded, partially developed subdivision. Inside, there are tall ceilings and polished wood floors, and the natural light pours in from the windows. It’s a big improvement from the tent Sanford called home two years ago while deployed in Iraq.

When borrowers can’t make their mortgage payment the bank files paperwork to take back the home.  A foreclosure is the final step when the lender proceeds to sell the property that served as collateral for the loan.

This last-resort option for homeowners may be avoided in certain circumstances, but is often difficult and fraught with uncertainty and all-too-often, fraud, as unscrupulous scam artists take advantage of homeowners in distress.  Veterans have an option that other homeowners don’t.  The VA Loan Program offers mortgage counseling that may be a lifeline for struggling veterans.   

General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, emphasized the benefit of the VA Loan Program by saying, “The continued high performance of VA loans is due to the dedication of VA’s loan professionals, the support of our partners in the mortgage industry and most notably, the responsibility of our Veterans and their desire to maintain home ownership.”
The program is available to veterans with VA loans as well as veterans with other types of home loans. The counseling service also will work with active duty personnel in financial crisis.  Using proven methods, the program reaches out to servicemen and women in financial crisis to help keep them in their homes. 

With 13 VA Regional Loan Centers that employ mortgage counselors to assist financially distressed borrowers, the counselors are able to offer advice on more palatable options including loan modifications, repayment plan revisions and forbearances.

The Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey says the VA loan counseling is working.  Foreclosure and serious delinquencies appear to be consistently lower that other home loans within the lending industry.  The VA Home Loan Program currently guarantees 1.3 million mortgages and has helped veterans with more than 18.8 million home loans since its inception in 1944.  That means that veterans secured $1.06 trillion in home loans through the VA Home Loan Program.

VA loans not only have a lower foreclosure rate, making them good for lenders and society in general, they are a key benefit to veterans as well.  VA loans provide active duty military and veterans with a chance to purchase their own home.  VA-approved lenders make federally-backed VA loans that are guaranteed by the government.  That backing allows banks to offer veterans lower rates without risk to the lender.

One of the most sought-after benefits for vets is taking advantage of zero money down even as the loans offer very competitive interest rates.  Private mortgage insurance is also waived despite the fact that veterans have no existing equity in their homes at the time of purchase.  The program is open to veterans, active-duty military members as well as certain surviving spouses.

The goal of the program is to allow veterans to save money on up-front costs in order to make homes more affordable. 
Depending on the circumstances are, VA counselors can intercede with the lender on the veteran’s behalf to pursue repayment plans, forbearance, even loan modifications and other mortgage-saving options.  These options offer alternatives to foreclosures and allow veterans to keep their homes.  

Credit for the success of the VA Outreach Programs goes to the VA counselors themselves. With nine regional loan centers throughout the country, the counselors assist people in avoiding foreclosure by advising them and helping them make alternative financial arrangements.  Counselors receive education in assisting veterans with other financial problems.  

Veteran homeowners who have taken advantage of the VA Home Loan Program, like their civilian counterparts, are feeling the effects of a bad economy. However, Veterans may be more resilient because of the free mortgage counseling. With these kinds of outreach programs, borrowers can learn about improved VA mortgage options that may be particularly beneficial to veterans experiencing financial distress.  

The VA counselors seek out veterans in financial distress who have high monthly mortgage payments to let them know about the financial options that are available through the VA counselors and the VA center where they may receive lower mortgage rates or obtain refinancing counseling.  Since the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 was signed into law in October of 2008, VA-eligible borrowers have been able to get up to 100% refinancing with VA loans.  

Veterans may refinance up to 100% of their loan value if they are qualified whether they want to replace their current loan with a VA loan or a conventional mortgage.    Counselors advise vets and current active duty military to contact them before they actually fail to make a payment.   They may be able to refinance the complete loan before they have to undergo the financial distress of going through the foreclosure process.  This may also save them money as well as stress.  If they take advantage of the VA Streamline loan, they don’t even have to go through the foreclosure process. The streamlined loan is streamlined so that the process moves more quickly.  The one qualification is that the mortgage payment record must be good going into the streamlined loan process, so counselors really request that vets and other service people contact them early on.

Helping veterans stay in their houses is the goal of the VA Streamline and VA outreach program.  Thanks to the dedication of the VA and the VA mortgage industry professionals, it appears to be working. For more information on the VA home loan program, contact a VA home loan professional.

This past summer, an Air Force Staff Sergeant hoped to buy a home for his family using a home loan from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He wanted to have his wife and two children settled into their new home before he was sent overseas to the Middle East in August.

He and his wife made several offers on foreclosed homes in California using their VA loan, but none were accepted.

VA loans are guaranteed mortgages provided to the country’s 25 million living veterans (or their surviving spouses) to purchase homes with little or no down payment. It sounds like a great deal, but the loans do come with certain restrictions around appraisals and inspections that are shutting service members out of buying foreclosed properties.

The family lost a bid on a foreclosed home in California. The property eventually sold to a cash investor who paid a lower price.

According to the CEO of Inside Mortgage Finance, this is not unusual for buyers using VA loans.

Usually the biggest problem with VA loans is the appraisals. The buyers may be willing to pay a certain amount for the home, but if the appraiser does not agree that the house is worth that much, the seller ends up accepting a lower amount.

At the same time, many homes may have problems that are not easy to detect. That causes issues with the financing during the VA inspection process.

In fact, many of the properties that are in foreclosure or in financial trouble are being bought with cash, because standard financing is not designed for this kind of property.

According to data from the Real Estate Agents Reports on Home Purchases and Mortgages – 2009, investors who usually pay cash for homes, are buying more than half of the foreclosures sold by banks.

Because the VA buyers may not be putting money down, if the home needs thousands of dollars in repairs, which it likely does, the soldier could quickly end up in trouble and then default on the loan.

Service members who are looking to buy their first homes did get some good news recently. The House of Representatives recently voted to extend the popular $8,000 first time buyer credit for another 12 months for members of the military, Foreign Service, and intelligence corps who served at least three months of qualified overseas duty in 2009.

However, many military families are still being left out in the cold and are forced to search endlessly for a home.  I don’t know about you, but this does not seem fair to me.  What do you think?

The recession throughout 2008 has affected unemployment.  In 2009, families are struggling to make ends meet.  Shrinking home values and rising mortgage delinquencies are causing the U.S. housing market to be in crisis — a situation that intensified in late 2007 and climaxed in 2008.  A surplus of bank-owned properties only added fuel to the fire in November of 2008.  And, in early 2009 even more Americans experienced foreclosure. 

When a borrower defaults, or fails to repay a mortgage debt and the lender proceeds to sell the property that served as collateral for the loan. This is known as foreclosure. And, building enough credit to qualify for a mortgage again after foreclosure is a huge undertaking.

It goes without saying that a foreclosure is not pleasant for anyone.  The homeowner loses a home and the lender is left with the unpaid debt and a property that may or may not sell. But, foreclosure can be avoided for many VA borrowers through mortgage counseling.

The VA Outreach Program offers mortgage counseling as a resource against foreclosure for VA-eligible borrowers. The Program provides extensive mortgage counseling services as a benefit for those with military affiliation.  The Program provides outreach to two different groups of veterans: those with VA home loans and those with other types of loans, in efforts to keep the military affiliated in their homes.  Veterans and active-duty personnel can better deal with financial crises by applying the program’s proven methods. 

In certain dire situations, VA counselors can intercede with the lender on the veteran’s behalf to pursue mortgage-saving options such as repayment plans, forbearance, and even loan modifications.  All of these offer an alternative to foreclosure and allow a homeowner to keep a home. 

VA counselors are owed much of the credit for the success of the VA Outreach Program. There are counselors in nine regional loan centers throughout the country.  Each counselor is trained to assist people in avoiding foreclosure through advice and special financial arrangements.  Counselors are also educated in assisting veterans with other financial problems. 

The free VA mortgage counseling has a proven track record for saving loans from foreclosure.  Through the outreach program, borrowers learn of improved VA mortgage options which may be particularly beneficial to veterans experiencing financial distress and those who are in loan default.  

The newest VA outreach mission is to contact veterans experiencing financial distress due to high monthly mortgage payments and inform them of new and improved options for refinancing at lower rates with VA loans.  Since the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 was signed into law in October of 2008, VA-eligible borrowers have been able to get up to 100% refinancing with VA loans.

A VA mortgage counselor will most likely discuss one hundred percent refinancing with the VA Home Loan Program with qualified veterans whether they have a VA loan or some other type of loan. The best time to take advantage of this option is before default or delinquency occurs. One hundred percent refinancing with VA loans can help relieve financial stress for many veterans, save mortgages from foreclosure and even provide cash out of equity to pay down debts.

Another refinance tool that a VA Outreach counselor might very well discuss is the VA Streamline loan.  As the name implies, the qualification process is streamlined.  For example, a veteran’s mortgage payment record must be good, but there is no need for an appraisal, income verification or full credit report.

Since 2000, VA counselors have helped 74,000 veterans, active-duty members and survivors keep their homes.  The Program has generated a savings of $1.5 billion in saved mortgages due to foreclosure-alternative counseling.  

Ultimately, repayment plans, forbearance, loan modifications, 100% refinancing, and VA Streamlines can all be effective in saving a VA loan from foreclosure. And, the VA outreach program continues to work hard to keep veterans in their homes.

Talk To Your Lender

Perhaps the most important first step that any home owner should take when they are facing foreclosure, or falling behind on payments is to talk to the VA lender.  Currently, many lenders are offering options to help home owners to get back on their feet.  Many will provide you with the necessary help to allow you to get caught up in payments.  They do not want to own your home, nor do they want to take possession of it.  Rather, they would rather help you find a way to get caught up in payments.  This is most helpful when you can show that you can make monthly payments if you were caught up.

Foreclosure Help

With the recent number of foreclosures happening around the country, there is help for those struggling.  If your VA loan is falling behind, there may be help available to you through government sponsored programs.  You can find this information out when you visit the State Government Housing Office online or contact the VA offices for more help.  In some situations, they can help you to get caught up, to reestablish a good repayment history and to help you work to get the best payment options available.

In some cases, you may be able to refinance your VA loan for a longer term, which would help to lower the monthly payment.  If you are paying more on your VA home loan in interest than is currently valuable, you may want to consider refinancing it to a lower rate which also will cut down on the monthly payment.  These are just a few of the options you have to improving your ability to make monthly payments.

Can Your Finances Help?

One of the worst things you can do for your future as well as your overall credit history is to miss payments on your mortgage.  This is a serious problem that could keep you from owning a home again in the future.  Use your finances wisely.  Here are some tips to help you:

·       Work out a monthly budget and stick with it.  Insure that you have enough income to maintain all of your costs.  If not, cut back on those areas where you can.

·       Increase the income coming into your home in any way you can.

·       Stop using credit cards for purchases as this will cause you to pay more for the same items because of finance charges.

One of the most important things that you can do is maintain your VA home loan.  Preventing foreclosure on your VA loan means to keep up with payments.  Just falling one month behind will get the lender to start the foreclosure process.  Therefore, insure that you have extra savings to help you prevent any problems from happening.