1. Obtain COE 

A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) can be obtained with your lender’s help or by you online at the Veterans Information Portal (VIP). The COE provides important information to the lender about your eligibility and entitlement.

2. Pre-Qualify

Give your lender all the information about your income, debts and assets upfront so you can get a good idea of how much you can afford to borrow.  Pre-qualifying is just an estimate.  The VA loan underwriter will verify that you are a satisfactory credit risk later in the VA loan process.

3. Property Eligibility

VA mortgages are for primary residences like single family homes, townhomes, VA-approved condos, multi-family dwellings (one fourplex per borrower) and some manufactured homes (secured to a permanent foundation).  Properties financed with a VA loan must have an appraisal and compliance inspection for value and safety.

4. Appraisal

The VA appraiser will evaluate the property to determine fair market value and safety compliance.  The home should appraise at or above the purchase or refinance price.  If it’s determined is unsafe, then safety issues are usually required to be fixed before closing.

5. Underwriting 

A VA underwriter uses income documents, credit reports, the appraisal and other documents to finalize your VA loan application process. The underwriter’s role is to certify to the VA that the borrower is a satisfactory credit risk.

6. Closing 

A title company will be used to close your loan.   You will sign loan, title and other documents at your VA loan closing.  If buying a home, you can move in within the time specified after closing – often within 24 hours.

One recent change, starting August 1, 2011, educational benefits for school breaks will be eliminated, unless the school is closed by and Executive Oder of the President or for an emergency like a national disaster.

Qualified dependents, including children and spouses, may also be approved for remedial, deficiency and refresher courses, if approved.  Children and spouses are eligible for dependent benefits if their parent, guardian or spouse died  in service, was killed in action, is missing in action or captured by hostile forces, was forcibly detained by a foreign government while in the line of duty or was  permanently and totally disabled as a result of service while in active duty in the Armed Forces.

Children are eligible for benefits while between the ages of 18 and 26, unless extended because of the dependent’s own active duty.   Married children are still eligible.  Spousal benefits terminate 10 years from the date that the VA determines your eligibility of 20 years from the date of the service member died.  For more information see the Survivors & Dependents Assistance Pamphlet.

A recent study bearing the Harvard name shows that, when dealing with male cancer patients ages 65 and older, the Veterans Healthcare Administration provides the same care as that with Medicare-funded services.

The researcher behind the study is Nancy Keating, an associate professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School.

The study was conducted at the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the Office of Policy and Planning. Data for the study was collected between 2001 and 2004.  The focus of the study was care for male patients with lung, prostate, and colorectal cancer, as well as lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Keating said, “Care in the VHA is much better coordinated than most other settings.” Keating went on to say, “The VHA has a good, integrated medical record. Their doctors all work together and communicate more effectively. There are no incentives for the overuse of cancer treatments because VHA physicians are not rewarded financially for prescribing more drugs or procedures.”

According to Keating, on of the VHA’s primary goals is to continually improve the healthcare services it provides.  The VHA aims to include quality measurement into everyday operations.

VA encourages all former servicemembers to take advantage of their healthcare benefits if they are eligible for veterans benefits, as many options are underused.

PV has helped people like Aubrey Youngs find a life for herself after a fluke accident took away her ability to walk. They were there with support for Lance Gieselmann after he was ejected from his tank and left paralyzed from the chest down.

Sense 1946, Paralyzed Veterans has been making a difference in so many of our soldiers lives. We were able to speak with Mark Daley, Communications Director of Paralyzed Veterans of America, about PV and the services it has provided.

What is the mission of Paralyzed Veterans of America?

Our mission is to create an America where all veterans, and people with disabilities, and their families, have everything they need to thrive — and to live full and productive lives.

What is your primary goal and how do you hope to accomplish it?

Our primary goal is to empower veterans with disabilities and their families through our national office in DC, our 34 chapters and our national service offices across the nation. We:

- Fight for quality VA health care and ample military benefits.

- Promote and provide wheelchair sports and recreational activities.

- Lead the charge to make America more accessible.

- Empower paralyzed veterans with the tools they need to secure good

careers at a time when the unemployment rate for veterans with severe disabilities is 85 percent.

- Invest in research to find new treatments and a cure for paralysis.

We provide our services to all veterans and their families free of charge. We simply couldn’t do it without America’s generous support.

How long has Paralyzed Veterans of America been around?

Sixty-four years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II.

What sparked the idea for Paralyzed Veterans of America?

When our young paralyzed service members of the “Greatest Generation” returned home, they faced a world with few solutions to the new challenges they faced — from a medical community not knowing how to treat them to an inaccessible nation. These veterans made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. They created Paralyzed Veterans of America, dedicated to veterans service, medical research and civil rights for people with disabilities.

Where does the funding come from?

We are a non-profit charity that relies on donations from the generous American public. We receive no government funding. And we provide our services free to our members.

How have you helped veterans and their families?

- We built a national network of trained service officers deployed at VA hospitals to help all veterans secure the medical and military benefits they have earned through their service and sacrifice;

- We fought for and secured over $3 billion in military benefits and tens of billions in VA health-care funding for all veterans;

- We pioneered wheelchair sports with basketball and for 25 years we’ve co-presented the National Veterans Wheelchair Games — the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world– which has grown to include 17 events;

- We led the charge for the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), making our nation more accessible;

- We helped hundreds of veterans secure careers through our emerging network of specialized vocational rehabilitation offices.

- We led the way in establishing the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, an organization comprised of physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and therapists, dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary health care for people living with spinal cord injury and dysfunction;

- We invested millions in research, new treatments, and finding a cure for paralysis—helping to increase life span of a paralyzed veteran from near zero after injury back in the 1940s to near normal today;

What challenges do you face when trying to help veterans and their families?

One of the biggest challenges is making eligible veterans aware of the benefits and services that we offer freely — from expert assistance in applying for earned military benefits to getting into wheelchair sports.

How many people do you reach?

The answer is: not enough! We want everyone to know about us!

What are the biggest obstacles you face when trying to reach people?

The biggest obstacle is awareness. We want all veterans who need our help to know about us and to access our services and all Americans who want to help veterans to know about our work so they can support us. So thanks for helping us spread the word.  

How can our readers get involved?

During this special week we are launching Mission: ABLE, a new campaign that will enlist all Americans – citizens, communities and companies – to help our paralyzed heroes fully live the lives they deserve and to receive what they need most:  care, benefits and jobs.

A good example is why we are focusing our attention on these three areas is the issue of jobs. The unemployment rate for veterans with severe disabilities is 85%. Yet we know that with the right help, veterans with disabilities can actively compete in the job market, bringing incredible skills and experience from their lives in the service. In turn, employers get great employees. Through Mission: ABLE we intend to make this grim statistic a thing of the past.

Please join our mission at www.mission-able.com.

What message would you like to communicate to our readers?

Please take a minute out of your busy day to think about the challenges facing veterans with disabilities and their families –and then do something good for paralyzed veterans in your community. Please check out our website www.pva.org.

Returning from the War on Terrorism

By Bruce C. Brown

Reviewed by Julie Scott

The “Buddy System” works well when buddies cooperate.  They watch each other through thick and thin, offer help when the going gets tough and rejoice together in the accomplishments earned by the other buddy.  A buddy system is recommended for risky or dangerous situations: swimming, gymnastics, class work … and WAR.

A tour of duty ends and the buddies go to their separate homes … alone.  Each becomes a civilian, a combat veteran discharged from service.  Most come home with special needs and no buddy to help out.  They have benefits, yet no idea where to get them or who to contact.

Finding the Benefits That Are Right For You

Meet your new buddy: Returning from the War on Terrorism: What Every Veteran Needs to Know to Receive Your Maximum Benefits written by Bruce C. Brown.  It is one of those handbooks that should be given to each member of the military as they prepare for separation from active duty.

This handbook is organized into chapters arranged in accordance with the evolution of a veteran.  The introduction sets the pace for the entire book, covering information about the main organization available to all veterans, The Veterans Administration Organization, which is divided into several units.  Collectively, the units are referred to as the VA.

Upon honorable, medical and/or general discharge from active military service, the veteran has a general eligibility for VA benefits automatically.  The degree of eligibility and the benefits each veteran can claim must be determined … by the VA.

The information in this handbook travels from the definition of a veteran, separating from the military into “normal” civilian life, guiding the reader through the veteran’s healthcare system, explaining disability benefits and compensation. Available benefits don’t stop there.  Life insurance, guaranteed home loans, scholarships, grants and other aid, education and training programs, relief for homeless veterans, survivor’s benefits and funeral/burial and memorial benefits are among the additional.

This book is very well-written and an easy read.  As a matter-of-fact, it is sure to get a second reading to absorb the gold mine of information between the covers of this book.  The author mentions that the book is the result of his personal crusade to make veteran entitlements known to those who need them most.  His stated mission transforms this book of information into the veteran’s new best buddy.

Chapters 7 and 8 are most noteworthy as the bounty of information is geared toward all the veterans and not just the recently separated ones.  Practical, useful, current information is presented clearly and augmented with tables and helpful lists which are immediately useful and easy to follow.  Phone numbers are provided where most needed.

This title is available as a paperback copy from your favorite bookstore as well as from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com at a very reasonable cost in proportion to the amount and quality of information it provides.  Family members will find it most helpful as well.  Yes, the author has accomplished his mission.  Here is a veteran’s new best buddy … it could be the chicken soup for those Returning from the War on Terrorism.