Thousands of Veterans Face Foreclosure and it's not their Fault. the vA could Help
Countless veterans deal with foreclosure and it's not their fault. The VA might assist
By Chris Arnold, Robert Benincasa
Updated Thursday, November 16, 2023 • 9:53 AM EST
Heard on Morning Edition
Becky Queen keeps in mind opening the letter with the foreclosure notice.
"My heart dropped," she said, "and my hands were shaking."
Queen lives on a little farm in rural Oklahoma with her other half, Ray, and their 2 young kids. Ray is a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in Iraq. Since the 1940s, the federal government has helped veterans like him buy homes through its VA loan program, run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
And now the VA has actually put this family on the verge of losing their home.
"I didn't do anything incorrect," says Ray Queen. "The only thing I did was trust a business that I'm expected to rely on with my mortgage."
Like countless other Americans, the Queens benefited from what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance, which permitted house owners to skip mortgage payments. It was set up by Congress after the pandemic hit for people who lost income.
But an NPR investigation has actually found that countless veterans who took a forbearance are now at danger of losing their homes through no fault of their own. And while the VA is dealing with a method to fix the issue, for lots of it might be far too late.
After NPR at first released this story, a group of four U.S. Senators sent a letter to the VA asking it to instantly stop foreclosing on the homes of veterans and servicemembers. It's uncertain if the VA will do that.
For the Queens, this all started in September of 2021, when Becky's mom passed away of COVID-19. She had to take a prolonged leave from work and lost her task.
So last year, with their savings decreasing, the couple states they called the company that manages their mortgage,
Countless veterans deal with foreclosure and it's not their fault. The VA might assist
By Chris Arnold, Robert Benincasa
Updated Thursday, November 16, 2023 • 9:53 AM EST
Heard on Morning Edition
Becky Queen keeps in mind opening the letter with the foreclosure notice.
"My heart dropped," she said, "and my hands were shaking."
Queen lives on a little farm in rural Oklahoma with her other half, Ray, and their 2 young kids. Ray is a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in Iraq. Since the 1940s, the federal government has helped veterans like him buy homes through its VA loan program, run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
And now the VA has actually put this family on the verge of losing their home.
"I didn't do anything incorrect," says Ray Queen. "The only thing I did was trust a business that I'm expected to rely on with my mortgage."
Like countless other Americans, the Queens benefited from what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance, which permitted house owners to skip mortgage payments. It was set up by Congress after the pandemic hit for people who lost income.
But an NPR investigation has actually found that countless veterans who took a forbearance are now at danger of losing their homes through no fault of their own. And while the VA is dealing with a method to fix the issue, for lots of it might be far too late.
After NPR at first released this story, a group of four U.S. Senators sent a letter to the VA asking it to instantly stop foreclosing on the homes of veterans and servicemembers. It's uncertain if the VA will do that.
For the Queens, this all started in September of 2021, when Becky's mom passed away of COVID-19. She had to take a prolonged leave from work and lost her task.
So last year, with their savings decreasing, the couple states they called the company that manages their mortgage,