VA Home Loan and Grant Program for Veterans with Special Housing Needs

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Mortgage / Finance, Real Estate

You can combine a VA home loan with a grant under the Specially Adapted Housing program if you’re a veteran or military personnel with special housing needs because of permanent disabilities acquired while in service. The Specially Adapted Housing Grant program was first launched in 1948, enhanced in 2006 and then expanded in 2008 through the Economic and Housing Recovery Act.

Currently, the maximum grant amount that you can obtain under this Specially Adapted Housing program is $63,780. The VA increases this on a yearly basis, or leaves it unchanged, depending on construction cost increases.

Essentially, you apply for a regular VA home loan to buy a house and then apply for the Specially Adapted Housing grant to help you with the payment. You can combine the two programs or use just the Specially Adapted Housing program in a number of ways.

Use the grant to:

• buy an already specially-adapted home
• build a home designed to fit your needs, either on land to be purchased or on land already owned
• modify an existing home to adapt to your needs
• buy a specially-adapted home outside the U.S., in a country where the VA is able to provide the grant
• modify a family member’s home where you’re temporarily residing
• pay part of or the entire unpaid principal balance of a home loan you previously took out to buy a specially adapted home

Use the grant in combination with a VA home loan:

The VA loan can be a direct loan, which currently has a maximum of $33,000.
The loan can be a regular VA home loan, which is a loan provided by a private lender but guaranteed by VA.

Who are eligible for this Specially Adapted Housing loan program?

Veterans or military personnel who have been permanently disabled while in service are eligible. The loss of both lower extremities or the loss of use of both of them is one kind of disability addressed under this program. The loss of both upper extremities or their use and permanent disability due to severe burns are also addressed by this grant.

What are the other requirements to avail of this program?

The veteran or servicemember must be able to live in the house, which should be especially adapted to enable him or her to live even without help. Additionally, the borrower must have other funds to pay for housing costs not covered by the grant, such as real estate taxes, home insurance and monthly mortgage payments.

Tampa is one of the most popular cities chosen by military personnel for retirement, according to surveys conducted by USAA. Contact Tampa4U.com for information on affordable homes for sale in Tampa that can be acquired with VA home loans.