Veterans United Home Loans

Founded in 2002 by two brothers, Veterans United is a military-friendly financial institution that offers VA home loans, conventional mortgages, USDA, and FHA mortgage loans for purchase or refinance. Aimed squarely at veterans, Veterans United Home Loans was honored in 2019 by the Department of Veterans Affairs for issuing the official 24 millionth VA mortgage for the 75-year-old VA loan program.

How military-friendly is Veterans United? The name aside, this financial institution has an advisory board of compensated military advisors from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the National Guard.

The official site includes a commitment to “work with former senior enlisted leaders from each branch of the Armed Forces” to bring relevant lending products, information, and education to military and military-affiliated customers.

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Veterans United Services

Veterans United is not a credit union or a savings bank, and does not provide non-home loan related financial services. You won’t use Veterans United to do investing, saving, or non-mortgage bank account activity.

You may be required to open an escrow account in order to make a home loan or refinance loan transaction function according to Veterans United requirements. Be sure to ask a loan officer about how and when this may be required.

Veterans United offers options including but not limited to:

• VA mortgage loans
• VA refinance loans
• USDA purchase loans
• FHA mortgage loans and refinance loans
• Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM loans)
• Conventional mortgages
• Jumbo Loans
• FHA and USDA loans are available too

Veterans United Pros & Cons

Pros

• VA Loan specialization (military membership not required)
• Military advisors from each branch of the armed forces
• 24/7 in house customer service over the phone
• Online application and pre-qualification
• Free credit counseling service

Cons

• Doesn’t offer home equity loans or HELOCs
• Physical branches in 18 states (AL, AK, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY, NE, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA)

Who Can Use Veterans United?

VA mortgage loans are offered under the program’s rules to currently serving military members, veterans who served a minimum amount of time on active duty and did not receive a discharge characterized as Dishonorable. Certain surviving spouses of military members who died as a result of military service may also be eligible.

However, since Veterans United also offers conventional loans, FHA, and USDA mortgages, their non-VA loan services may be open to non-veterans.

It’s difficult to find specific wording on the Veterans United official site that states whether or not Veterans United processes non-military mortgage applications, but for the purposes of writing this article we attempted to start an application process as a non-military-affiliated applicant looking for a non-VA mortgage.

We were allowed all the way through the online pre-screening process without an issue identifying as a non-military applicant. Once you get to a certain part of that screening process you are asked to provide contact information so a lender can reach out–we declined that portion of the process but were not stopped for seeking more information about non-VA loans for non-military people.

My Veterans United Online Portal

Through the MyVU portal you can securely complete a loan application, pre-qualify online, review and submit documents, monitor your progress and sign documents electronically. The loan team will stay in contact throughout the process, communicating what’s needed along the way.

Veterans United Realty

The company boasts a network, “of more than 5,000 locally-licensed real estate agents, each with experience serving the unique needs of military families.” The realty service isn’t just offered as a perk for buyers who want a more all-in-one or concierge style home loan service; Veterans United offers incentives to use their realty offerings including reduced closing costs, or a reduced interest rate.

Presented as a “bundled benefit service program” the official site advises potential borrowers they may be eligible “to lower monthly payments or apply savings toward closing costs” via a rebate offered in conjunction with Veterans United Realty.

Veterans United Lighthouse Program

Aimed at those who would otherwise qualify for a VA mortgage, FHA home loan, or other mortgage product if it weren’t for low credit scores, the Lighthouse Program is a free-to-the-borrower credit repair program that offers assistance with the applicant’s specific credit issues with the goal of raising credit scores to qualify for a mortgage loan.

The Veterans United official site boasts roughly 30,000 success stories via its Lighthouse Program. “Our top priority is to show you the best path to getting credit qualified for a home loan” and that involves working with a Veterans United credit counselor to correct credit report problems, improve mortgage credit scores, and “strengthen your overall financial profile.”

Some of the credit repair steps you will be introduced to via this program include:

• Opening a secured credit card account
• Creating a consistent on-time payment history
• Working toward lower debt ratios and credit card balances
• Dispute or resolve outstanding collection activity

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News