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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 68 August 2024 J O U R N A L » Assisting with court proceedings for child support, custody, or estate planning. » Helping veterans obtain benefits like disability compensation. » Defending veterans in criminal cases that can prolong or increase their risk of homelessness, such as outstanding warrants, fines, and driver's license revocation. » Upgrading characterization of discharges or dismissals of former members of the Armed Forces. Legal services are one way VA is working to eliminate veteran homeless- ness and meet the goal of placing at least 41,000 veterans experiencing homeless- ness into permanent housing this year. Building Upon Recent Initiatives Due to the VA's efforts, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has fallen by nearly 5% since early 2020, and by more than 52% since 2010. The VA recently announced in Circular 26-24-14 that eligible veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and sur- viving spouses who use VA-guaranteed home loan benefits can pay for certain real estate buyer-broker fees when purchasing a home. Through issuance of Circular 26-24-14 veterans will have the ability to remain competitive and not at a disadvantage in homebuying market due to changes that may result from a recent class-action settlement involving the National Association of Realtors (NAR), slated to take effect later this summer. Under previous VA policies, veterans using the home loan benefit were prohibited from compensating their professional representative directly. This policy put VA buyers at a disadvantage in situations where offers of compensation are not offered from a seller, potentially forcing them to forego professional rep- resentation, choose a different loan prod- uct, or be forced to exit the home buying market entirely. The new VA regulations are effective August 10, 2024. In another action, the U.S. Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the VA jointly announced the availability of $78 million in HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across the country, for more than 7,000 vouchers. Through the HUD-VASH program, HUD and VA's mission is to end homelessness by assisting veterans and their families in obtaining permanent and sustainable housing with access to quality healthcare and supportive services, and to ensure that homelessness is otherwise prevented. The HUD-VASH program combines HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the VA. VA provides these services for participating veterans at VA medical centers (VAMCs), com- munity-based outreach clinics (CBOCs), through VA contractors, or through other VA designated entities. The VA also recently issued guidance to encourage mortgage servicers to imple- ment a targeted moratorium on foreclo- sures for veterans with VA-guaranteed loans through December 31, 2024. This new, targeted foreclosure moratorium will help ensure that U.S. veterans and their families are able to stay in their homes while mortgage servicers implement the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program—a new, last-resort tool for qualified veterans experiencing severe financial hardship. Through VASP, VA will purchase qualified veterans' modified loans from their loan servicers and then place them in the VA-owned portfolio as direct loans—making the loans more af- fordable for veterans. The VASP program officially launched May 31, and the nation's mortgage servicers must have it fully implemented by October 1, 2024. HUD REMOVES LANGUAGE BARRIERS TO FHA MORTGAGES T he U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), is making available translated versions of 19 single-family "Every veteran deserves access to safe, affordable, and permanent housing, and we know that legal support is among the most needed services by Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness." —VA Secretary Denis McDonough