MBA Commends Senate for Passing Bill to Improve VA Home Loan Benefit

(MBA Vice Chair Mark A. Jones testifies in support of H.R. 7735 in May.)

The Mortgage Bankers Association commended the Senate for passing H.R. 7735, the Improving the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022.

The House passed the bill in September, so H.R. 7735 will next move to President Biden’s desk.

“MBA applauds the Senate for passing–by unanimous consent–this bill that helps to ensure our nation’s servicemembers, veterans, and their families have access to more affordable, sustainable homeownership opportunities through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Program,” said MBA President & CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB.

MBA Vice Chair Mark A. Jones testified on behalf of MBA before the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity in May. Jones is also CEO and Co-Founder of Amerifirst Home Mortgage, a privately held, independent residential mortgage lender based in Kalamazoo, Mich. “VA home loans represent one of the most important benefits our nation’s veterans earn through their selfless service to our country,” Jones said in his testimony.

Broeksmit noted the enactment of this MBA-endorsed legislation will help streamline the home buying process for veterans and their families by requiring the VA to update its home appraisal rules and program guidelines. “To the benefit of buyers and lenders, the VA will now be required to encourage hybrid appraisals, employ emerging technologies, and revisit policies on property inspection waivers, minimum property requirements, and comparable sales,” he said.

Broeksmit commended the bill’s author, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mike Bost, R-Ill., and the Senate companion’s lead sponsors, Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Jacky Rozen, D-Nev., for introducing and helping to pass the proposal in a broad, bipartisan manner in both the House and Senate. “MBA also commends current House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Jerry Moran, R-Okla., for the key roles they played to help advance H.R. 7735,” he said.

MBA will continue to work with the Veterans Administration, Congress, its members and other key stakeholders to ensure veterans and their families have access to more affordable, sustainable homeownership opportunities.