Native American veterans are getting a break on the interest rate they are charged when taking out a specific home loan through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA on Wednesday announced that it had lowered the interest rate for VA Native American Direct Loans from 6% to 2.5%, making access to housing loans more affordable for Native American veterans.
“Native American veterans are now able to more affordably buy, build and improve homes on trust land,” said Executive Director of VA Loan Guaranty Service John Bell III in a statement.
Through the loan program, VA provides direct loans to Native American veterans — and to veterans who are married to Native American non-veterans — to help buy, build or improve a home on trust land. The loans give Native American veterans the opportunity to obtain housing with no down payments, limited closing costs and no monthly mortgage insurance costs.
Veterans who closed their NADL loans on or after March 13 will automatically receive the 2.5% interest rate for the life of the loan. Veterans who currently have a NADL loan with an interest rate of 3.5% or higher will be able to refinance the loan to take advantage of the lower rate.
The 2.5% interest rate is effective as of March 13 and will be available for no more than 24 months.
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By law, VA can only provide the decreased interest rate to Native American veterans or to veterans who marry Native American non-veterans.
Native American veterans who are interested in the NADL program can contact a NADL coordinator by emailing NADL@va.gov or by calling 888-349-7541. For homes outside of trust land, the VA Guaranteed Home Loan program is available to all veterans.
VA is also working toward the publication of a final rule in the Federal Register that would waive certain copayments for eligible American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Under the proposed rule, VA would reimburse eligible veterans for certain copayments paid on or after Jan. 5, 2022.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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