WV State officials promote launch of Veterans’ Home Loan Mortgage Program

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. ( WTRF ) – West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore and Senator Ryan Weld were in Weirton Tuesday afternoon to discuss the launching of a new program for veterans who are first-time home buyers.

The Veterans’ Home Loan Mortgage Program is designed to help West Virginia veterans purchase their first home at reduced mortgage rates.

The program allows veterans to purchase a home at a 1% reduced mortgage rate.

Veterans applying for the program must be first-time homebuyers and have at least $2,500 for a down payment and closing costs. The home cannot be more than $350,000 and there are no income limitations.

A collaboration between Treasurer Moore and Senator Weld, who introduced Senate Bill 261 this year, helped make this a reality in the Mountain State.

“The West Virginia Veterans Home Loan Mortgage Program came to me from legislation, and it was enacted into law in Montana several years ago. And, you know, in legislation, sometimes it’s okay to plagiarize from things that have worked out well in other states,” Weld said. “And this program is one of those cases. It will allow for certain veterans, members of our National Guard and members of our reserve forces, to live here in West Virginia or move to the state of West Virginia to buy a home at a reduced rate.”

Sen. Weld talked about increased inflation and mortgage rates that have made buying a home more difficult.

“Buying your own home and giving your family that opportunity is part of the American dream,” Sen. Weld said.

The goal of the program is to keep and attract more veterans to West Virginia.

Weld is an Air Force veteran and said many of his bills look to make the lives of veterans better within the state.

“My impetus for this program and a number of other bills that I’ve done are all aimed at making West Virginia as veteran-friendly as it as state as we possibly can,” Weld said.

Treasurer Moore spoke during the promotion, saying his office transferred $8 million from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to provide start-up costs for the new program.

“It really puts a finer point on how we view veterans in the state of West Virginia. We have a high population, large population of veterans in the state of West Virginia,” Moore said. “And obviously I’m a numbers guy as your state treasurer. We like to see good workforce participation numbers and things like that. Some of the greatest employees that I have are veterans.”

Moore says the $8 million his office provided will help “capitalize the program.”

“Veterans will have the ability to get a low-interest loan on a home mortgage here in the state of West Virginia, 1% under what the market rate is,” Moore said.

The program will be overseen by the West Virginia Housing Development Fund agency.

Jon Rogers, senior division manager with the WV Housing Development, says the agency has been around since 1969 and works to make housing more affordable across the state.

“Since last July, we’ve helped more than 1600 people buy their first home in West Virginia, allowing them to put down roots and build equity and strengthen their communities,” Rogers said. “We’re looking forward to building on that success this year with the Veterans Home Loan Mortgage Program. We’re grateful to Senator Weld and to Treasurer Moore for their partnership. We thank you in recognizing the role that the housing fund plays, and we look forward to making this a success.

Program rates are expected to be announced on Sept. 9.

Veterans interested in the program are encouraged to visit the WV Housing Development website to decide if the program is right for them.

More details about the program will be posted on the site in the next week or two, be sure to visit www.wvhdf.com for those details.

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