Over the years, hundreds of thousands of Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airman have passed through the Coachella Valley on their way to faraway places including war zones. Like all of us, many of those service people fell in love with the Valley, dreamed of coming back and making the Valley their home (both full time and part time). That journey for Marines and Sailors continues today-just stop in at the Palm Springs Airport any day and you will see some of our heroes.
For their service, veterans-including active military personnel -earn housing benefits which benefits don’t expire; cannot be taken away; and can be used more than once.
Too many veterans, however, are unaware of those benefits, including the right to buy a home with absolutely no money down! Recent statistics highlight that lack of understanding: 95% of veterans did not receive housing information while in the service; 33% of veterans did not know about the VA loan program; 62% of veterans said their lenders never discussed the VA loan option; and 31% of veterans were told a conventional or FHA loan was less complicated. These problems were recognized by a group of real estate professionals (all military veterans) and in 2011 formed VAREP.
VAREP is a nation-wide 501(c), non-profit organization, formed by veterans for veterans dedicated to increasing sustainable homeownership, financial-literacy education, VA loan awareness, and economic opportunity for the active-military and the veteran communities.
U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz, a strong voice and a recognized long-time advocate for veterans, realized the need for VA loan awareness and spearheaded the effort to bring VAREP to the Valley. One of the first things Representative Ruiz did was to reach out to our Valley’s very own Mickey Jumapao. Mickey accepted the challenge as a founding member and Vice President of the newly formed chapter which is now part of a National group of 27 and in August 2016, along with Founding Member and President David L Montgomery the Coachella Valley chapter of the VAREP hit the ground running and has recently completed their first successful Veterans Housing Summit on June 24 2017 at the Palm Springs Air Museum and is currently organizing the Chapters 1st Stars and Stripes Annual Veterans Charity Golf Tournament that will be hosted by the Cimarron Golf Resort in Cathedral City, CA on Friday September 15, 2017. A continental Breakfast and Lunch will be served to participants along with refreshments, Raffles, Auctions, gifts, Hole in One and closet to the hole prizes. The Coachella Chapter’s goal is very focused on carrying out the mission of the VAREP by helping veterans achieve homeownership and de-mystifying the home buying process, which includes, VA home borrowing guidelines such as buying 1 to 4-unit properties at 100% Loan to Value with little or no money down, Title, escrow, Appraisal, Home Insurance, Home Inspection, Pest Control and Home Warranty options. Active military personnel, veterans, and eligible family members, who would like to obtain their certificate of Eligibility, can go to VAREP’s local chapter website: https://varep.net/index.php/coachella-chapter for more information.