But the case is different with California housing investors, Patrick F. McMillin and his son, Patrick L. McMillin. The father-and-son team of McMillin Ventures buys foreclosure homes, spends a large amount of money and time fixing them, and sells them to military veterans.

Patrick L. said that military veterans deserve to have a home because they dedicated their lives to serving the country. He added that he and his father are very proud to have found a way to help someone who served in the military.

When father and son established the McMillin Ventures in 2008, they did not plan to buy foreclosure, repair and sell them to military veterans. However, they pointed out that their housing projects are tailor-made for military veterans.

The housing projects of the McMillins are affordable and eligible for low-cost loans guaranteed by the Veterans Affairs (VA, which means that no down payment is needed). Also, buyers are spared the trouble of waiting for weeks for the lenders to decide if they will approve the loans.

So far, eight out of the 12 buyers of McMillins’ houses have been veterans. Both father and son relish the idea of selling to military veterans because their ancestors also served the country.

Meanwhile, the McMillins said that they find it very easy to work with VA-insured buyers, adding that VA loan transactions are often the smoothest to handle. However, the case is different with turning a house in a deplorable condition into someone else’s dream home.

Both father and son said that the buying and rehabilitation process often involves months of waiting for banks to approve the deal and another three months to finish the renovations. When the McMillins buy foreclosure houses, they expect them to be in the worst conditions, with missing fixtures and appliances, illegal room additions, cracked slabs, outmoded electrical lines and malfunctioning plumbing.

To clinch the sale, the McMillins make it a point to meet the prospective buyers before signing the sales contract, adding that it is their way to establish a personal relationship with the buyers.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs this year signed a long-term agreement with BAC Home Loans to be its property management company.

In August, BAC Home Loans Servicing was also chosen by Ginnie Mae to service its home loans formerly serviced by mortgage firm Taylor, Bean and Whitaker. These loans were financed through VA, FHA, the Office of Public and Indian Housing and the DA Rural Development Program.

Bank of America was bailed out by the federal government last year with $25 billion in taxpayer money as the bank also rescued Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial, which later was renamed BAC Home Loans Servicing.

For prospective home buyers looking for VA foreclosures, they can visit the web site va.reotrans.com for listings and detailed information on foreclosed homes available. The site also gives information on the names of listing agents that buyers can contact. The listings provide different names of listing agents depending on the states and neighborhoods.

VA foreclosures homes are available to every prospective home buyer and not only to veterans. Non-veterans can also avail of financing offered under the VA home loan financing program.

For investors looking for lower priced foreclosure homes and lower-interest home financing, VA foreclosed homes provide great opportunities because they can be purchased with low down payments and the number of VA foreclosures that can be acquired is not limited.

Experienced investors can even use a licensed appraiser’s rental projections for loan underwriting computations.

For VA home buyers planning to occupy the properties they are going to buy, VA foreclosures can be purchased with no down payment, depending on the evaluation of financial capabilities by the lenders. Up to two percent of the closing costs can also be financed and included in the final loan amount and up to six percent of the sales price can be provided by sellers to be used for closing costs.

VA foreclosures can also be accessed through local real estate agents who are licensed and who have access to major Multiple Listing Services that include VA foreclosed properties. These agents are the ones who will make the purchase offers and who will accomplish the needed documents for buyers of VA foreclosures homes.

Under the program, you can buy a VA foreclosed home with no down if you pass the eligibility requirements and you are going to occupy the house. The loan amount will be increased by up to 2 percent to pay for closing costs and other expenses.

If you are buying for investment, you need to make a down payment of at least 5 percent. If you have experience in the rental sector, you can include anticipated rent in the computation for underwriting. There are no limits to the number of properties you can acquire for investment.

This vendee financing program will also allow the seller to finance up to 6 percent of the total sales price to cover closing costs, funding fee and other expenses. The loan terms available are 15 and 30 years at fixed rates and there are no penalties for pre-payment.

To find VA foreclosures, visit foreclosuredeals.com. This site has a user-friendly technology that will help you find VA foreclosed properties in the zip code you are interested in.

You can enter your preferences in terms of city, number of beds, baths and price range to facilitate your search. You can also refine your search results by home price range from lowest to highest.

Every page that displays a VA foreclosure on the site includes the photo of the house, the list price, address, type of house, neighborhood map and a short description of the house. The names of the listing agent and the agent’s firm, including the photo of the agent, are provided. You can communicate through phone or email.

The Department of Veterans Affairs sells all its foreclosure properties through its property management contractor, BAC Home Loans Servicing LP. But you can take a look at these properties through a local real property broker who has access to local Multiple Listing Systems. The foreclosuredeals.com site described above is another option.

You can buy VA foreclosures and you can take advantage of the vendee financing program if you have adequate income to be able to make the monthly loan payments and if you have an acceptable credit score.

The average rate of foreclosure in the 24 areas surveyed was also found to have increased by nearly 80% from 2007 to 2008, sparking concerns that this trend could continue. Many are worried that an unpopular war and the burdens many military families already have to bear could make this issue of supreme importance in coming years, as people feel the government should be doing something to aid its soldiers in their home mortgage woes.

In the past few years the number of VA loans being taken out sunk to a low that hasn’t been seen in over a decade, and now there are more fighting families in danger of losing their homes than their have been at any other time, many feel, since the Vietnam War.

The largest surge in foreclosures in a military area was in Columbia, SC, home to the training grounds for soldiers at Fort Jackson. The foreclosure rate there has risen just under 500% in only one year, sparking concern from all over the community. Another area with extremely high foreclosures was Norfolk, VA, home to the country’s biggest naval base.

Experts say military families were targeted by sub prime lenders because the fact that they tend to move a lot and are often overseas means that they tend to have bad credit, thus qualifying them for the loan.

There are many advantages of buying VA foreclosures. First of all, VA foreclosures can be bought by anyone. They can also be purchased with little of no down payment at all. Aside from enjoying great discounts on the property, all closing costs are usually shouldered by the department. This means you get to save an additional 6% from the list price. Another advantage is the non-requirement of Private Mortgage Insurances. A VA Vendee Financing is available for those having trouble securing financing from banks or other private lending institutions.

To own one of these VA foreclosures, you can check out the Multiple Listings Service at your local real estate agent. After, you will have to submit your offer through a VA-certified real estate broker like Foreclosure Deals. Together with an earnest money deposit, your offer will be sealed and submitted within the Simultaneous Offer Period. Once this period ends, all bid offers are opened and assessed if they qualify for the minimum amount.

If your bid qualifies and is actually the highest, then you will be the proud owner of one of these VA foreclosures. Take note that VA foreclosures are sold “as is” and you should allot some extra money for minimal repair costs. VA foreclosures provide a lot of potential. You can use them as rental properties or fixer uppers that can be sold once more for a profit.

There are many advantages that go along with buying a VA home foreclosure that many people are not even aware of. Even though a VA home foreclosure is slightly different from a bank foreclosed property, it is still based on the same premise.

A VA home foreclosure is a property that was previously owned by a United States Veteran of war of a member of the Armed Forces. They bought their home with a veteran’s home loan that was insured by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, or the VA. This is a great deal for both the buyer and the VA as long as the loan is paid to the financial terms that were agreed upon. But if the owner does not pay the mortgage as they are supposed to, the VA is then out money. Since they insured the loan, they will have to pay the lender for any losses against the loan. At the same time, the lender also takes the home back so that they can resell it to the public; this is when a VA home foreclosure comes about.

After these homes are foreclosed on, the real estate industry can then take advantage of them. If you are thinking about purchasing a VA home foreclosure you are in the right state of mind. These properties are great as investments, and have many benefits that go along with them.

First off, if you buy a VA home foreclosure you will be able to pay an overall lower price up front. Most of these homes are taken to auction, and the highest bidder will walk away with the property. If you play your cards right you should have no problem at all buying a VA home foreclosure for a significant discount off of the market value price.

In addition, when you buy a VA home foreclosure you will also be able to take advantage of top notch loan terms. By purchasing a VA home foreclosure you will be able to benefit from low insurance costs, shorter terms, and great interest rates; all three of these factors will help you save money over the course of your loan.

Buying a VA home foreclosure is a great way to break into the real estate industry. Before you pass on the next VA home foreclosure that you come across, make sure you consider all of the benefits that they include; you may find yourself rethinking your decision.