Panel Okays VA Guaranty Hike

The House Veterans Affairs Committee has approved a bill that would increase the VA loan guarantee so that veterans and military personnel could get no-downpayment loans of up to $333,700, which is the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit.The bill (H.R. 4345) would set the VA guarantee limit at 25% of the conforming loan limit, effectively raising the government guarantee from $60,000 to $83,435. Currently, lenders can sell no-downpayment VA loans into the secondary market with a principal balance of up to $240,000. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., also indexes the VA loan guarantee limit to the conforming loan limit.