World War II Veteran Saluting (Photo by David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
One of the signatures of American culture is our respect for the people that fight for our freedom. This has been the case throughout many generations of American history. This is why the statistics on veteran homelessness are rather disturbing.
Recent statistics show that veteran homelessness increased by about 4% in 2020, aggravating an already bad situation. The US government and the VA have created very accommodating measures to enable Veterans to become homeowners. Still, the problem persists.
A 2016 survey conducted by Veterans First Mortgage focused on the VA home loans program. The survey covered hundreds of hopeful veteran homebuyers. Almost half of them had not yet used their benefits to buy a home, and on an investigation, there were five main reasons why they had not;
- They felt unprepared because of the presumed financial implications
- They didn’t know how to go about it
- They didn’t think their credit was good enough
- They didn’t think they were eligible.
- They assumed that VA loans take longer than they actually do.
The survey suggests that Vets have two significant problems with accessing home loans; knowledge and accessibility. This is where AI comes in.
Jason Sharon is the author of VA Mortgages Declassified, a comprehensive guide for Vets on “not getting screwed by lenders.” Sharon is a veteran of the US Navy who served for 20 years before starting his own Independent Mortgage Lending Company, Home Loans Inc.
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According to Jason Sharon, “Veterans need all the help they can get understanding the different opportunities available to them and dispelling the various misconceptions that keep many veterans and families not owning homes of their own.”.
As a veteran, Sharon’s mission is personal; protecting veterans against misleading claims and unnecessary expenses. Sharon is a firm believer in the power of AI to aid Vets to become homeowners. In this article, Sharon shares his views on how AI has been helpful in this fight.
AI Is Simplifying The Finding Process
Studies show that veterans are nearly 5% less likely to afford their housing costs than comparable non-veterans. When juxtaposed with the stats for Gulf War and Vietnam veterans, which puts them at 25% more likely to afford housing costs, this stat reveals a serious problem that has become pervasive for the last 20 years.
Artificial Intelligence and its data analysis capabilities are being used to scan for affordable homes, especially those that have gone into foreclosure, to assess their value. This information is usually deployed to help vets get the best deals available.
Sharon explains how the process works, “The data from the AI-empowered searches are often sent to local nonprofits who cater to vets, so they can offer these houses at discounted rates to veterans who cannot afford them otherwise.”
These nonprofits also provide the necessary support services needed by first-time homeowners, such as financial literacy courses or emotional counseling.
One such company that has utilized this AI strategy is Homelight, which relies on AI and machine learning to improve its pricing algorithms. The system leverages historical data and input obtained from homeowners, brokers, and agents to develop accurate home estimates, further simplifying the finding process for home buyers.
Educating Veterans
The process of obtaining a VA loan is not a straightforward one as Sharon explains, “The process can get really confusing, we started Home Loans to provide a more altruistic approach to loans for Vets. Between budget requirements, down payment structures, interest rates and a host of competing offers, it is quite easy to get confused and to make wrong decisions especially with major banks and their punitive fees.”
With all this difficulty, Veterans need advice and guidance. However, anyone who professionally advises you has a financial stake in your final decisions. This can often bias their counsel, and even if it doesn’t, their counsel comes at an additional cost.
Jason Sharon
Jason Sharon
In Sharon’s book, he laments these roadblocks and stresses the importance of getting the best guidance possible. This need informed the operating structure of Home Inc.
Sharon has built a veteran-facing altruistic system, where the company gets paid by the lenders, but the Vets are not required to pay a dime. Sharon is convinced that guidance is something that Artificial Intelligence can help with. In fact, it is something AI programmers are already working on.
According to Home Lending Pals, AI-powered mortgage advisors are already a reality. These advisors can compare the Vets financial information with current market standards and reveal the best path towards affordable homeownership. The great news is that these advisors have no financial stake in your decisions. These advisors can calculate your approval odds, pinpointing weak points and making recommendations on improvement while steering you towards best-fit mortgages.
Sharon is also passionate about educating potential veteran homeowners about the new MyVA initiative launched by the VA over five years ago. Sharon explains why this is very important for Veterans to know;
“The MyVA initiative aims amongst other things to continue to reduce veteran homelessness and to transform the VA’s office of information & technology. The VA has successfully deployed modern technology, including AI and its data analysis capabilities to help veterans get homes without upfront costs.”
The MyVA initiative has successfully helped over 500 Vets since its inception. The VA’s Housing Counseling Program estimates that this initiative will help an additional 3 million people over the next 10 years. The VA department has even utilized AI-powered bots to support its customer-service team in providing high-tech help for veterans.
Many industries are deploying AI to simplify their workload, and the Real Estate industry is not left out. If things were to be done as they used to be, veterans would spend hours looking at listings and filling the heavy paperwork required for loans that they aren’t even sure of getting.
With AI, the MyVA systems can recognize patterns that indicate eligibility and the likelihood of acquiring mortgage loans. It can also search through millions of records in record time and find the best possible option for these Vets based on their credit history, income level, and other factors.
“These revolutionary programs will eliminate paperwork and eliminate its attendant human error at every step of the process.” Sharon explains as he talks up the fantastic possibilities of this AI invasion.
“We are less likely to hear sore stories of lost documents, delays due to clerical errors, loan denials because they have too little money saved up for a down payment.”
The list is endless. Thanks to AI and its ability to understand, analyze and classify data, disabled veterans or those who have PTSD will be able to enjoy their new home without having to worry about upkeep. The VA has also partnered with Real Estate Company Redfin, which uses AI technology to offer this service to veterans free of charge.
The ripple effect of these breakthroughs is being felt in the communities as we see more and more responsible veteran families become homeowners and settle in neighborhoods of their choice, where they feel safe and contribute to the community.
In Sharon’s words, “It’s a revolution and we are still just starting. All hands need to be on deck to remove this blight of vet homelessness from our nation.”
It is impossible to disagree with Sharon on this one. Hopefully, the technology continues to evolve and be adopted in every aspect of the process. We certainly need as many vets as possible, off the streets and into homes of their own. That is one of the clearest pictures of the American dream that we can paint.
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