The 2026 NewDay USA survey of more than 1,200 veterans and service members found that of the country’s nearly 20 million eligible veterans and active-duty service members, only 13 percent have ever used VA home loan benefits, and nearly one in three received little or no education about the benefits during or after military service.
There is no down payment. There is no private mortgage insurance. Competitive rates. For veterans with a service-connected disability, the VA fee is fully waived. It is one of the most powerful wealth-building tools available to every American, gained through military service.
As real estate professionals, this number should make us sober. Because a significant part of the reason that percentage remains so low can be traced directly back to our industry.
I know this because it happened to me
In 2004, as an E-5 Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Navy, I bought my first home in Newport News, Virginia. Young, excited, and totally clueless, I trusted my real estate agent. That was my first mistake.
He had no idea how VA loans worked. He steered me into an interest only adjustable rate mortgage instead of putting me into a zero down fixed rate product that I was fully eligible for. My payment was $400 per month. I thought I could win.
What he didn’t explain was that the interest rate would be fixed for one year. Once adjusted, my payment almost tripled. The extra $800 per month took a toll on our family.
The order came in 2006 and I sold it just before the real estate bubble burst. My military neighbors have seen their home values drop by 50 to 60 percent. Many people were stuck. Some people have lost everything.
I wasn’t saved by good advice. Luckily I was saved. And I spent the next 20 years asking myself how many other people don’t?
What most agents don’t see
Military families are not a niche market that differs slightly from civilian customers. They arrive at your listing appointment operating with a completely different financial reality that most agents are not trained to understand.
Permanent change of station (PCS) relocations cost military families thousands of dollars in unpaid costs for each relocation, according to a study by the Military Family Advisory Network.
Because military spouses face constant relocation that makes it nearly impossible to build a sustainable career and an unemployment rate five to seven times the national average, many qualify for a mortgage on one income.
Their salary structure adds another layer that most agents miss. BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) is tax-free income that varies depending on class, dependent status, and place of work. Agents and lenders who do not understand how it affects loan eligibility cannot effectively advocate for their customers through underwriting.
There is also economic vulnerability in this community, and our industry needs to honestly consider that. Military personnel are up to four times more likely to be targeted by loan sharks than civilians, according to the Department of Defense’s 2006 report on Predatory Lending Practices Targeting Military Personnel and Their Dependents, which was submitted to Congress as the basis for the Military Lending Act.
During my 24 years in the Navy, serving as both a military police officer and a senior non-commissioned officer, I lost count of how many formal creditor debt letters I processed on behalf of the service members under my command. I’ve seen debt cancel security clearances and stall promotions.
For this community, unfair real estate deals are more than just a financial setback. It can be career-ending.
What does it actually look like to earn this client’s trust?
About two years ago, I attended a listing appointment with a veteran and his family. Before we get into pricing and strategy, we asked why we were selling. He said their son had been accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. Tuition fees were high. Selling felt like the only option.
I asked one question. Are you a disabled veteran who served in the military? He said yes. I told him that in California, children of veterans with service-connected disabilities may be eligible to attend a California State University or University of California campus with full tuition and fees waived, and recommended that he check through the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
They started crying in the living room. No one told them. Not their Veterans Service Officers (VSOs). Not their lender. There were no agents before me.
They defended their homes. Their son attended the University of California, Berkeley. That’s the difference between agents who work with military clients and agents who actually serve them.
That kind of awareness doesn’t come from weekend courses. It comes from doing the work. Let’s start here.
5 things every agent serving this community should know
1. VA loans have no restrictions for buyers with full title
Under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, Congress eliminated veteran loan restrictions for fully qualified borrowers who meet the Act’s criteria.
Most agents still believe there is a cap on VA loans, steering military buyers toward traditional products they don’t need. That belief costs clients money and erodes trust in a community that constantly talks to each other.
2. Funding fee waivers are worth thousands, but most agents don’t mention it.
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating will have their VA financing fee waived in full at closing. This can save buyers thousands of dollars. If you have to look this up in the middle of a deal, your client is already at a disadvantage.
3. The stigma of veteran financing makes it costly to do business with listing clients.
Many listing agents advise sellers to avoid VA offers based on outdated myths about slow schedules and difficult appraisals. Buyers of munitions are highly motivated, well-qualified, and often pay more than the asking price. Agents who perpetuate that bias are actively working against their own sellers and alienating one of the most powerful groups of buyers in the market.
4. POA transactions and SCRA protection are not special cases. they are standard
Power of attorney transactions, signed by deployed spouses on behalf of service members, occur regularly in military real estate. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) also provides legal and financial protections that affect valid contracts and schedules. Errors in any area result in legal exposure. If you haven’t navigated it yet, learn it before you need it.
5. The VA loan prerequisite is one of the most powerful sales tools in the high-interest market, yet most agents have never used it.
VA loan assumption allows buyers, including non-veterans, to take over a seller’s existing VA loan at its original interest rate. In a high interest rate environment, sellers who hold low interest VA loans on their assets have a significant competitive advantage. Agents who know how to market and drive assumptions are offering real value that most competitors can’t deliver.
Professionals worthy of this community
Military families are one of the most loyal, referral-driven customer bases in real estate. They travel constantly, constantly talk to each other, and once they find a professional who truly understands their world, they never stop sending business their way.
But loyalty must be earned. This community has spent decades running a financial system that too often paid steady salaries before people showed up.
Military families have learned to read the difference between an agent who is dedicated to their job and one who simply added a military specialty to their resume. The acquired expertise looks different from the claimed expertise. This community will feel the difference within the first five minutes of a conversation.
The agents who can build lasting businesses in this market are the ones who prepare with integrity, pursue real-world training, deeply understand the benefits and can apply them without prompting, and the ones who approach each appointment knowing that for this family, this move is not a transaction. It’s a mission.
The 13% VA loan utilization rate is not a statistic. It’s a gap. And an invitation. The question is not whether military families deserve better. that’s right. The question is whether you have made the effort to earn the right to serve them.
Travis Winfield is a 24-year retired Navy commander, founder and CEO of Military Operated Real Estate (MORE), a national network of military real estate professionals, and author of Military Money and MORE. He is a veteran national speaker on financial literacy and vice president of the Enlisted Leadership Foundation. For more information, visit traviswinfield.com.
