Hometown Hero Credit

09/01/2026

The VA Just Changed Its Appraisal Rules: What Homebuyers Need to Know in 2026

If you are planning to buy a home with a VA-backed loan, recent appraisal updates may make the process clearer and reduce some avoidable delays. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs updated its Minimum Property Requirements, or MPRs, in the VA Lenders Handbook, Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 12. The goal is to help Veterans compete in today’s housing market while keeping important safety and property standards in place....

If you are planning to buy a home with a VA-backed loan, recent appraisal updates may make the process clearer and reduce some avoidable delays. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs updated its …

08/30/2026

Sunday Legacy Letters: Being Pantsed : Learning Whom to Trust

Some memories stay with us because of what happened. Others stay because of who was present: and who was not. I remember my first week of junior high school vividly. I was a freshman, and within those first few days, I quickly learned to avoid certain places. I stayed away from bathrooms where older students gathered. I avoided the locker room unless it was time for physical education....

Some memories stay with us because of what happened. Others stay because of who was present: and who was not. I remember my first week of junior high school vividly. I was a freshman, and within th…

08/28/2026

When “Supporting Veterans” Becomes a Marketing & Business Model

If you are a veteran, active-duty service member, or military family member, you have probably seen the advertising. “We understand veterans.” “We’re here for those who served.” “Military families are our mission.” The message often comes with American flags, military imagery, and patriotic language. There is nothing inherently wrong with a business earning a profit while serving veterans. Loan officers, real estate agents, and companies have employees to pay and services to provide....

If you are a veteran, active-duty service member, or military family member, you have probably seen the advertising. “We understand veterans.” “We’re here for those who served.” “Military families …

08/16/2026

Sunday Legacy Letters: A Beachball With Fingers

Thank you for joining me for another Sunday Legacy Letter. Today’s story takes me back to 1971, to a school parking lot, a painful nickname, and a lesson I did not understand until much later. “Go get ’em, Tiger” As my dad drove me to my first day of junior high school, he offered the kind of encouragement fathers often give their sons....

Thank you for joining me for another Sunday Legacy Letter. Today’s story takes me back to 1971, to a school parking lot, a painful nickname, and a lesson I did not understand until much later. “Go …

08/14/2026

VA Helped Veterans Buy Their Homes. Who Helps Them Stay There?

If you are a veteran, a military family member, or someone helping an aging veteran plan for the future, thank you for being here. There is an important conversation we need to have about veteran homeownership. For more than 80 years, the VA Home Loan Guaranty program has helped generations of veterans and military families purchase homes. It has helped service members establish roots, raise families, and build long-term financial stability....

If you are a veteran, a military family member, or someone helping an aging veteran plan for the future, thank you for being here. There is an important conversation we need to have about veteran h…

08/14/2026

08/13/2026

A VA Education Benefit Just Changed: What Military Families Need to Know About Chapter 35

Welcome, and thank you for taking a few minutes to review this important update. If your family uses, or may qualify for, Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance, also called DEA, one part of the benefit changed on August 1, 2026. The most important message is simple: Chapter 35 is not ending. However, Chapter 35 DEA no longer covers certain secondary-education programs when the program begins on or after August 1, 2026....

Welcome, and thank you for taking a few minutes to review this important update. If your family uses, or may qualify for, Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance, also called D…

08/11/2026

They Served Decades Ago. Now Too Many Aging Veterans Are Struggling to Stay Housed.

Thank you for being here. This is an important conversation, and it deserves our full attention. When we hear the words veteran homelessness, many of us picture someone living on the street, staying in a shelter, or searching for a place to sleep. That picture is real. But homelessness does not always begin in public view. Sometimes it begins quietly inside a home....

Thank you for being here. This is an important conversation, and it deserves our full attention. When we hear the words veteran homelessness, many of us picture someone living on the street, stayin…

08/11/2026

They Served Decades Ago. Now Too Many Aging Veterans Are Struggling to Stay Housed. Click the link below to read more...

For some older veterans, the housing crisis isn't about finding a home. It's about being able to afford to stay in the one they already have.

08/09/2026

Sunday Legacy Letters: The Faith of a Son (Trading Servitude for Grace)

There are some lessons we learn slowly. Others arrive in a single moment. They take root when we are young, remain hidden for years, and eventually become clear when we look back. This is one of those lessons for me. It began in Riverside, California, in a beautiful historic home near Fairmount Park. Escaping the Riverside Heat I spent my childhood with my family in that home....

There are some lessons we learn slowly. Others arrive in a single moment. They take root when we are young, remain hidden for years, and eventually become clear when we look back. This is one of th…