Farm and Business Loans

The Veterans Housing Amendments Act of 1976, (Public Law 94-324) made further refinements in the program.  The Act extended eligibility to veterans whose only service was between World War II and the Korean conflict, increased the maximum direct loan from $25,000 to $33,000, increased the guaranty on manufactured home loans from 30% to 50%, and continued the direct loan revolving fund.  The Act also made veterans with service after January 31, 1955 eligible for housing benefits in Chapter 37, separating the benefits for education purposes from housing eligibility thus expressing the intent of Congress to continue the housing benefits for future veterans.

The Veterans' Housing Benefits Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-476) increased the maximum loan guaranty entitlement from $17,500 to $25,000 for home and condominium loans, and reduced the minimum service requirement for eligibility purposes for Vietnam Era veterans (August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975) from 181 days to 90 days in order to equate Vietnam service with that performed in prior wartime periods.  Authority to guarantee condominium loans was expanded to include units in a project or structure converted to a condominium.  New authority was provided to guarantee or make loans to improve a dwelling or farm residence by installing solar heating, solar heating and cooling, or combined solar heating and cooling, or by application of a residential energy conservation measure.  Also, the Act authorized the Administrator to establish a higher interest rate for such energy conservation loans and for other home improvement loans. 

The Specially Adapted Housing Grant was increased from $25,000 to $30,000, and a number of changes were made to the manufactured home program:  Maximum loan limits were eliminated and instead a maximum guaranty was provided for manufactured home loans of $17,500, similar to the $25,000 maximum guaranty arrangement for conventionally-constructed home loans.  The Act removed the requirement that a veteran have maximum entitlement available for use in order to obtain a manufactured home loan, specifying that a veteran could use remaining entitlement for manufactured loan purposes provided the veteran has disposed of any previously-acquired manufactured home unit purchased with VA financing.  Finally, the Act increased the maximum term for a loan to purchase a single-wide manufactured home or manufactured home lot from 12 years and 32 days to 15 years and 32 days.

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