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Show 1 IlHis Loans Wide interest in GI home loans continued at a record pace in March, the Veterans Administration revealed today. VA RECEIVED 71,136 appraisal requests in March, the highest monthly total in nearly 21 years. The March 1977 figure was 22 percent higher than February's and 12 percent above the March, 1976 totals. A VA appraisal of a house is a first step to applying for a VA guaranteed loan. March's heavy volume pushed the total appraisal requests received for the first half of fiscal year 1977 to 328,608. This is 15 percent higher than the same period a year ago. APPLICATIONS for GI . home loans also reflected the surge. VA received 40,979 applications in March, 35 percent above February and 16 percent higher than a-year ago. Loan applications dur-ing the first half of FY 1977 totaled to-taled 205,256, 22 percent over tbe-same six months a year ago. ' . . - - VA LOAN- guaranty officials of-ficials attribute some or the new business to a 1975 law that eased GI loan eligibility. Prior to January 1, 1975, a veteran who had once used his GI loan eligibility could have it restored only under special" circumstances. VA had to be relieved of liability and the property had to have been disposed of for "compelling reasons," a VA spokesman said. CONGRESS removed the "compelling reasons" res-' friction, allowing entitlement to be restored if the property has been disposed of and the loan satisfied. -This means most veterans with service since September 19, 1940, are 'potentially eligfble for a GI loan. v The law also provided the original veteran's liability be removed automatically and eligibility restored if another veteran purchases the property and substitutes his VA loan eligibility for that of the seller. SINCE JUNE22, 1944, more than 9.5 million veterans and . service members have borrowed $129 billion under the VA . loan guaranty program. The VA. guarantees a loan up to 60 percent or a maximum of $17,500. The benefit is available to veterans and active-duty personnel per-sonnel with at least 181 days service. Also eligible are unmarried un-married surviving 'spouses of these veterans and spouses of service members listed as missing in action for more than 90 days. INFORMATION - on VA home loan benefits can be obtained at any VA office or from veterans' organization -service officers. - I |