A program started at Troy’s Ross Mortgage to help veterans buy homes has gone national.
The initiative started in 2015, when the company wanted to better train its loan officers on how to process VA home loans. Michael Fischer, president of Military Mortgage Boot Camp and branch manager of Ross’s Brighton location, expanded the program nationally in 2017.
After receiving positive feedback on social media platforms, he developed instructional tracks for loan officers and real estate agents.
Both classes dissect VA loans and offer statistics to debunk a misconception that home offers backed by conventional home loans are more favorable to sellers than those backed by VA home loans. As it stands, VA loan-backed offers are rejected more often than those backed by conventional loans, even when VA offers are identical to or better than conventional offers.
“It’s the least we can do in our profession for those who serve us,” Fischer says of offering the class.
Since 2015, the program has trained more than 700 loan officers, who in turn answer each other’s questions on social media groups hosted by Fischer and other instructors.
Fischer and his team usually travel to teach in-person classes, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve created an online version and are working on an improved virtual format.
