VA Mortgage Aid Program Ends, Leaving Many Veterans at Risk of Foreclosure

A federal initiative that helped thousands of military veterans remain in their homes has been discontinued, and new figures suggest the change is proving costly for veterans and their families.

The Trump administration shut down the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase, or VASP, program on May 1, 2025, removing a key mortgage-relief option for veterans having trouble keeping up with monthly payments.

Introduced in May 2024, the program let the VA buy qualifying VA-backed mortgages from lenders and restructure them at a fixed interest rate of 2.5%.

Its purpose was to lower monthly payments and help veterans avoid foreclosure.

Before the program ended, it had already helped tens of thousands of veterans stay in their homes.

Without VASP, however, more struggling homeowners have been pushed toward other loan modifications that can carry much higher interest rates and monthly costs.

An NPR investigation reviewed more than 40,000 VA loan modifications made between May 2025 and September 2026.

The research found that 63% led to higher monthly mortgage payments.

More than 15,000 veterans saw their payments rise by at least $150 a month, and more than 700 faced increases of $1,000 or more.

Industry data also shows that foreclosures tied to VA-backed mortgages have reached their fastest rate in a decade.

The VA says other forms of help are still available, including forbearance, repayment plans, and loan modifications.

For veterans who served their country, the loss of an affordable mortgage backstop has created another hard financial fight, this time in their own homes.